ift- 


r 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  | 

AT    LOS  ANGELES 


lAMFCiH  CHAMBERS.  pueLishE:R> 


tz^ie: 


LIFE  AND  LABORS 


OF 


H 


NOCH  Mather  Marvin, 


Late  Bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 


BY 


REV.  THOS.  M.  FINNEY,  D.D. 


ILLUSTRATED 

WITH 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO.: 
JAMES     H.     CHAMBERS. 

1880. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  Uie  jear  1S70.  by 

JAMES  H.  CHAMBERS, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


^ 


PREFACE . 


Biography  has  been  likened  by  Hannah  More  to  the  monu- 
ment over  a  distinguished  grave— a  memorial  of  affection  and  a 
tribute  to  departed  worth.  It  is  the  privilege  of  love  to  write  the 
epitaph.  A  friend  may  be  partial ;  an  enemy  cannot  be  just. 
Bishop  INIarvin  was  widely  known  and  alike  beloved.  Many  hands 
would  bring  spices  for  the  emlialmment  of  his  memory.  This  vol- 
ume represents  the  heart  of  the  Church.  Appropriately,  room  has 
been  given  in  these  pages  to  many  other  pens  for  a  testimonial  of 
love  and  contribution  of  honor.  By  the  Author,  Bishop  Marvin 
was  well  known,  highly  appreciated  and  dearly  loved.  When  living, 
the  writer  venerated  his  virtues,  and  honored  him,  as  he  might  be 
able  ;  it  is  a  privilege  and  a  joy  to  reproduce  his  Hfe  and  contrib- 
ute to  his  posthumous  renown  and  influence. 

More  especiallv,  it  has  been  a  constant  reflection  and  a  weighty 
consideration  presiding  over  these  pages,  that  a  large  denomination 
of  Christians  and  the  whole  body  of  the  Christian    Ministry  had 
concern  in  his  public  life  and  have  claim  upon  the  best  work  of  a 
biographer.     In  regard  to  performance,  no  pretension  is  made  ex- 
cept that  no  pains  have  been  omitted,  no  labor  spared,  to  secure 
authenticity   and    completeness  in  the  narrative   of  his   Life  and 
Labors ;  and  paiticularly,  a  just  and  adequate  exhibit  of  the  dis- 
charge of  his   office  as  a  Minister  of  Christ  and  a  Bishop  in  the 
Church  of  God.     Research  has  extended  throug-hout  his  v«iars  from 
^     earliest  childliood,  and  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  his 
M     continental  and  world-wide  travels.     The  most  distant  contempo- 
'§    raries   have   furnished   their   recollections.       Tributes   have  been 
cheerfully  rendered   by  his  Episcopal  Colleagues,  some  of  wliom 
have  been  personally  cognizant  of  his  entire  ministerial    develop- 

§ment  and  of  the  whole  course    of  his   great  career   from   the  first 
dawn  of  his  public  reputation.      These  pages  contain  his  memora- 
Fw   bilia  in  all  the  Conferences  ;  and  in  representative  voices,  his  stand- 


437614 


insiror  :\rAmTX. 

ing  and  inflnence  ill  .-ill.  Siidi  aid  has  hi-eii  not  merely  A'aluable, 
tut  iiulispensalilr  ;  aii<l  it  is  lici(l)y  gnvtefully  ackiiowledijiMl.  ^Al- 
together, in  the  iirinliiction  df  this  VdUune — tlius  aiil('(l,  and  in  its 
fonn  of  detiiil.d  narrative,  Avith  sneh  philosophy  of  liis  liistory 
arid  at  large  the  liistory  of  his  opinions  and  ])astoral  coun- 
sels containc(l  in  these  pages — it  is  hoped,  that  the  reader  may 
recognize  liish(jp  Marvin  in  the  narrated  as  in  the  acted  life ;  as  he 
apijeared  in  the  scenes  and  associations  of  personal  intercourse, 
and  es})ecially,  as  still  in  the  midst,  a  real  presence  and  an  abiding 
power  in  the  Church  of  God — the  great  preacher,  a  true  and  good 
shepherd  of  the  flock  of   Christ,  and  at  last,  a  Chief  Pastor. 

However  imperfectl}' rendered,  this  Biography  is  sent  forth  with 
prayer  and,  at  the  same  time,  with  faith,  that  the  Providence  of 
God,  which  was  so  conspicuously  marked  in  the  career  of  Bishop 
Marvin,  will  preside  over  the  record  of  it ;  making  tlie  one  as  the 
other  an  instrument  of  the  Divine  glory  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel 
and  the  salvation  of  souls. 

TIIOJMiiS  M.  FINXEY. 

CAUBDO>nA,  Mo., 

December  31st,  1879. 


'■ill 


wv^y . 


.1  >xl«         OO-  •»  O*-*  1 


PUBLISHEE'S  NOTICE. 


When  we  issued  our  prospectus  of  ' '  The  Life  and.  Labors  of 
IBishop  ]Marvin, ' '  we  expected  to  have  the  work  ready  for  delivery 
more  than  a  3-ear  ago.  The  delay  was,  upon  our  part,  as  unavoid- 
able as  it  was  unexpected,  being  wholly  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
manuscript  was  not  furnished  us  in  the  time  specified  by  the  writer 
of  the  book.  T.  M.  Finney,  D.  D.,  who  was  chosen  by  the  Epis- 
copal colleagues  of  tlie  deceased  and  his  bereaved  family  to  "v\Tite 
this  book,  has  pursued  his  task  con  aviore  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
onerous  duties  imposed  upon  him  by  the  appointments  of  the 
Church.  Performing-  the  work  of  a  PresidiuG:  Elder  and  President 
of  a  College  at  the  same  time,  he  has,  nevertheless,  thoroughly 
exhausted  the  resources  of  information  necessary  to  prepare  him 
for  a  faithful  execution  of  his  trust.  He  desired  to  give  to  the 
public  a  BiogTaphy  and  History  of  the  Life  and  Labors  of  Bishop 
Marvin  in  which  all  who  knew  the  Bishop  would  recognize  a  faith- 
ful portrait  of  the  man  they  loved,  the  scenes  through  which  he 
passed,  and  the  work  which  he  did  for  the  Master.  The  trust  is 
discharged,  and  we  believe  our  readers  will  say  it  is  well  done. 

The  work,  as  it  here  appears,  contains  229  pages  more  than 
was  first  announced.  This,  in  connection  wdlh  the  delay  abeady 
referred  to,  has  greatly  increased  the  cost  of  issuing  the  work,  and 
has  been  much  to  our  disadvantage  financially.  Our  desire  to  be 
just  to  the  memory  of  the  eminent  dead  and  to  the  many  friends 
who  contributed  paper's  to  the  work,  made  us  unwilling  to  exclude 
the  matter  which  has  so  swelled  the  size  of  the  volume.  We  give 
the  advantage  to  our  subscribers,  and  cheerfully  consent  to  bear 
the  financial  biu'dens,  hoping  that  thus  the  public  may  feel  fully 
indemnified  for  their  patient  waiting  for  the  appearance  of  this 

book. 

James  H.   Chasibers,  Publisher. 


CONTENTS. 


IXTROnrCTION"  » 

CIlAPTKli  1.— Ills    Ancestry 17 

The  American  brancli  of  the  Marvin  family — Its  finuidei-s — Kmigralioii 
to  America — Amoiif?  iirst  f^ettlers  of  llai-tford  and  oilier  towns  in  Connecti- 
cut— Social  iiositioii  and  jmblic  services — Colonial  vvai's  and  War  of  In- 
dependcMice— Characteristics  of  the  family— Tlieir  miifrations — Direct  line 
of  descent  from  Keinold  traced  throiig't  24-i  years— I.ieut.  Keinold — 
"Lyme's  Captain  "—The  Mather  family— Intermarriages  with  the  Alar- 
vins — All  honorable  line  of  ancestry. 

CHAPTKR  II.— The  Five  Ckdars 28 

Location  of  the  homestead— Origin  of  its  name— The  lionses  of  the  [le- 
riod— Dwellers  at  the  "  (Md  I'lace  "— Tlic  garret-room— The  schoolroom 
—Parents  his  teachers— His  advantages  of  education— spelling  match— 
The  times  iu  his  boyhood— Incidents  of  Iirst  steamboat-navigation  ou 
the  Mississi|)pi  and  Missouri— Mather's  Alma  3/aier— Church-houses— 
Primitive  customs— The  boy  at  work— At  house-raisings— Taught  school — 
The  Debating  .Socielv-  -  His  first  speech— Uncle  Billy  Pratt,  the  first  Dar- 
winian—The boy-preacher- The  contention  over  a  deer— Characteristics 
of  his  youth— lieaUh  and  per.-onal  ai)pearance— The  story  of  his  sister, 
Marcia— Death  of  liis  hioiher, Nathaniel-  -Touching  letter  of  the  Bishop-- 
The  home  of  the  dead  at  the  Five  Cedars- -Last  look  at  the  Old  Place. 

CILVPTKR  III  — "  This  >r.\x  w  as  Bo r\  There." 49 

(i.id's  liist  Cliiirch— \Vhendoes  educatioubegin  ?— .Mother's  influence— 
Jiibson  aii<l  his  m  .tiler's  prayers— Bishop  Aiidiew  and  his  mother— Kno(;li 
Mather  ou  his  in  ithui's  knee  -The  li  ly  songaiHt  i)apti>iii  of  tears— His 
father  a  D.'ist- The  niotlier  his  Clii'istian  teacher— The  Sabbath  School  in 
her  house— The  first  in  Warren  Count  v— The  family  governinent— Happy 
domestic  relations -Father's  tniining-Kdncation  of  circumstances— Un- 
seen infiueuces— Incident  of  the  wounded  finger— Saintly  v\()mcn— Old 
neiglibors— Godly  men— Contact  with  :Methodist  influences— Chief  factors 
in  religious  u-aiiiing,  liis  Mother  and  Methodism. 

CXIAI'TKH  IV.— Ills  Conversion ..         6S 

The  sciiiiHiral  idea  of  conversion- New  Birth,  the  great  fact— .\n 
epoch  of  life— -Methodist  views— The  ministration  of  the  Church— His 
own  accoH.il  of  his  conversion— Time  and  iilace— Rev.  D.  T.  Sherman's 
account -i;  ti-ed  a  Baotist— Change  of  views— .\n  Episode  in  history  ()f 
his  opinions  ou  Baptism— .loined  the  Church  as  a  seeker— Human  in- 
KtrumiMits  in  his  conversion— His  vow  as  a  seeker  s<'verely  tested — 
His  faith— ('losurc  with  Christ— Conscious  acceptance- Born  from  above 
—  testifies  la  tlie  gloii.vus  change. 

CIIAPTZH  V  — Tie  Chosen  Vessel 77 

ins  father's  ])lans  for  him— Called  ti>  the  niini^try- Chosen  agents- 
Basis  of  selection— Gifts  and  graie— Conviciion  of  duty  to  preacli  thor- 
ou-'hlv  e\  imiucd—Srveroly  tested— Incident— Sense  of  the  Divine  call 
posiiiVe  and  profound- Pernlexities  and  struggle— His  "farewell  to  the 
world"— I'reparat  on  for  the  ministrv— His  divinity  school— His  studies— 
G  es  to  1\  ar  Minit— 'li-i  call  te  =t  d"by  the  Church— Licensed  to  exhort 
— Th  •  fu.ic'jon  of  Cic  Church  i  i  inioisteri;J  imeslilure— Careless  excrci»e 
a.i  labii.,eof  it— The  intuitiou  of  the  Church  true- Licensed  to  preacli. 

CHAITUI  VL-G-TUXPY  Mission ;^. 95 

Ilis  lli-st  serm   a  at  Old  lielhleiieni— The  Dinner —Manner  of  ineachmg 

Varying    o|Uuions— <  )i  her    sermons— Kecommended    for   the    traveling 

Con. leclion— Called  to  the  Itin.rancv— Receivi'd  on  trial  in  Annual  Confer- 
ence-Appointment  to  t;ruiidv  .Mission— His  ouilit— Leave  taking— On 
liis  travel  t  >  fir-t  Circuit- Incident  of  a  Sunday  at  Fayette- His  lield  of 
lab  )!•- I're.iching  phn-es— His  acceiilal)illty  Life  in  cal)ins-Frontler 
t,..iv  Is— Vne(;d.ite  of  Ilis  morning  aljlutlons  — Privatimis  and  hardships— 
Fruits  of  h.s  l.ibor  Mrs.  Peery's  conversion— The  first  convert  of  his 
mi.iislry. 

CUAPTK  I  VH.— \i)MirTi;i>  Into  Fri.r,  Connection Ill 

I'he  fi.sttNHiference  attendt  <1  bv  him,  at .leflerson  City— Clothes— Home 
at  Jouference  -An  observer  of  the  body— .V  suggesthe  inculent  on  the 
wiy  to  Conference- I'he  session  to  him  a  .spiritual  fea<l— The  y^mging— 
H  s  exa  nin  tiou— Recolliclions  by  Kev.  J.  11.  HeailUe— Continued  on 
tri  il— Vd.l^ed  to  go  home  The  inciilent  related  by  Rev.  S,  G.  Patler- 
S...1— \n  e  .l-.)de— \ppointed  to  Orego.i  Mission— I'reaclimg  iilaces- lu- 
Ci  LmIs,  ihe  )■  .m.inc  ■  of  his  career— Ills  pay— Hard-hips- Lexington  Con- 
fe,-e  ice—  ast  down  — I  .cideni  related  by  Rev.  J.  C.  I'.erryman- TheCon- 
fe-.ic"  probation— I'he  AL-thodist  past(. rate— Examination  in  presence 
of  the  Conference— His  classmati!S-Thedcad—L.   s.   .Jacoby— 1).  Vi  .  I'ol- 

1  ic Ailmitted  into  full  connection— Ordained    deacon— Dramatic  luci- 

UJ.ils— I'rial  and  endurance— Launched  on  the  Itinerancy. 


CONTENTS.  5 

CHAPTER  TIIT.— Ttie  METiionisT  Pre.voiikr 131 

Liberty  Circuit— Tlie  ilinenint  .si)irit— His  iKir.sc— An  Indian  ]n>uy  ami 
his  tricli— Tlie  regulation  coat— Kales  of  a  ^readier— runcluulitv— Tlie 
broken  bridge  and  swollen  stream— Judged  by  tlie  ele\intli  rule,  "  to  save 
souls"— The  Methodist  inilpit— His  indust.'y— JMethods  and  motives  of 
work— Enterprise- The  Texas  ])reachei— '•  Uegions  beyond,"  a  thrilling 
incident— The  Quarterly  Conference  Record  of  Liberty  Circuit— In  the 
judicial  seat— The  forged  church- letter— The  disci|)linarian— "  Sense  and 
grace  "  —Poor  i)ay— The  unparalleled  stipend—"  How  did  he  get  along?  " 
—Incidents— The  itinerant  training  school— Self-educated  and  well- 
cducated— A  faithful  Son  of  the  Church— A  true  itinerant- A  Methodist 
Preacher. 

CILVPTEIl  IX.— Graduatkd  in  the  Ministry 165 

Fourth  Street  Station,  St.  Louis— Tlie  assistant  preacher— Trial  ser- 
mon—Dawning reputation— his  work— Incidents  and  anecdotes— Sup- 
plementary ministerial  training— Study  of  men— Student  of  nature— 
His  theory— Sayings— Experiences— Incidents— 15iioks—i  ollateral  studies 
—"We  tell  one  another"— The  Conference  curriculum— Kible- student 
—Habit;  and  mannerof  study— His  examination— Ordained  elder— Official 
honors— Incidents— His  life  a  cojjy  of  the  Pitual— Ordination  vows— The 
sworn  oflicer— A  letter— The  portrait  of  a  Methodist  preacher  drawn  by 
Marvin. 

CHAPTER  X.— At  Home I87 

The  Conference  session  of  184r>  at  Cohimbia-A  prominent  session- 
Signal  in  Marvin's  history— His  majority  in  years  and  in  the  Conference— 
A  Southern  IMethodist- A  married  man— The  i)reacher's  ^vife— Hariiet 
Brotherton  Clarke— Courtship— The  vow  of  itinerancy— Marriage— The 
preacher's  hou.-e— The  Marvin-home— An  itinerant's  h(inie-farm  and  its 
sale— Debt —"  Wife  is  fl.iancier"— Her  household  ai'imnistration— The 
children- Tlie  hne  for  his  family— Diary  records— Exi:o  during  the  war— 
Kecollections— Asylum  in  .Arkansa— The  Doty  home— The  McGehee 
"Ketreat"— Letter— Away  from  home  explained— The  family  govern- 
ment—His views— Principles— Ministers'  children— Training  at  a  Meth- 
odist parsonage— Letters  to  his  chihJren—Tlie  Home  Altar— The  House 
of  God— Household  of  Eaith-"  Paradise  of  Home." 

CHAPTER  XL— Hannibal  Station 214 

Conference  of  18t(i— Stationed  at  Hannibal— A  second  year- The  first 
station— His  adyaucement— In  the  order  of  the  Churcli— Oii  his  own  mer- 
its—Humilitj- — The  connection  of  Weston  and  liannilial  appointments 
—  Home  and  work  at  Weston— Mrs.  Marvin's  recollections— His  own 
— Came  to  Hannibal  in  debt— Ministerial  support— His  creed— His  ex- 
perience—Sacritice  and  exultation- Default  exemplified  and  reproved 
—A  Presiding  Elder's  financial  administration— The  argument— Testi- 
timonj-- The  Caples-Marvin  Avarning— Financial  embarrassment  at  Han- 
nibal explained— Deliverance— The  later  wisdom  and  better  rule— The 
wages  and  work  at  Hannibal— P.isliop  I'aine's  recollection.s— The  post  of 
honor— The  stag>.:s  of  his  public  life— Hannibal  Station  an  epoch. 
CHAPTER  XII. -EccT.ESiA.'^TicAT.  Relations 233 

Relations  to  other  Churches— Hiolory  and  governing  principles— The 
Churcliman  and  Christian— As  a  controversialist— Relish  for  contro- 
versy in  youth— Menial  idiosyncracy— Incident  to  the  times— His  contro- 
yer.sial  record— A  p(Jiiular  lea<lcr  cliallenge<l—"  Joining  the  Campbell- 
ite  Church" — An  unique  speech — His  second  i-ule  of  denominational 
fellowsliip— Undue  nuiltiiilication  of  sects— "  Hardshell  sermon"— His 
true  catholicity  of  spirit— Relations  to  the  Methodisms— His  record— A 
Southeru  Methodist. 

CHjVPTER  Xin.— From  1848  to  1853 '. 248 

The  Conference  at  Weston,  1848- Monticello  Circuit— The  Circuit 
Preacher— As  a  revivalist- A  remarkable  conversion— Pastoral  fidelity— 
"  Good  news  from  Aleck  Siniih  "—The  Disciplinarian — ^t.  Charles  Circuit 
—In  tlie  social  cinle— His  temper  ar.d  bearing— His  junior  preacher— Y 
round  on  the  Circuit— Palmyra  Station- Bereavements— H  is  family  set- 
tled at  "  the  Old  Place  '"- St.  Charles  District— The  Presiding  Elder— la 
Quarterly  Conference— At  (Quarterly  Meetings,  "  in  order  to  preach"— 
The  Danville  meeting— itemarkable  sermon— Richard  Bond— His  admin- 
istration—Tlie  lambs  of  the  flock— Testimony  and  tribute- Louisiana 
meeting— A  pastoral  visit  and  thrilling  incident— In  the  Bishop's  Cabinet 
— Pastor  of  jireacher.s- Presiding  Elder  tutored— The  prophecy  of  his  Pre- 
siding Elder's  reco.  d. 

CHAPTE R  XIV.— In  Conference 269 

Conference  relations — The  sessional  preaclier — A  stranger's  first  view 
of  his  pulpit— Honor  and  humility — Mental  poison — Laiinius'  funeral 
sermon — Occasional-preacher — "As  much  as  in  me  lies  " — Cainp-meet- 
ing-preacher — First  C'hurch-dedication- His  work  on  the  foundations — 
St.  Joseph  Station — General  Conference  delegate— At  Columlnis,  LSrU- 
The  Xashville  Conference — Last  appointments  in  old  Conference— Caples 
and  Marvin — The  College  speeches. 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X v.— COT.I.FGE  AGENT 282 

Tlie  rcpiilai- work— Always  cffcctivt — Cullctfi'  A;,^tMit — Tlio  Cluircli  and 
Schiiol — His  seiitiiiiciii  — siiiUiiifrly  illuslialcil— ('(ilicjrc.  I'li'sidoiify  DHi-rcd 
and  ik'cliiuMl— St.  Cliai-k's  Collr^'f— J.  II.  Fifldin^^  lirsi  I'l-csident — The 
('iillier  lj('(|U('sl  — .Kppointnu'iit  to  .Vjr''ncy — Its  wisdom — I'ledcces.sors — 
LiCadinj;  ralrons— .Success — I'.iblical  Scliool-IIis  tlicolofjical  profcssor- 
.sliip — I'irst  and  only  class  and  Icctu'c— The  K<Incalional  Convcnlion  in 
18.V2 — .Vii  ciiisode,  Capks  and  ^Marvin— blatiis  of  SI.  Charles  College — Ilis- 
toiical  lesson. 

CllAl'TKlt  XVI.— IV  St.  Louis 295 

Centenary  Chuich  "  to  bu  sui)j)lied  "— lUn-.  .James  Sewell— Mai-vin  his 
pucces.sor— Incidents  of  the  appoinlnient— His  transfer  to  the  St.  Loui.s 
Conference — .\iipointnu'nt  by  the  IJishdp  tii  that  Charge; — Tlie  situation 
—  Dr.  Uoyle  at  Fourth  Street  in  1S4'2  and  Mai-vin  at  Centenary  in  IS')5, 
similar  work  .separation  from  his  old  conference — Continued  as  Agent 
for  St.  Chai'les  College— 'I'he  sentiment  against  transfers  in  St.  l.oiiis 
Conference — Incidents — .Marvin  cordially  I'cceived — Conference  a.s.so- 
ciations — I'reaching — Work — Five  pei-  cent.  i)lan — I'.ook  Depository  en- 
dowment— Central  College -Cnited  .Mcihodisui  in  the  city— Church  ex- 
tension— City  Mission — I'reachers'  meeting. 

CHAPTKPt  XVII.— The  City  Pri.rrr 315 

His  appeaiancc— I'ulpit  mannerism— (  onduct  of  iiuhlic  worship— .\1  tar 
and  puli)il — I'ulpit  sens;itionalism — Cleiical  attire — .\necdot(;,  the  Phila- 
delpliia  Methodist — Tlie  visiting  brotlier  — .\necdotc,  the  si.  Louis  funeral 
procession — Incident  at  Glasgow,  the  jjulpit  suri)rise — Siiiritual  husban- 
dry—Hi.s  pulpit  adapted,  full  and  faithful — lis  revival  historv— At  Cen- 
tenary—At  Wesley  Chapel— .Xt  Cottleville— Goodfellow  Cha))cl  and 
IJellefontaine— The  great  revival  ut  First  Church  — lli.^  puli)it  fame — lle- 
niarkahle   testimony. 

CHAPTKK  XVIII.— City   Pastor 330 

The  City  Pastorate— "  The  plaint  of  the  door-bell  "—Incidents — Mis- 
cellaneous labors— Social  intercourse— Personal  i)opularity  — Pastoral 
visitation — Thu  laird's  \uinr — The  siik  bed— The  chamhcr  of  death — The 
widow's  grave — .\dniinisli-alion  of  discipline — The  ollicial  meeting — The 
uncartheci  talent — The  class-meeting— Nurture  of  convei-ts— Fluctuating 
membership- Statistics  of  City  (Jhurches— The  imjjartial  ministry — 
"  Honor  all  nien"--Xurture  of  the  young- The  SundayS(diool  room — 
The  study  of  the  situation — Lectures  on  Komanism — Their  pastoral 
character— Condition  of  society— Christian  activity-  Church  aggressive- 
ness—St.  Louis  pastorate  characterized— Testimonies. 

CIIAPTFU  XIX.— ARM Y  Lahoks 35T 

The  Arrow  Hock  Conference-Outbreak  of  the  War — Holding  over 
at  Centenary— (ioing  South- Reasons  for  it— Passing  through  the  lines — 
The  travel— Incidents— The  military  situation  at  the  South -Joins  Price's 
comm.'inil  at  (irenada — Calls  for"  his  ministrj-  -.\t  head'piartei's— Hi.s 
cam|)-lionu' — His  relation  to  the  army  jiurely  niinisterial  — Sui)eiintend- 
ent  of  army  chaplains — P.ishop  Paine's  (commission- ISroken  health —Kc- 
ligiou  in  the  aiinv — (Jreal  revivals— The  .\riny  Church  — Its  constitution 
and  creiMl  — liattle-lield  and  hospital— IJattle  of  Helena— Heroism  of 
army  chaplains. 

CHAPTKR  XX.    The  W a i;  In n i;k a i: v 38* 

War  times — .\djustiiient  of  his  ministry — His  jiersonal  relations  — 
Oath-taking— Political  oiiinions- Xon-political  ('hurcli  and  i)ul|iit — 
Army  diary— An  itinerant  evangelist- Woodville  Station— OIV  at  pro- 
tracted meetings  — .\  Sunday  at  Jackson  — Preaching  at  fjittle  Hock— At 
Jacksoniiort  — .V  iirayer-meetii  g  iiicident — .\t  Dt-s  Arc — Pastoral  visita- 
tion—Greenwood  —  Doty -home— I'reaching  excursions — At  Shrevepoi-t— 
Sermons  at  Marshall — .Vjiersonal  tribute. 

CHAPTKR  XXT.—MAitsHAi,T>  Station 409 

Alipointed  to  Marshall  Station- Joined  by  his  family— Their  journey— 
ISIrs.  .Marvin's  narrative— The  meeting  of  tlie  family— "On  the  roail — Inci- 
dents—Reuben  and  Sukey— .\t  the  Louisiana  (-'onference — Fast  Texas 
Conference  at  Jelferson— Tin;  Waco  (.'ontereiico— Third  visit  to  I.,ou- 
isiana  ConftMcnce- His  relation  to  S(.  Louis  Conference-Its  sessions 
resumed  in  isct  — Ucmained  in  the  South  at  .Marshall  — His  last  jjastoral 
charge  — .\.  characteristic  sentiment. 

CHAPTKR  XXII.- 1860 422 

The  General  Conference  at  New  Orleans— I'he  state  of  the  Church— 
The  .\diiress  of  the  IJishops— Strengthening  the  Kjiiscopacy- Action  of  the 
Conference— Klectirn  of  four  Pishops— His  nanu;  |ironiinent— Choice  of 
(he  West  — Proviflential  marks— Incidents  of  his  manifestation  to  the 
Church— The  ollice  not  souglil— The  vot(!  — .\rri\;il  at  New  Orleans  — First 
information  <>i  his  election  — Hesitation  to  acci'pl  the  ollice — Incidents — 
Ordaincii   Iiisho]i. 

CHAPTKR  .\XII1.— In  the  College  ok  Bishops 43T 

His  age  at    Consecration- -Personal  appearance— The   Episcopal  Col- 


CONTENTS .  < 

lege  of  Southern  jrelhoclism— Its  first  Western  Bishop— Providential 
nuinifestation— I'ersoiiiil  lelatioiis  in  tlio  College  ot  Hishojis— Tlie  his- 
tory of  liis  election  sclf-inlerpreting-IIis  views  on  tlie  Episcopal  olUce 
— Methodist  Episcoiiacy  at  the  Nortli  and  South— The  veto  jiower- Dr. 
Smitli's  SouIeMemorial  Sermon— The  Constitution  of  tlie  Church— Tes- 
timony of  the  Fathers— Constitutional  Episcopacy  tested  by  trial  and 
maintained  intact. 

CHAPTER  XXI v.— In  Texas 455 

Episco|)al  residence— First  round  of  Conferences— Indian  Mission 
Conference  saved— First  preaching— Funeral  Sermon  of  Gov.  Allen— 
Ante-railroad  travel  in  Texas— On  the  road— "  Charioteers  "—"  Co  and 
preach  "— Itoadside  dinner— llie  night  sojourn— Notes  by  the  way— First 
sail  on  a  sloop— The  insurance  agent— Texas  sense— Quarterage-bacon 
—At  Conference— Religious  tone  of  sessions— On  guard  to  i>urily  of  the 
Church -Three  sessions  of  Northwest  Texas— Division  of  Conferences — 
Transfers— East  Texas  Conference— Organized  Colored  Conference- 
Two  (Jonfcrences  held  at  once— Tlie  German  Work— Reminiscences  of 
War  Itinerary— New  Churcli  at  Galveston  dedicated— Texas  Cohference 

Educational  AVork— Publishing  Interests— West    Texas— Revival— First 
Conference    pulpit— Mexican    Border    Mission— Hernandez-Missionary 
platform  -After  Conference  labors— Testimonial. 
CHAPTER  XXV.— On  tfie  Pacific  Coast 479 

The  vovage  on  ocean  and  return  by  rail— Experience  at  sea— Ac 
quaintances-By  boat  and  stage  to  Columbia  Conference— Shasta— "  The 
Teuton  "—Old  friends  and  former  companions  in  labors— '1  he  session 
of  Conference— "Oregon  crossed  from  side  to  side  "—The  next  session- 
Projected  preaching  tour— Sick--"  Went  as  long  as  I  could  "—Pacific 
Conferenc!  at  Sacramento— The  next  session— Address  at  opening- 
Characteristics  of  the  man  and  oflicer -Preaching  Prelate— Sheaves— 
Official  communication  to  the  College  of  Bishops— Sabbath-year— Fruits 
of  Visitation- Seven  years  afterwards— Last  words  to  Preachers  of  Pa- 
cific Coast. 
CHAPTER  XXVI.— On  The  Atlantic  Seaboard 498 

From  Ocean  to  Ocean— Baltimore  Conference— Its  proceedings— Pul- 
pit and  platform— Commencement  Sermon  at  Staunton— At  Washington- 
Lee  Universitv— The  Guest  of  Gen.  Lee— The  prayer-meeting  and  the 
banquet  hall— N'otes  of  travel  East— Punctuality  illustrated— The  eye  of 
Bishop  and  tourist  exemi)lifled— Ministerial  vacation— Leave-taking  of 
the  Vallev— The  Ilundred-years-old  Church- The  Natural  Bridge— A 
sketch  by 'Lattertv— At  Washington  City— Seruions  at  Alexandria— Wes- 
ley Grove  Camp— The  Winchester  Conference— A  Monograph  by  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Rodgers  — Virginia  and  the  Caroliuas. 

CILVPTER,  XXVII  —In  the  Mountains •  • 51T 

Itinerancy— Preaching  on  the  way-Fort  Bridger— The  stage-ride— 
Mountain-drives— At  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri-Missourians— His 
Continental  travels— Montana  Methodism— Its  founder— The  Missionary 
Bishoi)— Western  Conference— First  visitation  in  1871— Preaching  tour— 
The  informal  Conference— Brother  Stateler's  quartcrage-The  Montana 
Conference— Second  visitation— Sermons-Church  dedications— A  last  let- 
ter— Montana  on  his  heart. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.  —From  the  Ohio  to  the  Gulf 533 

Soutiiern  Methodism  in  the  Nortli— A  first  re|)resentalive— From  across 
"  the  old  line"— The  Paltimore  Conference— The  Christian  Union— The 
Compact  of  1844-Organizatioii  and  growth  of  Illinois  Conference-Visita- 
tions and  labors-  Intere.-tin  thatConference— Letter  of  Bishop  Andrew— 
Tlie  Indiana  Conference— Northward  movement  of  the  Church,  South- A 
in-ophecv-The  West  Viginia  Conference— The  Conference  in  Louisiana 
—A  post-bellum  visit— Condition  of  the  Conferences— "  Disintegration 
and  absiirption  "— "  Stanton-Ames  order  "—"The  Government  not  run- 
ning- the  Churches"— Andrew  Johnson's  oider— Abraham  Linc(dn'8 
record— The  order  an  offense  to  brethren  of  ihe  Northern  C'hurch— Bish- 
op Marvin's  strictures— The  colored  peo]ile  of  the  South— C^onferences  at 
Minden  and  at  Baton  Rouge- Personalities— An  heirloom  of  Methodist 
Episcopacy,  the  McKendree  watch-seal  -Love-tokens— The  lapsis  htigucB 
and  its  significfluce-Stauding  and  labors  in  the  Gulf  States. 

CHAPTKR  XXIX.— The  Conference  President • 552 

Bishop  Marvin's  Prentice  hand  in  the  Chair— Qualities  as  Chairman— An 
estimate  by  the  oldest  surviving  Missouri  irineraiit— Testimony  from  the 
Gulf  Stales  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard— The  platform-Addre.s.s  to  can- 
didates and  ordination  service— Scenes  at  Conferences  in  Alabama— 
The  Missionary  speech-The  charge  to  the  preachers  at  residing  our  ap- 
pointments—The stationing-room-Planning  the  work— Bishop  Soule  s 
policy-Supply  of  the  city  pulpit— "  Local  itinerancy"  deplored— Ihe 
integrity  of  the  economv  of  Methodist  itinerancy— Just  and  sympa- 
thet?c-Painstaking-Burden  of  responsibility-The  pvilpit--Notable 
occasions— At  Tennessee  Conference  -At  Atlanta,  Ga.— In  Alabama- 
Chief  sermons—"  The  Church  the  Uride  of  Christ." 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTKU    XXX— AS    ruEACHEH ...........o69 

Ihe  inilpU  and  llie  j.indv— "  ComitellC'l  to  stu<ly"— Metliod-Liml 
lirouKluini's  ihei)rv— Daiiifl  Uchsler's  mflliod— "  rrepurcd  iiiii)ic'|>ared- 
„c<s"— ••  Libertv""— Tliu  i;il)le  in  ilii!  -  tudy— Godliness  m  the  puliiil— 
Closet  and  ineachei's  desk-rreacluMl  out  of  Ins  exiieiience— •'Tlie 
dynamics  of  the  Gospel"— The  prevalenl  pulpil— 'IIk^  Imrden  of  souls— 
Faith  in  his  Gospel— Manner  in  pulpit— The  slunmg  face— \  oiee  in 
preai'hiii'r— •' My  muinma  is  dead  "— "  Kloi,  Kloi,  J.ania  Sabachlhani"— 
J'nlpit  action— Svdnev  Smith's  rule — Jonathan  Kd\\  aids— w  esley  and 
Willi licld—tienuine  ieeliiij,'— Honest  rhetoric— Eniharrassment  of  self- 
con>ciousness  managed- Sense  of  self-importance  regulated- An  "itch- 
ing ear"-"  The  manufacturer"— Before  God,  "  dust  aud  ashes." 
CII  \PTE K  X X XI .—Tn E  rRKACHING 587 

Travel  in  order  to  preach-Tlie  District  Confercnce-Tlie  business  rou- 
tine-Keligious  services  prominent— The  preaching— Mis  jiulpit— Its 
,l„.„,es— Censor  ami  reformer— A  Methodist  iiulpit—.V  Gospel  of  immor- 
tality-Revival pulpit— Sketches  of  Seriiioiis— After- meeting— Teaching 
by  parable— The  Texan  wife— The  scarred  hand— Christ  a  rock— Tenl- 
lireaching. 
ClIAPTEU  XXXir.— In  I.Ai'.oitS  More  Aisundant • 601 

Intervals  of  Conference  sessions— A  i'.ishop's  Circuit— Headquarters  in 
tlie  ticld— Kxtra-ollicial  labors-A  Mason  and  Odd  Fellow— Addresses- 
Temperance  advocate— A  debate— Lectures-  Church  dt<licatioiis— The 
Church  domiciled— Cliurch  builder— The  lloll^e^lf  Worship  at  Scdalia— 
At  Mexico- At  Memphis— I'he  modern  lla;.gai- I'rotestan'ism  and  aichi- 
tcclure-The  Cathedral  Chuicli  of  Soulliern  >letbodists— 1  ledication  at 
Erownsville— An  examiile-AtNew  Floi;ence—"  No  debt  "—The  collection 

Nerve  force-Dedication  sermons— Mi>ncy  value— (^mservatism  of  real 

estate     titles— Camp    meetings— Monroe     camp-ground—"  The     Marym 
Camp  "—Red    Oak— Seashore    Kncaminnent— w  esley    Grove— Preaching 
tour— Pleasant  Hill  to  IS eosho— College  commencements— Books-"  ilard 
at  work  and  happy  in  it." 
CHAPTKU  XXXIII.— Pastor  of  tiii;  People 028 

"Traveling  at  large  among  the  i)eo)ile  "—Wayfarer  and  sojourner-- 
AVelcouie  guest— Christ ianfiHn\\>hii)-- The  Gospel  of  the  Fireside- -Par- 
lor-i)reacliiiig--VisilJiig  from  lioii^c-  to  house-  -The  Cluircli-Fireside--'I  lie 
Kuplial-P.ishop  Pascom's  seiil  iineiit  - -The  lirst  iiiariiage  ceieiiiony--'J'he 
liapti-iiial  Font--Miiiistrv  to  Childreii-The  Child  spirit  in  liim--Preach- 
ing  to  Childre..--Names;ikes--At  thesick  bed-The  Pier   and  the  Grave. 

CHAPTKK  XXXIV.--T11E  Press  and  the  Schooi (^2 

"  He  being  dead,  vet  speaketh  "-■"  Wisdom  and  knowledge  shall  be  the 
stability  of  thy  tiiiies  and  the  strength  of  salvation." 

CIIAPTKIt  XXXV. -As  A  ]\rAN • •■ *>'^ 

In  the  s cial  cii(de--social  cpialities--Given  to  liospitalily--At  table-- 
Tabletalk-Storvof  spirit-rai))iiiigs  -The  Arkansas  fanner-Andrew  Mon- 
roe's slumber-  The  lianMn-ll  sermon  -Humor- -Sobriety-Tlie  Man  of 
God-  Tone  of  T'ielv- -  Fxperiiiienlal  godliness  -Faith  and  coiisecralion-- 
Testimonv-The  I.iind  of  P.eulah-- Fellowship  and  friendships- -"  Fover  of 
good  meii  "--I'eisonal  force-  Authority  of  character  -lllustrations-- 
l';pis(;o|(al  residence- -St.  Charles  College  Fndowiiient-Nalural  traits-- 
(;raiitiide--(;enerosity--Use  of  money  - -Huniility--Simplicity  and  sin- 
cerity--Personal  magnetism-  -  '  Reliold  the  jMan." 

CHAPTKU  XXXVI  -  - 1870  isvf, •  ■ 70<> 

TlietuMie'-al  Confeieiice  of  ISTOand  1S71- -Measures  of  public  iiolicy-- 
Theological  education  -  Denominational  schools  -  His  ar;;iiiiienl--Gen. 
Lee's  testiinoiiv--The  College  ill  bis  dving  liand-The  itinerancv--Pas- 
loral  term— Lav  representation-- An  iiicideiit  -  -  IJelations  of  the  two 
American  Koiscopal  Methodisms- -Formal  fraternity . -Fraternal  Messen- 
ger to  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference--Soiitlierii  Methodist  .Missions- 
Tlie  home  work-  Foreign  fields- -China  visitation- -Kxploration  of  Heath- 
endom- ■"  The  whole  world  converted  to  Christ." 

CHAPTKU  XXXV1I.--IHS  Missioxarv  Tour  around  the  ■World 741 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. --IN  MISSOURI- -LAST  Days '"I 

IN  MEMoUIAM.-The  Burial,  Home  and  Monument "•'" 

A DDREss  AT  Dedication  of  M(^nument ^0;5 

Memorial  Triultes 

At  Meini)his  Conference ^y 

At  North  Carolina  Conferenci; ^}f_ 

At  the  (jciieral  Conference,  1S78 ^\'> 

Kecollections,  bv  I'p.  U.  Paine,  I).  D »2n 

As  Methodist  Preacher,  bv  Pp.  (i.  F.  Pierce n^S 

Missionary  Tour— Lines  by  Bp.  J.  C.  Keener »-S 


INTRODUCTION. 


To  REPRODUCE  and  study  at  leisure  the  features  of  a 
good  mail's  life,  is  one  of  the  purest  pleasures  of  every  no- 
ble mind.  Besides  the  interest  that  is  taken  in  the  steps 
by  which  any  great  success  has  been  achieved,  there  is  a 
special  desn-e  to  understand  and  imitate  any  one  who  is  be- 
lieved to  have  surely  gained  Heaven. 

Immediately  upon  the  death  of  Bishop  Marvin  it  was  the 
universal  wish  that  a  career  so  marked  as  his  was  for  public 
usefulness,  and  a  universal  sympathy  with  everything  that 
properly  belonged  to  his  race,  should  be  gathered  up  and 
put  in  permanent  form  ;  hence  the  present  volume. 

The  selection  of  Dr.  Finney  by  the  family  of  Bishop 
Marvin  as  his  Biographer  has  been  heartily  approved  by  the 
Church,  as  the  one  of  all  others  best  fitted  to  discharge  this 
labor  of  love,  from  his  intimate  association  as  w^ell  as  from 
thorough  personal  and  professional  sympathy  with  the  Bish- 
op during  his  ministerial  career,  both  before  and  after  his 
election  to  the  Episcopacy.  The  wisdom  of  the  selection 
will  be  fully  acknowledged  by  the  reader  of  this  biography. 

Bishop  Marvin,  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  stepped  on 
the  stage  of  life — of  a  great  life,  as  it  proved  to  be  ;  but  the 
Holy  Spirit  had  already  enriched  and  filled  the  highest  parts 
of  his  being  with  many  noble  qualities,  and,  thus  "  led,"  his 
development  went  steadily  forward  to  the  very  last  of  his 
career.     The  Methodist  Itinerancy,  with  its  training,  found 


10  IJISIIOP  MARVIN. 

ill  liiiu  an  apt  scholar;  it  kept  him  in  active  employment, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  he  was  not  to  be  diverted  from  his 
first  allegiance  to  its  obligations.  This  first  proper  move- 
ment of  his  opening  life  insured  all  the  rest.  He  "was  true 
to  this  service  :  he  souii:ht  oniv  this  ;  no  solicitations  "svere 
heeded  to  turn  aside  to  business  or  honor,  either  before,  or 
(lining,  or  after  the  war.  He  would  not  be  entangled  in 
the  affairs  of  this  life. 

His  controversy  with  the  Romanists  opened  to  him  a  new 
field  and  was  fraught  personally  Avith  important  results.  It 
gave  him  the  use  of  the  pen,  showed  and  cultivated  polem- 
ical power,  and  gave  prominence  to  his  a])ility  before  the 
Church. 

At  the  opening  of  the  war  the  divided  opinion  of  Mis- 
souri and  the  fierceness  of  those  avIio  stood  bj'  the  Northern 
States  forced  him  to  choose  openly  between  the  cause  of  the 
South  and  that  of  the  North.  He  chose  the  former.  Ho 
niaintiiined  his  citizenship  as  St.  Paul  did  his.  This  he  did 
at  all  hazard.  No  one  loved  home  more  dearly  than  he  ; 
yet  when  he  had  to  choose  between  his  principles  and  his 
home,  he  went  into  exile.  For  three  years  he  preached  in 
the  armv  and  amon<»;  the  Churches  of  the  South.  Gen. 
Sterling  Price  was  his  personal  friend  ;  in  his  command  he 
dischai'ired  faithfullv  the  offices  of  a  chai)lain,  and  through- 
out  the  Western  Division  he  preached  to  vast  numbers  of 
armed  men  in  camp,  by  torchlight,  as  well  as  on  the  Sab- 
l)ath.  He  made  friends  everywhere  in  Arkansas,  Missouri, 
Texas,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana.  It  was  his  visit  to  the 
Texas  Conferences  during  his  chaplaincy,  in  aid  of  the  work 
in  the  aniiv,  which  gave  those  Conferences  the  opportunity 
of  knowin"- his  fitness  for  anv  work  within  the  raiiue  of  a 
Methodist  preacher. 

He  was  elected  to  th*}  Episcopacy  while  on  his  way  to 
New  Orleans,  on  the  river.  The  day  of  his  election  he  felt 
so  distinct  an  impression  of  the  event  that  when  he  arrived 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

at  New  Orleans,  and  was  first  told  of  the  fact,  he  replied  : 
"I  know  it.''  In  this  new  field  of  usefulness  which  his 
election  had  opened  he  appeared  to  great  advantage.  His 
powers  were  all  of  God  and  for  God  ;  he  felt  as  if  no  labor 
was  too  much,  no  call  upon  his  sympathy  too  wide  ;  he  be- 
lono-ed  to  the  Church.  He  assumed  nothing  ;  there  was  no 
reserv'e  by  which  men  in  high  office  frequently  fence  them- 
selves, no  patronizing  sufficiency  in  his  intercourse  with 
others  ;  but  eas}^  unpretentious,  communicative,  he  was  ac- 
cessible equally  to  all.  In  the  spirit  and  manner  of  his 
official  work  he- was  quiet,  patient,  thorough  ;  neither  seek- 
ing nor  avoiding  responsibility  ;  slow  in  coming  to  a  decis- 
ion, but  clear  and  firm  in  its  maintenance.  Grace  and 
nature  united  in  giving  to  his  person,  voice  and  countenance 
an  interesting  and  commanding  expression.  It  was  most 
ao-reeable  to  listen  to  his  words  and  tones,  and  to  follow  the 
clear  anah^sis  of  his  theme  and  the  apt  language  in  which  he 
presented  it.  In  one  respect  he  was  troubled  no  little  :  in 
the  temptation  to  come  up  to  public  expectation  upon  great 
occasions.  He  had  no  desire  for  himself  to  be  accounted  a 
great  preacher,  but  he  knew  that  his  brethren  felt  a  solici- 
tude, not  to  say  pride,  in  the  success  of  their  chief  pastor 
upon  the  important  Sabbath  hour  of  the  Conference.  And 
to  rise  above  all  such  secondary  incitement  in  the  great 
work  of  his  Master  was  to  him  a  matter  of  concern  and 
much  prayer — to  preach  to  multitudes  in  the  simplicity  of 
the  Gospel  as  if  but  a  handful,  and  to  a  mere  handful  with 
all  the  strength  of  his  soul. 

His  life  was  now  practically  not  only  that  of  a  Chief  Su- 
IDcrintendent,  hut  that  of  a  chief  pastor.  He  visited  and 
prayed  with  the  people.  He  loved  to  turn  from  presiding 
over  Conferences  to  the  greater  work  of  winning  souls. 
Revival  meetings,  and  songs  and  the  altar  were  the  atmos- 
phere in  which  he  took  the  deepest  inspiration,  and  where 
he  gave  most  delight  to  the  Church,  even  as  her  Bishop. 


12  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

The  production  of  "  Tlie  Worlc  of  CJirist  "  is  to  be  set 
down  to  the  period  of  his  chiiphiincy — the  thoughts  if  not 
the  fruits  of  ("iiup  lif(\  A\'hen  few  books  were  :it  hand,  he 
eniiiloycMl  his  mind  upon  the  great  problems  of  revoalcd 
truth.  Then  foUowcd  his  '■^  Life  of  CapJes,''^  u  book  which 
showed  a  remarkal)le  memory  for  words  and  events,  for  he 
scarcely  had  a  letter-sheet  of  materials  furnished  him  out  of 
which  to  construct  it.  It  was  a  work  of  love.  The  suffer- 
inirs  of  those  who  were  true  to  the  Confederate  cause  in 
Missouri  are  here  portrayed,  and  the  life  and  death  of  a  no- 
ble spirit.  Caples  had  said,  while  preaching  in  the  town  of 
Mexico  :  "  Take  away  my  life,  and  I  "will  raise  a  shout  on 
the  other  shore  that  will  astonish  the  angels;"  and  wlicn 
dvinir — from  the  fragment  of  a  shell — he  said:  "I  shall 
soon  be  on  tlie  other  shore.  *  *  O,  what  gain  ! — 

«;ainin<>- — jraiiiing — gaininix  !  " 

Next  appeared  his  book  of  "  Sermons,''  a  faithful  re- 
i:)roduction  of  what  had  been  uttered  in  the  pulpit  to  the 
delight  and  edification  of  the  Avhole  Church. 

It  was  to  him  a  very  unlooked  for  turn  in  the  events  of 
life,  when,  passing  through  the  Golden  Gate  of  the  Pacific, 
he  found  himself  on  the  Missionary  highway  of  the  Church, 
traveling,  as  St.  Panl,  when  led  l)y  the  Holy  Ghost,  steadily 
westward.  Like  the  Apostle,  he  too  was  on  shipboard,  but 
movinf  by  steam — surpassing  in  method  that  first  Mission- 
ary  vovage,  from  Seleucia  to  Salamis.  (Oh,  if  the  Apostle 
had  had  steam!)  I'or  this  unlooked  for  providence  his 
mind  had  been  unwittingly  pre[)ared.  At  the  AVest  Texas 
Conference  in  l'S72,  a  man  sent  forth  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
from  the  then  hoix'less  region  of  Mexico,  ai)peared  in  search 
of  the  ]M.  E.  Church,  South  ;  a  man  looking  for  Christ,  wiio 
found  the  Savior  and  the  Southern  Methodist  Church  very 
nearly  at  the  same  time.  At  that  Conference  Bishop  INIar- 
vin  presided,  and  his  soul  was  stirred  to  its  depths  by  the 
appearance  and  history  of  Hernandez;  and  wdien,  the  year 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

following,  he  was  placed  in  the  City  of  INIexico  and  the  work 
there  begun,  the  Bishop  said  that  he  could  not  help  envying 
those  who  were  permitted  to  share  in  that  enterprise.  Pre- 
vious to  this  he  had  taken  upon  himself  to  sustain  by  appeal 
to  the  Churches  the  Indian  preachers,  and  by  his  prompt 
and  generous  efforts  had  saved  that  work  from  serious  in- 
jury. The  proposition  to  visit  China  had  been  matter  of 
jjersonal  conference  between  us  in  Missouri.  No  doubt 
from  that  time  his  heart  revolved  the  matter  until  he  desired 
to  go.  The  College  of  Bishops  most  wisely  determined 
that  of  their  body  he  was  the  fittest  man  for  this  enterprise. 
He  said  when  nominated  :  "  I  confess  that  thouo'h  I  had  not 
expected  it,  I  am  by  no  means  unwilling,  but  would  rather 
prefer  to  go."  It  was  a  mission  worthy  of  him  ;  he  caught 
inspiration  from  it ;  could  he  not  serve  his  Lord  by  this  la- 
bor? His  frail  constitution  must  have  presented  itself  in 
the  solution,  but  all  the  heroism  of  love  for  his  Lord  rallied 
to  the  purpose.  His  letters  indicate  the  martial  fire  which 
enthused  him  when  he  cauo;ht,  at  the  si2:ht  of  the  stronii'- 
holds  of  Satan,  those  dark  plains  where  only  Buddha  and 
Brahma  are  worshipped.  To  this  add  the  pity  with  which  he 
saw  souls  "  sold  for  nought,"  which  had  once  commanded 
the  price  of  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God.  Then  there  came 
up  to  his  soul  the  lethargy  of  his  own  Church,  when  he  saw 
what  other  Churches  were  doing  in  the  field  of  tlie  w^orld, 
until  his  cheek  and  brow  burned  with  holy  indignation.  O, 
could  he  but  have  lived  long  enough  to  ring  forth  upon 
the  Missionary  platform  all  that  he  felt ! — the  rage  of  his 
love  for  men — we  should,  may  be,  have  thought  that  too 
much  religion  and  travel  had  made  him  mad  ;  but  if  "  be- 
side himself"  it  was  "  to  God." 

Bishop  Marvin  was  a  true  man — true  to  his  original 
spiritual  impulse  when  converted.  He  sifted  his  soul  daily 
of  all  mere  earthly  aims  and  motives.  By  daily  prayer  he 
sought  holiness  of  heart — to  displace  self  and  the  thought 


14  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

of  self  by  the  life  and  thought  of  his  Lord.  Inheriting  a 
constitution  that  indicated  an  early  death,  a  sense  of  nior- 
tality  pervadccl  liis  mind  and  left  its  traee  of  sadness  upon 
the  habitual  expression  of  his  face  and  life.  His  deep  sym- 
pathy Avith  all  conditions  and  persons  led  him  into  regions 
of  i)ublic  sentiment  that  few  public  speakers  yenture  upon. 
He  did  not  hesitate  to  present  to  an  audience  the  most  sa- 
cred relations  and  incidents  of  life,  -which  he  did  in  language 
as  proper  as  the  theme  "was  eleyating  and  tender.  Only  the 
readiest  and  nicest  command  of  speech  could  safely  attempt 
that  Avhich  he  so  easily  and  charmingly  accomplished. 
Usually  the  delicate  bloom  of  home  joys  and  home  life  can- 
not be  displayed  in  public  -without  risk  of  injury  ;  but  he 
could  preserve  all  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  this  heavenly 
Eden  while  opening  its  doors  to  the  modest  gaze. 

His  unselfish  spirit  was  evidenced  in  his  admiration  for 
good  men,  and  for  all  good  in  all  men.  A  friend  might  be 
sure  of  all  he  had  or  could  command  of  snl)stance  or  of 
love.  He  lived  for  others — how  he  loved  his  home,  his 
wife  and  children,  Heaven  and  his  closet  alone  can  witness. 
But  that  which  stamped  his  face  and  carriage,  his  voice  and 
soul,  his  person  in  public  and  private,  with  such  sweet  dig- 
nity and  magnetic  power,  was  his  daily  and  hourly  "  fel- 
lowship Mitli  the  Father  and  Avith  His  Son  Jesus  Christ." 
The  friendship  of  God  and  Christ  was  to  him  as  the  friend- 
ship of  a  man.  The  love  of  God  and  the  i)ersonal  sympa- 
thy of  Christ,  his  dying  Lord,  his  living  Kedeemer,  were 
the  constant  thought  of  his  experience,  the  reality  of  his 
existence,  and  the  breath  of  his  spirit.  This  noblest  aspira- 
tion of  an  immortal  nature  was  the  strength  of  his  inner 
life,  and  gave  shape  to  the  life  without.  It  gave  him  the 
art  of  being  loved.  It  enabled  him  to  penetrate  the  dis- 
guise which  in  the  parable  had  perplexed  equally  the  right- 
eous and  the  wicked,  and  to  see  his  Lord  in  the  person  of 
every  one  who  needed  meat,  or  drink,  or  sympathy.     So 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

that  every  household  welcomed  him  as  a  relative,  and  every 
youth  and  maideu,  every  saint  and  sinner  of  his  acqaintance 
felt  him  to  be  a  personal  friend.  To  godliness  he  added 
brotherly  kindness,  and  to  brotherly  kindness  charity.  He 
grew  up  "  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 

He  was  the  full  statement  of  the  Avortli  of  the  Itinerant 
school  to  make  or  mar  a  preacher.  He  neither  copied  mas- 
ters nor  had  the  manner  of  the  school-room.  He  preached 
rather  than  taught.  The  Gospel  was  vital  in  him,  and  was 
delivered  with  an  unction  that  convicted  and  persuaded 
men.  His  words,  tones  and  thouohts  all  blended  in  his 
ministration  with  sentiments  which  properly  belonged  both 
to  the  man  and  the  Minister.  He  spake  as  a  man  among 
men  to  men.  Language  was  with  him  a  gift  of  extraordi- 
nary power  ;  the  syllables  which  held  so  much  persuasion 
weighed  to  the  ear  as  well  as  portrayed  to  the  eye  the  ex- 
actest  shade  of  thought  and  feeling.  His  analysis  was  pro- 
found and  his  arrangement  was  suited  to  the  most  ordinary 
capacity  ;  he  anticipated  nothing,  and  yet  placed  at  once  in 
the  possession  of  the  hearer  the  scheme  of  his  discourse  or 
the  object  of  a  sentence.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  rest  in  his 
periods;  not  too  profound,  not  too  superficial.  His  dis- 
courses sprang  from  the  depth  of  sentiment  which  he  had 
found  in  the  text,  as  well  as  from  the  depth  of  its  thought. 
He  had  reason  enough  and  fancy  enough,  but  the  soul  of  his 
theme  concerned  him  mainly.  His  perorations  taxed  all  the 
wealth  of  his  powers  and  laid  open  his  very  heart  before  the 
audience.  The  Cross,  the  "  Eloi,  Lama  Sabacthani "  of 
his  Lord,  were  the  favorite  study  of  his  soul  and  burden  of 
his  preaching. 

He  had  many  seals  to  his  ministry.  He  carried  all  our 
hearts  with  him  round  the  round  world  ;  he  imao-ined  our- 
selves  Avith  him  by  field  and  flood,  and  now — that  he  has 
moved  on  yet  farther,  we  go  with  him  into  "  The  land  that 


1(,  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

is  afar  off,  where  the  King  sits  in  his  beauty."     O,  who  will 
catch  his  inspiration  and  take  the  stamp  of  liis  Missionary 

exit ! 

John  C.  Keener. 

New  Orleans,  xVugust  4th,  1879. 


V 


CHAPTEE     I. 


HIS    ANCESTRY. 

The  American  branch  of  the  Marvin  familj'— Its  founders— Emigration  to 
America — Among  first  settlers  of  Hartford  and  other  towns  in  Con- 
necticut— Social  position  and  public  services— Colonial  wars  and  War 
of  Independence— Characteristics  of  the  family— Their  jnigrations — 
Direct  line  of  descent  from  Reinold  traced  through  242  j-ears — Lieut. 
.  Eeinold— "Lyme's  Captain"— The  Mather  family — Intermarriages 
with  the  Marvins — An  honorable  line  of  ancestry. 

•N  antiquarian,  who  was  occupied  in  the  year  1842  with 
^  searching  for  materials  to  illustrate  the  early  annals 
of  New  England,  found  a  MS.  volume,  in  folio,  in  one  of  the 
offices  of  the  Record  Commissioners,  Westminster  Hall, 
London,  which  the  discoverer  says  may  not  have  been  seen 
by  more  than  two  or  three  persons  for  two  hundred  years. 
It  contains  the  names  of  persons  permitted  to  embark  for 
America,  at  the  port  of  London,  after  Christmas,  1634. 
Under  date  "15th  April,"  1635,  is  an  entry  of  a  list  of  per- 
sons by  the  name  of  Marvin,  with  the  note  prefixed  :  "To  be 
transported  to  New  England,  imbarqued  in  the  Increase, 
Robert  Lea,  master."  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Amer- 
ican branch  of  the  Marvin  family.  At  its  origin,  it  consisted 
of  two  brothers,  Matthew  and  Reinold,  with  their  families, 
and  an  unmarried  sister,  Hannah.  Of  her  history  there  is  only 
the  record  of  her  marriage  to  Francis  Barnard,  at  Hartford, 
Conn.,  in  1644  ;  her  removal  thence  to  Hadley,  Mass.,  and 

2 


18  BISHOP   MAKVIN. 

hor  cloath  in  1G7G.  The  first  loctitioii  of  llic  faiiiily  avjis  at 
Hartford,  of  wliich  tlic  two  Ijrothors  were  aiDonjj:  the  oriixi- 
iial  settlers  and  "were  hmd-owners.  The  location  is  known 
of  Matthew's  residence,  on  the  corner  of  Villaire  and  Front 
Streets.  At  a  date  previous  to  1054:  he  removed  from 
Hartford  and  became  one  of  the  pioneers  in 'the  settlement 
of  Norwalk,  where  he  died,  in  1680,  in  his  80th  year. 
Eeinold  removed  from  Hartford  to  Farminiiton,  and  "was 
probably  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  that  town.  His  place 
of  residence  is  described  as  ''  a  prominent  home-lot,  having 
Mr.  Willis,  of  Hartford,  on  one  side,  and  INIr.  Hopkins  on 
the  other;  it  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  INIain  Street." 
The  town  records  report  the  sale  of  this  propert}^,  on  which 
he  had  built  a  new  house,  with  other  lands,  in.  the  year 
1048,  when  he  removed  to  Saybrook,  and  settled  in  that 
part  of  the  town  Ij'ing  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Connecticut 
River,  and  which,  in  the  division  of  the  town  in  1GG5,  was 
named  L3'me.     There  he  died,  in  1GG2. 

B}""  marriage  the  family  became  allied  in  the  most  re- 
specta]:)le  connections,  and  with  names  which  are  historic 
in  the  early  annals  of  New  England,  and  arc  still  extant 
in  distinguished  walks  of  life.  The  INIarvin  name  appears, 
also,  well  established  in  good  reputation  in  the  history 
of  the  Colonies  and  of  the  Revolutionar}^  War.  The  origi- 
nal progenitors,  it  has  been  seen,  were  founders  of  com- 
munities. Matthew  was  representative  of  Norwalk  in  the 
General  Court,  in  1G54.  Subsequently,  the  same  office  was 
filled  by  two  sons,  successively,  and  by  a  grandson.  Record 
is  frequent  of  public  service  in  nmnicipal  and  legislative 
councils,  and  in  the  military,  as  well  as  the  civil  service, 
from  the  days  of  the  Indian  and  French  wars  in  the  Colonial 
times,  down  to  the  war  of  1812.  In  the  first  generation 
there  is  a  Lieut.  Marvin ;  in  the  next,  the  famous  "  Lyme's 
Captain  ;"  later,  a  General,  and  one,  "  killed  in  a  skirmish 
with  the  Indians   on  the   Susquehannah."     In  the  War  of 


HIS  ANCESTRY. 


19 


Independence,  the  house  of  a  Marvhi,  at  Nonvalk,  was  the 
headquarters  of  his  brother  officers  ;  two  others  received 
honorable  mention  and  recognition  for  important  services 
rendered  ;  still  another,  on  the  approach  of  the  British 
to  retake  Crown  Point  and  Ticondcroga,  at  the  call  of  Col. 
Arnold  for  reinforcements,  raised  a  company  of  young 
men  of  his  acquaintance,  and  advanced  the  money  for  its 
equipment,  supplies  and  pay.  In  the  war  of  1812,  a 
Captain  Marvin  acquitted  himself  with  "gallantry  and 
credit." 

During  the  present  century,  and  in  the  present  genera- 
tion, descendants  are  found  in  useful  and  eminent  stations — 
in  the  halls  of  Congress,  at  the  Bar  and  on  the  Bench  ;  one, 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  iSew  York,  and  an- 
other', of  the  United  States  District  Court  for  Florida,  They 
are  on  the  roll  of  the  alumni  of  colleges,  one  a  graduate  of 
Yale  as  early  as  in  the  class  of  1748,  Mho  became  a  lawyer 
at  Litchfield,  and  among  distinguished  connections  by 
marriao-e  is  the  present  President  of  that  venerable  institu- 
tion. In  tracing  the  Genealogical  Sketch  of  this  family,  it 
is  evident  by  every  token  that,  from  the  beginning,  it  occu- 
pied the  front  rank  of  sul)stantial  citizenship,  and  Avas  held 
in  high  honor  ;  its  daughters  cultured  women  and  goodly 
matrons,  and  its  sons  gifted  and  upright,  industrious 
and  thrifty,  public-spirited,  adventurous  and  brave,  at- 
taining to  prominence,  and,  in  many  instances,  to  rare 
eminence. 

It  has  been  noted  that  the  two  brothers  removed  from 
Hartford,  Matthew  to  Norwalk,  and  Rcinold  to  Saybrook, 
now  Lyme.  These  two  places  were  for  along  time  ancestral 
seats  of  the  family.  In  its  prolific  growth,  and  by  alliances 
of  marriage,  it  soon  spread  over  Connecticut  and  became 
settled  in  most  of  its  principal  towns — Fairfield,  Litchfield, 
Guilford,  Bridgeport,  New  Haven,  and  notablv  at  Norwich, 
a  widowed  daughter  of  Matthew  having  been   married,   in 


20  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

1660,  to  Deacon  Thomas  Aldgato,  one  of  the  original  pro- 
prietors of  that  town.  It  Avas  taken  to  ]\Iassaeliusetts  injhe 
family  of  Hannah,  and  others  followed,  known  to  have  been 
■located,  among  other  places,  at  Pittsfield  and  Boston,  where 
descendants  now  reside.  Some  of  the  Reinold's  hranch  are 
found,  in  1767,  as  far  north  as  New  Hampshire,  at  Surrey 
and  Alstead,  and,  of  the  line  of  Matthew,  as  far  Avest,  in 
1769,  as  Michigan,  where  they  appear,  in  1828,  settled  at 
Oakland.  After  the  Revolutionary  "War,  about  the  year 
1790,  some  of  both  branches  beuan  to  remove  to  the  State 
of  New  York.  They  have  settled,  at  various  dates,  in  Her- 
kimer, Chantauque,  and  Ontario  Counties,  and,  at  later 
dates,  appear  resident  at  the  political  capital  and  the  com- 
mercial centres  of  that  State.  There  is,  also,  a  New  Jersey 
family.  There  was  little  southward  movement — a  single 
family,  besides  the  District  Judge  in  Florida,  located,  in 
1827,  at  Georgetown,  South  Carolina.  It  will  be  seen, 
hereafter,  how  the  wave  of  \Yestern  emigration,  at  its  first 
flow,  brought  one  family  to  the  wilds  of  Missouri.  In  the 
intermediate  country,  families  were  dropped  at  Erie,  Phila- 
delphia, and  Pittsburg,  and  in  Ashtabula  County,  Ohio. 
On  lateral  tides  some  were  ])oi'ne  up  into  Iowa  and  down  to 
Texas,  and  the  migration  went  onwai-d  till  it  struck  the 
Pacific  coast,  in  California  and  Oregon. 

Though  wide  dispersion  of  families  is  not  an  uncommon 
fact  in  American  life,  it  is  interesting,  at  this  distance  of 
time,  to  note  how,  in  this  instance,  the  migration  received 
its  first  and  an  al)iding  impulse  from  the  enterprising  and 
hardy  spirit  of  the  man  who  stood  before  the  Record  Com- 
missioner, at  London,  for  enrollment,  with  his  six  children, 
and  his  wife  with  a  six-months'  babe  in  her  arms,  "  to  bo 
transported  to  New  England."  In  the  middle  of  the  third 
century  afterwards,  an  illustrious  descendant  took,  up  the 
westward  movement  and  carried  it  for^vard  to  the  gates  of 
the  East.  The  same  spirit  survived  in  him,  subject  to  higher 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  21 

control  and  pursuing  nol)lcr  ends.  Having  his  chief  home 
wherever  his  fields  of  hibor  laid,  and  his  emigrations  always 
about  his  "  Master's  business,"  he  made  the  circuit  of  the 
earth.  On  the  way,  he  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames, 
where  the  first  Marvin  "  imbarqued "  for  America.  He 
doubled  on  the  track  of  that  first  approach  to  its  shores,  and 
largely  in  the  places  of  the  dispersion  of  his  kindred,  in  a 
wonderful  and  unparalleled  itinerary,  has  preached  the 
Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God. 

This  later  son  of  a  generation  which  has  made  annals 
for  the  history  of  the  New  World,  and  has  mingled  not  a 
little,  nor  feebly,  in  the  elements  and  energies  of  its  pro- 
o-ress  and  culture,  had  his  descent  through  its  not  least  dis- 
tin2:uished  line,  in  that  from  Eeinold.  That  brother  had  two 
children,  a  daughter,  and  a  son  who  bore  his  father's  name, 
and  is  known  on  the  town  records  as  Lieutenant  Reinold, 
and  who  was  the  father  of  Captain  Eeinold,  as  already 
noted,  famous  as."  Lyme's  Captain."  About  the  centre  of 
the  old  burial  ground  in  Lyme,  is  the  earliest  gravestone 
record  of  tlie  family.     It  bears  the  inscription  : 

1G7(3. 

Lieut. 

REINOLD  MARVIN, 

Aged  42. 

In  that  ancient  cemetery,  the  Machpelah  of  this  family, 
there  is  a  grave  Avith  a  footstone,  on  which  is  inscribed  : 

R.  M., 

Oct.   18, 
1737. 

The  epitaph  on  the  headstone  tells,  in  quaint  lines,  the  story 
of  his  character  and  rank  in  life,  an  ofiicer  of  the  church  as 
well  as  of  the  army  : 


22  msiior  makvix. 

This  Deacon,  apcod  sixtj'-eislit, 

Is  freed  on  e;irth  from  serviiiir; 
May  for  a  crown  no  lonixer  wjiil, 

Lyme's  Captain,  Reiuold  Marvin. 

Many  anecdotes  are  related  concerning liim,  -which,  how- 
ever, the  liistorian  of  the  family,  after  careful  investigation, 
attril)utes  to  his  son,  Avho  had  the  same  Christian  name,  and 
was  also  a  deacon  in  the  Conu'rcaational  Church  at  Lvme. 
Some  of  the  anecdotes  are  related  in  the  JS^eio  EnrjJand 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Register ,  which  says  truly,  that 
Deacon  Marvin  appears  to  have  been  remarkable  for  his 
eccentricity.  There  is  an  amusing  incident  of  liis  courtship 
told,  in  which  it  will  bo  seen  his  future  Avife  was  a  kindred 
soul,  congenial,  at  least,  in  style  of  piety.  Having  one  day 
mounted  his  horse,  with  a  sheepskin  for  his  saddle,  he  rode 
in  front  of  the  house  where  lived  Sarah,  or  Betty  Lee, 
(Lay  was  the  true  name,  and  she  was  a  widow)  and,  without 
dismounting,  requested  Sarah  to  come  to  him,  and  told  her 
the  Lord  had  sent  him  there  to  marry  her.  Without  much 
liesitation,  she  replied,  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.  From 
Captain  Keinold  Marvin  descended  ElisJui,  and  from  him 
Enoch,  whose  youngest  child,  in  a  family  of  nine  children, 
was  Wells  Ely,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  biograph}^ 
Enoch  Mather  Makvix. 

On  the  maternal  side  of  this  line  of  ancestry,  beyond  his 
mother,  who  is  more  particul:irly  to  be  mentioned  hereafter, 
we  lind  the  name  of  IJuth  Ely,  of  a  very  noted  family  of 
the  town  of  Lyme,  who  was  the  wife  of  Enoch.  Bearing 
the  name  of  this  grandfather,  his  second  Chistian  name, 
Mather,  connects  him  with  that  historic  Ncav  luigland  name. 
There  were  four  intermarriages  of  the  ]\Iarvins  and  the 
Mathers — that  l)elongingto  this  history  being  of  Elisha  with 
Catherine  ]\I:ither,  al)out  the  year  ITPxS.  She  Avas  a  descen- 
dant in  the  lifth  generation,  through  his  son  Timothy,  from 
llichard  Mather,  the   original  progenitor  of  the  AmericaD 


HIS  ANCESTRY.  2 


o 


branch  of  that  family.  Ilis  fame  is  well  known  as  one  of 
the  early  and  most  distinguished  Fathers  of  Nqw  England. 
The  name  has  been  made  illustrious  by  the  piety,  learning, 
and  public  services  of  himself  and  his  descendants,  notably 
of  Increase  and  Cotton  Mather.  The  epitaph  of  the  founder 
of  the  family  contains  a  scale  of  their  comparative  reputa- 
tation : 

"  Under  this  stone  lies  Richard  Mather, 
Who  had  a  son  greater  than  his  father, 
And  eke  a  grandson  greater  than  cither." 

The  father  ^vas  remarkable,  more  than  for  talents,  for 
weight  of  character,  solid  judgment  and  practical  ability. 
He  possessed  large  knowledge  of  ecclesiastical  affairs  and 
controversial  skill,  and,  after  the  death  of  John  Cotton, 
was  considered  the  most  influential  man  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Colony.  His  greater  son  was  pastor  of  the  chief 
church  of  the  colony  and  twice  elected  President  of  Har- 
vard College,  accepting  the  second  election  on  condition  of 
retaining  his  pastoral  charge.  He  was  distinguished  for 
great  energy  and  practical  sense,  and  a  clear  and  strong,  but 
not  adventurous,  intellect.  In  his  career  there  were  tests  of 
coiiscience  which  showed,  it  is  written  of  him,  a  heart  that 
was  equal  to  all  duties  and  dangers.  In  his  great  and  useful 
life,  he  earned  the  testimony,  pronounced  in  his  funeral 
oration,  that  there  was  no  man  of  his  time  who  was  more 
honored  when  living  or  more  lamented  when  dead. 

The  biography  of  Cotton  Mather,  manifesth^  was 
written  l)y  an  unfriendly  pen.  But  his  history  vindicates 
itself  and  compels  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  posterity, 
as  it  did  of  his  own  generation.  His  foibles  were  as  spots 
on  the  sun,  and  never  more  signally  were  mistakes  made  in 
public  life  atoned  for  by  the  spirit  and  benefactions  of  a 
great  philanthropist.  His  talents  were  of  a  high  order, 
characterized    by    original   genius,    and    certainly  by   rare 


24  BISHOP  IMARYIX. 

culture.  Amoni»  mental  traits  was  an  extraordinary  faculty 
of  memory,  and  power  of  fixed  attention,  and  patience  and 
force  of  investigation.  Of  his  erudition  it  is  said,  that  there 
was  scarcely  any  book  in  existence  with  which  he  was  not 
acquainted.  Few,  if  any,  have  been  more  industrious  and 
prolific  in  authorship,  his  own  publications,  great  and  small, 
numberiiio;  three  hundred  and  eiohty-two.  His  literary  fame 
reached  across  the  ocean,  and  secured  him  honorary  mem- 
bership in  the  Societies  of  tlic  literati  of  the  OknVorld.  His 
social  equalities  were  admirable.  His  powers  of  conversation 
were  brilliant  and,  though  not  distinguished  as  an  orator,  he 
was  ready  and  eftective  with  extemporaneous  speech  in  pulpit 
address.  At  the  early  age  of  eighteen  years  he  was  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard  Colleire,  and  became  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  pulpit  of  Old  North  Church,  Boston,  and  after 
his  death  became  his  successor.  His  religious  character  had 
its  roots  in  3'outhful  piet}'.  He  began  to  pray  as  soon  as  he 
began  to  talk,  and  made  a  Christian  profession  at  the  age 
of  sixteen.  Of  his  moral  traits,  benevolence  was  predomin- 
ant. "What  was  prominent  in  his  religious  affections  was 
fervor  of  spirit,  tending  to  enthusiasm,  and  earnest  aspira- 
tions after  inward  holiness,  subjected  to  the  scrutiny  of 
rigid  self-introsjDection  and  the  tests  of  a  liigh  standard  of 
spiritual  purity.  His  mother  was  the  widow  of  John 
Cotton.  That  renowned  name  joined  to  that  of  iiis  noted 
patron3'mic,  made,  what  was  then  called,  in  a  good  sense, 
*'  an  ominous  name."  Upon  liis  matriculation  at  Harvard, 
the  President  exclaimed,  "  What  a  name."  Its  history  in 
the  world  has  justified  the  prophecy,  which  a  poet  of  the 
day  put  in  a  terse  couplet : 

"  Where  two  great  names  their  sanctuary  take, 
And  in  a  third  combined  a  greater  make." 

Other  sons  of  Richard  Mather  were  mmisters    of  the 
gospel,  and  settled  in  prominent  stations  on  both  sides  of  the 


HIS  ANCESTRY. 


25 


<rreat  Waters.  On  the  maternal  side  of  his  ancestry  exclu- 
sivelv  is  there  connection  with  holy  orders.  The  Mathers 
were  a  faniih^  of  divines.  The  Marvins,  so  far  as  the 
records  disclose  their  occupation,  did  not  produce  one.  Of 
the  thousand  names,  Bishop  Marvin  was  the  first  and  only 
representative  of  the  pulpit.  They  were  devoted  to  the  pur- 
suits of  secular  life.  In  frequent  instances,  however,  the 
dauo-hters  became  the  wives  of  ministers,  and  in  tvro  in- 
stances  of  missionaries  to  foreign  lands  ;  one,  Mrs.  Seeley, 
of  the  mission  in  India,  in  1846,  and  another,  in  1822,  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  From  biographical  sketches  of  the  family, 
still  preserved,  and  some  of  date  in  the  last  century,  it 
appears  that  the  family  were  noted  for  moral  integrity  and 
sterlino-  virtues,  among  which  there  is  an  unvarving  testi- 
mony  given  to  a  philanthropic  heart  and  the  generous  hand 
of  benevolence.  Some  w^ere  office-bearers  in  the  church, 
and  there  are  numerous  records  of  elevated  Christian  char- 
acter, eminent  consecration,  holy  living  and  happy  dymg. 

These  two  families  emigrated  to  America  the  same  year, 
and,  though  in  different  vessels,  they  crossed  the  Ocean  at 
the  same  time.  Both  held  highly  respectable  position  among 
the  yeomanry  of  England.  The  elder  American  Mather 
was  a  Nonconformist  divine,  and  abandoned  home  for  the 
wilderness  rather  than  wear  the  surplice.  The  same  sturdy 
conscience  survived  in  his  sons.  Increase,  on  a  visit  to 
England,  was  solicited  to  remain  with  tempting  offers  of 
preferment,  which,  however,  required  the  renunciation  of  his 
principles.  This  he  would  not  do,  and  returned  to  encounter 
various  trials  of  jealousy  of  rivals,  and  hard  Avork,  and  in- 
sufficient support,  choosing,  as  he  expressed  it,  rather  to 
trust  God's  providence  than  to  violate  the  tranquility  of  his 
mind. 

The  Mathers  were  settled,  also,  in  Scotland  and 
AVales.  They  appear  still  to  be  of  good  repute  and  good 
estate.     An  English  branch  of  the  family  has  been  granted 


26  BISHOP  JIARVIN. 

a  co:it-()f-:irm.s  and  crosl.  A  description  of  tliis  licraldic 
syml>ol  may  be  of  curious  interest  to  some  readers.  Tlie 
Arms  urc  four  scythes  counterchanged.  The  Crest  repre- 
sents a  husbandman,  liolding  in  the  right  hand  a  horn  phiced 
to  the  moutli  and  the  left  hand  grasping  a  scythe  in  ui)right 
position.  The  motto,  in  ohl  Knglish — moioe  ivarilie — is  taken 
from  the  Saxon  derivation  of  the  family  name  Math,  to 
mow.  Such  mottoes  become  watclnvords,  and  often  make, 
as  well  as  indicate,  character.  That  of  the  Scotch  family, 
associated  with  the  symbol  of  an  eagle,  is,  fortUer  et  ceJeriter 
— strongly  and  swiftly  ;  and  of  the  "Welch,  Deus  iwovidehit 
— God  will  pi'ovide. 

The  name  and  descent  of  Enoch  Mather  Maryin  had  the 
historical  connections  recorded  in  the  pages  of  this  intro- 
ductory chapter.  The  significance  and  use  of  such  record 
iu  biography  will  l)e  appreciated  according  to  the  yar^-ing 
opinions  and  tastes  of  the  readers.  Too  much  may  be  made 
of  it ;  the  tendency  of  American  sentiment  is  to  make  too 
little  of  it.  It  has  valuable  uses,  both  practical  and  senti- 
mental. When  vanity  parades  it,  the  spectacle  is  ridiculous  ; 
and  it  is  absurd  and  contemptible  when,  like  a  gnarlofl  and 
unshapely  l)ranch  of  a  goodly  tree,  the  boast  of  renowned 
lineage  is  the  sole  title  to  distinction ;  or — in  the  use  of  a 
simile,  certainly  forcible  and  not  too  homely  to  appear  iu 
the  pages  of  the  Gentleman  s  Magazine  of  forty  years  ago 
— when,bke  the  potato  plant,  the  best  part  is  underground. 

Homage  to  a  noble  ancestry  is,  in  itself,  a  laudable  sen- 
timent, kindred  to  the  filial  virtue  of  a  son  honoring  his  fa- 
ther ;  and  when  ancestral  names  are  Avoithy  of  honor,  they 
are  a  ricli  legacy  of  potent  influences,  which  arc  wasted  on 
natural  imbecility  and  perverlc-<l  by  false  pride  or  ostenta- 
tious yanity,  but  Avhicli  the  nol)le  son  of  a  nolde  sire  will 
incorporate  in  the  impulses  of  a  hiuii  ambition  and  j)ut  to 
usury  for  auirmentcd  honor  to  the  family  name.  In  the 
history  of  the  chosen  generation  and  a  peculiar  people,  the 


HIS  AXCESTRY.  27 

*'  futhoi's  "  was  part  of  a  licritage  of  privilege  and  blessing. 
The  surve}^  by  ancestral  witnesses  was  a  distinct  and  animat- 
ing motive  which  their  kinsmen  employed  in  protest  against 
deo'eneracv.  Of  the  value  of  such  a  heritaire,  it  is  written 
by  him  Avho  Avas  heir  of  that  transmitted  with  the  honorea 
names  of  Mather-Marvin^ — the  name  and  memory  of  a  noble 
father  are  a  better  inheritance  for  children  than  monev,  in- 
spiring  in  them  a  high  purpose  and  an  honorable  sentiment, 
which  lead  to  the  achievement  of  better  fortunes  than  wealth 
can  secure. 

What  account,  in  his  view,  is  to  be  taken  of  the  various 
accidents  of  fortune  appears  in  what  is  said  of  one  whose 
life  he  wrote — whether  his  father  was  farmer,  merchant, 
mechanic  or  professional  man  I  know  not,  nor  do  I  care  to 
know  ;  and  of  himself  he  wrote  in  a  printed  sermon,  a  thou- 
sand times  have  I  felt  a  profound  sense  of  gratitude  to  God 
that  my  father  was  a  poor  man.  I  think  it  not  unlikely 
that,  if  in  my  3'outli  I  had  had  money  to  spend  freely,  I 
should  have  ffone  to  destruction.  He  took  much  account  of 
the  accident  of  birth,  in  relation  to  moral  as  well  as  physical 
traits,  characterizing  the  quality  of  deep  and  unassailable 
principle  as  apt  to  be  hereditary  ;  and  recording  it  as  his 
observation,  as  a  rule,  that,  whether  it  be  in  the  blood  or 
in  a  species  of  traditional  family  honor,  where  there  is  a 
verv  hio-h  moral  tone  it  mav  be  traced  to  an  honorable 
line  of  ancestrv.  It  is  true  of  dio^nities  and  distinctions  of 
all  kinds  : 

The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp — 

The  man's  the  gowd  for  a'  that. 
Tlie  pith  o'  sense  and  pride  o'  worth, 

Are  higher  ranlvs  tlian  a'  tliat. 

— ^but  there  is  something,  nevertheless,  in  the  blood  and  in 
the  prestige  of  an  unsullied  family  name. 


CHAPTER     II. 


THE    FIVK    CEDARS. 

Location  of  the  homestead — Oriojin  of  its  name — The  houses  of  the  period 
— Au  eccentric  cliaracter— Dwellers  at  the  "  Old  Tlace  " — The  irarret- 
rooni— The  schoolroom — Parents  his  teachers — His  advantages  of 
education — Spelling  match — The  times  in  his  boyhood  — Incidents  of 
first  steamboat — Navigation  on  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri — Mather's 
Ahna  Mater — Church-houses — Primitive  customs — The  boy  at  work — 
At  house-raisings — Taught  school— The  Debating  S;iciety— His  first 
speech — Uncle  Billy  Pratt,  the  first  Darwinian— The  boy-preacher — 
The  contention  over  a  deer — Characteristics  of  his  youth — Health  and 
personal  appearance — The  story  of  his  sister,  iMarcia — Death  of  liis 
brotjier,  Natlianiel — Touching  letter  of  the  Bishop — The  home  of  the 
dead  at  the  Five  Cedars — Last  look  at  the  Old  Place. 

TJTHE  frontispiece  of  tliis  chapter  represents  the  Marvin 
t^£^  home  ill  "Warren  County,  Missouri,  at  the  head  of 
Peruque  Creek,  and  abotit  three  miles  southwest  from  the 
present  AVright  City.  "When  the  farm  was  first  settled,  on 
the  arrival  of  the  family  in  Missouri,  in  1817,  it  was  situated 
in  St.  Charles  County.  Subsequently,  in  the  formation  of 
new  counties,  it  was  embrace>d  successivelv  in  the  limits  of 
Montjyomerv,  or<ranized  in  December  of  the  foUowinij  year, 
and  of  "Warren,  created  January  5,  18o3.  The  first  home 
was  a  \og  cabin  built  on  another  part  of  the  farm,  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant,  where  Enoch  jSIather  Avas  born,  June  12, 
1823.  The  old  cabin  has  long  since  disappeared.  The 
present  house  he  spoke  of  as  the  "  Old  Place."  There  he 
lived  when  a  cradle  was  his  couch,  or  when  he  was  used  to 
be  cradled  on  his  mother's  lap.  The  Five  Cedars  is  the 
name  given  to  the  honu!  by  his  sister  Marcia,  in  memorial  of 
his  planting  those  evergreens  isi  the  front  yard,  when  a  small 
boy,  and  where  they  still  survive,  now  grown  to  large  trees. 


w 

H 
O 

d 

> 
o 


W 

M 

w 

o 

> 

O 

w 

M 

0 
« 
O 

o 
■a 

W 
o 


THE  FIVE  CEDARS.  29 

Both  houses  were  built  of  losrs,  accordins:  to  the  custom 
of  the  people,  and  the  first  built,  it  is  said,  was  covered  with 
clapboards  weighted  down  with  poles,  which  were  fastened 
to  the  roof  with  wooden  pins.  It  was  not  until  1818  that 
the  first  frame  house  was  erected  in  Montgomery  County. 

The  dwellers  there,  in  its  entire  history,  were  among 
the  best  educated,  most  cultivated  and  refined  of  the 
community ;  and  were  held  in  great  respect  and  universal 
honor.  Among  them,  of  the  original  family,  was  a  grand- 
sire,  as  he  was  called  b}'"  children  and  grandchildren,  and 
was  held  in  utmost  reverence.  He  was  seated  and  served 
first  at  table,  and  his  quiet  and  comfort  promoted  by  all 
manner  of  kindh^  attention,  which  might  help  him  through 
the  long  days,  remove  fears  from  the  way,  and  interest 
failing  desire.  He  was  a  native  of  Lyme,  and  died  in  1841, 
in  his  ninety-fifth  year.  Tall  and  large,  he  had  a  remark- 
able presence,  and  his  appearance  in  earlier  years  must  have 
been  very  imposing.  After  his  marriage  with  Ruth  Ely,  of 
Lyme,  he  removed  to  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  where  his 
famil}^  was  brought  up,  of  which  Wells  Ely  was  the  youngest 
child.  Other  children  were  living  in  the  East  at  the  time, 
but  his  heart,  as  is  common,  was  with  his  last  born,  whom 
he  followed  in  his  several  Western  emigrations.  With  the 
responsive  filial  reverence  and  devotion,  it  makes  one  of  the 
lovely  memory-pictures  which  hang  around  the  walls  of  this 
house.  The  beautiful  face  of  the  grandmother,  who  was  of 
small  and  graceful  person,  appears  in  it,  who  lived  long 
enough  to  find  the  pleasant  pastime  of  a  matriarch  in  the 
pranks  and  prattle  of  three  of  her  grandchildren.  She  died 
in  her  seventy-sixth  year,  in  the  summer  of  182G.  The  lone- 
liness of  the  following  years  of  her  consort  was  a  dark  line 
in  the  touch  of  sadness  which  had  shadowed  their  later  life. 
Reduced  from  considerable  affiuence  by  suretj^ship  for  friends 
in  Massachusetts,  he  was  removed  from  the  most  favored 
and  cherished  associations,  and  spent  the  remnant  of  daj^s 


30  p.isnop  :\rAiivix. 

in  the  quiet  and  deep  retirement  of  the  wiklcrncss.  They 
were  passed  in  dijrnilicd  composure  and  patience,  and,  per- 
haps, the  mehmcholy  twilight  of  vanished  fortune  was  not 
an  unwelcome,  as  it  Avas  a  protital)lc  prehide  to  an  end  of 
days  and  entrance  on  a  better  life,  of  wliich  they  had  the 
sohice  in  incipient  experience,  and  tlie  hope  in  death. 

The  chief  interest  of  the  Five  Cedars  to  the  reader,  lies 
in  its  connections  with  the  great  life  which  had  there'its 
bud  and  nurture.  In  the  liglit  of  subsequent  fame,  we  look 
for  its  presage  in  boyish  days,  and  even  the  familiar  and 
common  thini^s  in  childhood  scenes  and  youthfnl  years 
appear  invested  with  a  charm. 

In  the  gable,  not  in  view  in  the  engraving,  is  the  en- 
trance, approached  from  the  yard,  to  the  upper  room, 
where  the  ploughboy  took  rest  after  the  toil  of  the  day, 
and  the  short  social  evening  at  the  fireside,  or  under  the 
Cedars.  AVhen  he  was  the  pastor  of  a  great  city  church, 
on  leave  of  absence  to  visit  his  family  and  for  rest  during 
the  week  days  of  August,  after  the  first  long,  sound  sleep 
he  W'as  busied  in  the  same  apartments  and  under  the  same 
shade  in  the  study  of  books,  more  in  number  and  of 
weightier  contents  than  those  on  the  little  shelf  of  his 
garret-room,  but  not  of  fresher  interest,  nor  read  with  more 
eager  zest  than  when  he  first  read  books  on  rainy  days, 
and  at  nooning,  and  even  at  the  plough  handle. 

In  one  of  those  apartments  he  was  first  taught  letters,  and 
had  his  schooling  till  he  was  eleven  or  twelve  years  old,  and 
the  most  of  it.  His  mother  was  teacher  in  sunmier  and  \m, 
father  in  winter.  They  had  both  been  teachers  before 
coming  to  the  West,  and  now  it  Avas  a  necessity  for  the  edu- 
cation of  their  own  children,  in  the  absence  of  all  convenient 
school  privileges.  It  hence  became  a  neighborhood  school, 
and  indeed,  a  boarding-school,  l)y  special  favoi',  for  some  of 
the  children  of  the  neighl)orho(Hl.  Mr.  Sandy  Pratt,  of 
AVright  City,  whose  father  settled  in  the  neighborhood  in 


THE  FIVE  CEDARS.  31 

1831,  at  a  farm  two  miles  aAvay,  and  wlio  was  a  faithful  and 
cherished  friend  of  the  family,  among  full  notes,  kindly  fur- 
nished for  these  pages,  says  his  brother  was  one  of  the  pupils 
and  his  sister,  now  Mrs.  Pendleton,  was  a  boarding  scholar. 
Similar  data,  in  great  fullness  and  interest,  have  been  con- 
tributed by  Dr.  INIoses  Hubbard,  of  Texas,  and  by  Rev.  D. 
T.  Sherman  and  Rev.  Carr  W.  Pritchett,  all  of  whom  were 
contemporaries  of  Enoch  Mather,  and  write  from  personal 
knowlcd<Te,  or  most  authentic  tradition.  Mr.  Pritchett  states 
that  there  are  men  now  living  who  owe  their  earliest  educa- 
tion to  the  JNIarvin  School — perhaps  all  of  it.  In  this  school, 
Mather,  as  he  was  invariably  called  l)y  his  playmates  and  in 
the  family  circle,  acquired  the  rudiments  of  an  English 
education. 

When  he  was  about  twelve  years  old  his  mother  became 
disqualiiied  from  further  teaching  or  other  care  of  her 
children,  and  even  from  attending  to  household  affairs, 
caused  by  delicate  health  and  a  severe  illness.  Its  effects 
were  aggravated  by  distress  occasioned  Ijy  great  })ecuniary 
losses  and  trouble  through  the  misplaced  confidence  in  two 
young  men  for  wliom  her  husband  had  endorsed.  Mr. 
Pratt  says  they  were  sharpers,  and  that  the  losses  put  the 
fanlily  to  great  straits  and  in  deep  sorrows  for  many  years. 
These  family  misfortunes  made  an  end  ahnost  entirely  of 
his  advantages  of  early  education.  We  know  of  only  two 
further  terms  of  schooling,  each  of  three  months. 

After  Mrs.  Marvin's  disability  occurred,  it  was  under- 
taken to  keep  up  the  school  at  home.  It  Avas  taught  by 
his  cousin,  ]Mr.  P.  Perkins,  now  of  Colesburg,  Iowa,  from 
whom  some  of  the  history  narrated  in  this  and  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  has  been  derived.  He  bears  testimony  to 
the  actual  and  comparative  proficiency  of  his  pupil,  under 
his  own  and  the  mother's  tuition.  Of  the  temi)er  of  the 
young  student  and  its  ambition  and  omens  he  writes : 
E.  M.  seemed  thoughtful    and   anxious,  and   it   was    even 


32  BISHOP  :\rAKvi-v. 

then  th:it  ho  hoard  ^vliisporiiigs  of  tho  sublime  future.  lie 
lulds  a  pleasant  description  of  a  six-lliiiLr-niatcli,  t)f  "which 
Mather  "svas  the  hero.  The  mother  of  ]\Ir.  IVi'kins  Avas 
a  sister  of  Wells  Ely,  one  of  twins,  named  Kuth  and 
Rhoda.  Her  family  eame  West  two  years  after  the  eominij 
of  her  brother,  and  settled  in  a  ueii::hl)orhood  fiye  uiiles 
distant.  She  was  also  a  teacher.  Aunt  Polly,  writes  ^Ir. 
Perkins,  as  "sve  used  to  call  the  bishop's  mother,  had 
taught  a  yery  successful  school  at  home,  and  was  much 
elated  with  the  advancement  of  her  scholars.  She  chal- 
lenged Aunt  Ixuth's  (Mrs.  Perkins)  school  for  a  spelling- 
match.  i\Irs.  Perkins  transported  her  school  the  five  miles, 
and  the  contest  came  off  in  li'ood  earnest.  The  natives  were 
out  in  force,  and  a  splendid,  good  time  was  had.  The  em- 
bryo bishop  acquitted  himself  nol)h%  and,  though  then  quite 
young,  gaye  evident  sign  and  promise  of  the  coming  man. 
If  it  W'Cre  so,  we  add  and  are  sure,  that  the  chief  joy  of  his 
triumph  Avas  that  his  mother's  school  had  beat  in  the  con- 
test. The  other  term  of  schooling  was  some  3'-ears  later, 
at  a  neighborhood  school,  wdiere  precisely,  and  by  whom 
taught,  is  not  stated. 

To  understand  and  appreciate  correctly  and  duly  what 
has  been  nnicli  noticed  concerning  matters  so  important, 
as  the  advantaires  of  education  and  social  culture,  and  so 
triyial  as  his  clothes  and  carriage  of  person,  the  reader 
should  know  the  conditions  of  the  times  at  that  early 
period,  which  were  in  violent  contrast  with  the  conveniences 
and  retinements  of  the  present  civilization.  References 
haye  been  made  to  them  in  part.  Other  quite  extended 
a.ccounts  have  been  connnunicated,  particularly  by  Key.  Mr. 
Sherman  and  Dr.  Hubbard,  Avho  lived  amidst  the  scenes, 
and  were  cye-wntnesscs  of  what  they  describe. 

Within  the  limits  of  Warren  County  lived  and  died  the 
celebrated  hunter  and  Indian  fighter,  Daniel  Boone.  His 
jjrovidential    mission,    as    he    regarded    it,  Avas  the    open- 


THE  FIVE  CEDARS.  33 

ing  up  to  settlement  of  the  Western  wilderness,  and  he 
had  no  use  for  a  country  when  too  populous  for  game 
and  the  freedom  of  frontier  life.  He  and  his  family  were 
the  first  Americans  settled  within  the  limits  of  Missouri ; 
and  in  the  wild  country  of  his^ast  home — where  many  years 
after  his  death,  in  1818,  as  Dr.  Hubbard  states,  deer  were 
more  plentiful  than  sheep,  and  perhaps  as  numerous  as 
cattle,  and  hunting  was  almost  the  exclusive  occupation  of 
many — the  old  pioneer  in  all  the  remaining  days  of  active 
life  found  no  check  upon  the  instinct  and  habit  which  started 
him  out  from  the  Yadkin  Kiver,  in  North  Carolina,  to  escape 
populous  and  refined  society  and  find  the  wild,  free  life  of 
the  frontiersman.  He  would  not  be  crowded  in  a  country 
where,  not  long  before  infirm  years  were  upon  him,  and  some 
years  after  the  beginning  of  this  century,  men  came  thirty 
miles  to  hclj)  raise  the  first  double-hewed  log  house,  and 
which  was  considered  a  very  fine  structure. 

While  on  a  hunting  expedition  he  discovered  the  salt 
springs  in  Howard  County,  occasioning  the  opening  and 
naming  of  the  Booneslick  road,  which  passed  through  the 
centre  of  Warren  County,  and  was  for  many  3^ears  the 
e-reat  thorouirhfare  of  Western  emigration.  This  road 
connected  that  section  of  country  with  its  only  market, 
till  a  late  date  in  this  histoi;y,  at  St.  Louis,  then  a  small 
villaofe,  distant  about  fifty  miles  to  the  southeast.  There 
its  produce  was  hauled  and  exchanged  for  dry  goods  and 
groceries,  which  were  brought  by  expensive  transportation 
from'  New  Orleans,  and  nails  and  glass,  and  other  such 
wares,  from  Pittsburg. 

The  year  of  the  emigration  of  the  Marvin  family  to 
Missouri,  1817,  was  the  date  of  the  first  steamboat  navi- 
gation of  the  Father  of  Waters — only ,  six  years  before 
Enoch  Mather  was  born.  In  his  childhood  he  may  have 
heard  repeated  the  story  of  the  arrival  of  the  first  steam- 
boat at  St.   Louis,   which  was  witnessed  by  a  resident  of 

3 


34  lilSIIol'   M.vU\  I\. 

lii<  native  rounly.  Tlic  fatliiT  (»f  llio  writer  of  t])is  stood 
^\ilil  lliat  spcdator  on  tlic  liaiik.  I-rom  his  lips  he  i-('cci\-ed 
an  account  of  it.  witli  an  amusinu,'  incident  wliicli  ho  has 
never  st'cn  rccoi'dcd,  and  which  a  few  lines  may  preserve 
to  liistorv.  .\t  thit  time,  Indian  \isit()i"s  were  common  in 
the  villaii'e.  They  joinei]  the  coin])any  on  tlie  hank  wit- 
nessing tlie  a|)i)roaeh  of  the  l»oat.  This  ])i()neer  steanihoat, 
the  rieneial  Pike,  was  a  I'ude  sti'uctui'e,  a  hirge  l)arii(!  with 
sonu'  n]i|)er  Avorl-cs  of  sim})h^  construction.  Aecustomed 
to  the  ])ro])ulsion  of  water-craft  oidy  l)y  jjaddh'  oi' eordelle, 
the  tirst  thouglit  of  the  Indians  A\as  tliat  the  l)oat  was 
a  livinii:  thing — "  See,  it  moves  itself,"  they  exclaimed 
excitedly,  an<l  A\ith  terror  depicted  on  their  faces  at  the 
next  thought,  that  it  was  the  Devil,  as  they  saw  the  tlames 
of  the  furnace  and  the  volume  of  smoke  issuing  from  the 
cliinmeys.  There  is  a  like  incident  told  l»y  the  historian  of 
Pioneer  Fomilies,  of  excitement  anion""  the  M'hitc  ahoriixi- 
nes  of  ]\I<)ntaomerv  Count v,  on  the  first  steamboat  navi^i- 
tion  of  the  Missouri  ]ii\-er.  One  Enoch  Spry  was  in  the 
river  l)ottom,  and,  Avithout  seeding  the  boat,  heaid  the  noise 
of  the  inachinerA'  and  ran  home  in  iireat  fi'iii'ht.  The  neiii-h- 
borhood  M'as  roused,  and  a  com})any  was  organized  to  go  in 
pursuit  of  a  panther,  which,  Mr.  S{n"y  said,  had  caught  a 
man  down  on  the  river,  and  he  had  never  heai'd  a  man 
halloa  like  he  did.  I^'foi-e  the  date  of  stt>aml)()at  naviga- 
tion, the  emigrant  wagon  was  the  mode  of  travel  westward, 
and  goods  were  transportecl  in  barges  floated  down  the  ( )hio 
or  cordelled  from  >sew  Orleans  up  the  ]\rississip])i  and  its 
tributaries  by  the  hardy  and  jolly  Canadian  boatmen.  Not 
till  some  years  after  that  ei"a  of  improved  connnunication 
with  distant  markets  and  ohhn-  communities  Avere  its  advan- 
taires  nuich  r<'ali/ed  in  the  interior  counties  of  Missouri.  It 
Avas  late  in  the  decade  of  1.S20-3O  that  the  tick"  of  Avestern 
omiirrati(m  was  in  lari2:e  flow.  At  the  orjranization  of  War- 
ren  County,  as  late  as  1833,  its  population  Avas  4,000  souls, 


THE    FIVE    CEDARS.  •  35 

and  the  conditions  of  social  and  domestic  life  were  corre- 
spondingly primitive. 

Under  such  conditions  of  the  country  and  of  social  life, 
as  described  by  Mr.  S.  and  otliers,  the  early  eliildhood  and 
youth  of  Bishop  iSIarvin  Avero  passed.  Convenience  and 
luxury  in  modes  of  life  "were  then  unknown  among  that 
people.  Some,  like  the  Marvin  family,  were  well  educated 
and  had  been  accustomed*  to  better  comforts  Avhere  they 
came  from  ;  ])ut  with  great  good  sense  they  adapted  them- 
selves to  prevailing  habits  and  conditions  of  life  in  their 
backAVoods  home — especially  they  Avere  not  of  the  sort  of 
peo})le  to  think,  for  themselves  or  their  children,  that  man- 
ual labor  Avas  not  honorable  or  that  clothes  made  the  man. 

The  boy  IMather,  Ave  know,  was  like  the  boy  of  that  period 
in  a  ncAV  country,  in  dress,  occupation  and  social  surround- 
ings. The  slave  population  Avas  sparse  and  few  families 
had  serA\'ints — there  Avere  none  at  his  fathei-'s  house.  We 
Avill  find  him  driving  the  plow  and  swinging  the  scythe, 
feedino;  the  stock  and  on  the  Avav  from  the  field  in  the  even- 
in2j  drivino;  home  the  cows  and  milkinii;  them  too.  In  the 
intervals  of  field  and  farm-A'ard  work,  he  is  doins;  chores 
about  the  house,  cutting  and  bringing  in  the  Avood,  and,  as 
his  mother  was  feeble  and  sickly,  he  helped  among  the 
skillets  and  pots  around  the  large. open  fireplace  in  vogue 
before  the  days  of  the  modern  cooking  stove.  Once,  as  re- 
ported by  Mr.  Perkins,  he  took  the  job  of  making  soap  off 
her  hands  to  relieve  her  perplexity  when  a  company  of 
visitors  called  to  spend  the  day.  One  of  those  visitors,  still 
livino;,  says  he  did  it  Avell.  She  Avas  struck  with  his  kind, 
frank  and  manly  bearing  in  the  offer  of  service.  Later  in 
the  day  she  observed  him  carefully  manipulating  the  job  ; 
and  the  intelligent  lady  saw  in  it  the  beauty  of  a  kindly 
disposition  and  especially  of  love  for  his  mother.  Indoors 
he  has  often  stood  before  her  with  hanks  of  3'arn  upon  his 
arms  patiently  akimbo  ;  and  his  hands  have  been  busy  with 


36  TUSTIOr    MAUVIX. 

hobbins  of  cotton  and  tlax  Ihi'cad  and  plyinjr  the  loom.  As 
lie  told  lii>  .i:-()<hI  and  loved  friend.  Rev.  A\'iii.  Doty,  of 
Louisiana,  he  was  his  mother's  weaver  till  he  was  seventeen 
years  ohl. 

Those  things  are  spoken  of  in  the  reminiscences  fur- 
nished l)y  Kev.  C.  W.  Pritchett,  the  contemporaiy  and  com- 
panion of  his  3'outh.  Jn  the  paragraph  he  alludes  to  current 
stories  concerning  the  manner  of  his  a[)pearance  and  dress 
on  certain  occasions  in  his  first  preaching,  which  he  says 
must  be  set  down  as  extravagant,  and  writes: 

He  simply  wore  the  best  suit  lu-  liad,  and  llial,  I  think,  was  of  liome 
ir.amifacturo.  Our  clothes  at  thai  day  were  all  made  al  home.  Our 
mothers  and  sisters  kuew  how  to  card  wool,  cotton  and  tiax,  and  to  spin 
and  weave  thorn  into  cloth,  and  to  cut  and  make  the  garments.  They  also 
knew  how  to  patch  and  mend,  and  no  ])oy  was  ashamed  to  wear  patched 
clothes  at  the  rou-h  home  and  farm  work.  But  our  mothers  and  sisters 
never  suffered  us  to  wear  such  clothes  abroad  or  to  nieelinij;.  The  mother 
of  Bishop  Marvin,  till  overtaken  by  her  deep  allliction,  looked  well  to  the 
wants  of  her  children.  Sumptuous  living  and  line  clothing  she  could  not 
afford  them;  but  she  wrought  with  her  own  Inuuls  at  the  wdieel,  the  loom 
and  the  needle,  to  clothe  them  with  decency  and  comfort.  Many  a  man 
whose  hairs  are  now  gray  can  recall  days  in  his  childhood  when  he  helped 
his  mother  to  spin  and  weave  and  perform  various  domestic  duties.  So  it 
was  with  .Marvin;  and  even  in  his  later  life  he  has  been  known  to  speak 
verv  freely  and  tenderly  of  the  help  he  gave  his  mother  at  the  ?r/ir'eZ  and 
the  shuttk. 

Besides  in  farm  work,  this  cl(>ver  and  industrious  boy  is 
found  in  oilier  occupations,  and  away  from  home  in  tlio 
iiiulnal  help  of  good  neighbourhood.  Long  years  after- 
Avards,  when  he  met  T)r.  IIubl)ard  in  a  distant  State,  in  a 
talk  over  their  young  days,  he  said  the  hardest  day's  work 
he  ever  di<l  was  helping  at  three  lH)Use-raisings  in  one  day, 
one  of  which  was  the  house  of  the  fiithor  of  Dr.  II.  At 
one  time,  when  the  press  of  farm  work  Avas  over  in  the  fall 
and  winter,  he  taught  school.  It  was  taught,  says  IVIr. 
Pritchett,  Avhen  he  was  17  oi-  \x  years  old,  at  an  old  house 
l)clonuin"-  to  Mr.  Lvlc,  two  miles  northwest  of  his  father's 


THE    FIVE    CEDARS.  37 

residence.  In  this  house  in  winter  evenings  ;i  debating  so- 
cietv  held  its  meetings,  where  young  ]\Iarvin  made  his  tirst 
speech.  Some  of  his  pupils  still  Yi\e  in  the  old  neighbor- 
•hood  and  speak  of  him  in  terms  of  tendercst  affection. 
They  describe  him  as  kind  and  social,  as  taking  great  inter- 
est in  his  i)upils,  as  mingling  in  their  plays  and  as  visiting 
their  homes.  One  lady,  then  six  ^^ears  old,  tells  how  he 
used  to  tie  the  long  prairie  grass  across  the  narrow  school 
path  for  the  sport  of  the  children,  and  they,  in  turn,  to  trip 
him.  The  scholars,  Mr.  Sandy  Pratt  says,  all  loved  him, 
and  he  had  no  trouble  to  control  them  without  the  rod. 
The  patrons  were  equally  pleased  with  the  advancement  of 
their  children  and,  as  reported  by  Di'.  H.,  it  was  a  general 
sentiment  amonir  them  that  a  mistake  was  made  when  he 
quit  teaching  to  go  to  preaching. 

At  one  time  he  made  an  unsuccessful  hunt  for  a  school 
away  from  home  twenty-five  miles  distant,  where  his  cousin 
Mr.  Perry  Perkins  lived,  and' who  accompanied  him  in  the 
search.  It  ended  with  his  first  discovery,  perhaps,  of  the 
controlling  rule  for  engagement  of  teachers,  which  still  ob- 
tains, with  less  reason  for  it — not  the  qualification,  but  cost 
for  the  service.  They  had  not  found  the  officers  of  the 
school  board  at  home.  On  the  way  liack  they  called  at  the 
house  of  one  of  the  natives,  and  in  answer  to  their  inquiry 
the  w^ell-kept  lady  replied  that  they  wanted  a  teacher  and 
wanted  to  hire  at  the  lowest  fiiiures,  but  the  old  man  was 
not  at  home  and  she  could  not  sav  about  it.  Bv  this  time 
the  coming  Bishop  began  to  think  he  was  out  of  luck,  and 
liroposed  to  cousin  Perry  that  they  go  back  home. 

The  boys  of  the  neighborhood  had  their  sportive  pas- 
times as  well  as  sober  tasks.  None  were  more  aenial  and 
frolicsome  than  Mather.  His  humor  and  cleverness  made 
Iiim  universally  popular  among  his  companions,  and  he  was 
a  great  favorite  on  every  account  among  the  grown  people. 
The  Debating  Society  referred  to  was  a  noted  institution  in 


4EY6i4 


38  BISHOP    MAUVIX. 

the  coiuniiniitv.  Its  audiencos  were  tlironsfCMl  and  the  de- 
butes wore  the  talk  and  woiuU-r  of  the  neiuhljorhood.  The 
ohl  siir\  i\  iiii:'  citizens  will  rciiiciiilx'i'  Mr.  Kuinaiis,  now 
dead,  who  was  a  special  admirrr  of  Noiiiiii"  Mar\iii  and  used* 
to  show  around  the  manuscript  dcWalcs  in  admiration  of  the 
splendid  i)oleniic  talents  they  e\inced.  Anionu:  namtss  of 
rivals  wit ii  .Mathei-  for  the  honors  on  this  arena  of  fame 
Avere  Levi  McConncll  and  lioyal  ,] .  Kenned}'.  Jt  was  in  a 
contest  with  the  latter  that  the  young  orator  won  his  tirst 
laurels,  in  ii  speech  with  wit  in  it  enough  to  make  it  tradi- 
ti(nial  in  that  country  to  this  day.  The  constitution  of  the 
societv,  no  (loul)t,  specified  the  objects  of  it  soberly  enough, 
as  for  "■  mutual  improvement;"  but  on  o(;casions  the  exer- 
cises were  diversified  with  a  spice  of  literary  fun.  On  this 
one,  the  speaking  was  put  in  the  shape  of  a  canvass  for 
constable  on  the  hustiuiis.  Mr.  Kennedv,  now  a  irravc 
judge  but  then  the  defeated  candidate,  tells  tiie  story  thus: 
The  debate  occurred  in  Jan.  or  Feb.,  1S40,  at  a  school-house 
where  the  town  of  Wright  City  stands.  To  diversify  the 
entertainment,  it  was  agreed  that  on  a  certain  night  there 
would  be  [)olitical  speeches.  There  was  a  large  audience. 
Mather  ]\Iarvin,  as  we  calh'd  him,  and  myself  were  the  can- 
didates for  constable.  lieing  his  senioi-  l)y  some  six  years  I 
was  to  open  the  can\ass,  which  1  did  hy  pi'csenting  my 
claims  to  their  suffrages — among  them  that  I  had  been  so- 
licited to  be  a  candidate  and  felt  flattered  hy  the  compli- 
ment, and  pledged  myself,  if  elected,  that  I  would  serve 
[)romptlv  nil  })rocesses  directed  to  me  and  endeavor  to 
collect  all  (lel)ts  entrusted  to  my  hands  ano  pay  over  the 
money  faithfully.  I  sat  down  satislied  with  my  speech. 
Mather  rose,  made  his  l)ow  and  said  he  was  hefore  them  for 
their  A'otes  and  was  sure  of  getting  them.  He  promised  all 
that  the  opposing  candidate  had  done,  which  was  very  Avell 
as  far  as  it  went  ;  l)ut,  in  addition  to  that,  he  pledged  him- 
self that,  if  he   failed  to   collect,  he  would   put  his  hand  in 


THE    FIVE    CEDARS.  39 

his  own  pocket  and  pay  it  himself.  He  said  it  emphatically, 
Avith  wit  in  action  as  well  as  word,  thrusting  his  hand  into 
his  pocket,  which  was  notoriously  moneA'less.  It  was  con- 
ceded that  ^Mather  was  entitled  to  the  office. 

The  genial  spirit  and  humorous  vein  which  accompanied 
him  through  life  were  in  the  l)lood,  inwrought  and  inerad- 
icable— both  the  faculty  of  creatino-  humor  and  zest  of  it. 
Both  ai'c  illustrated  in  an  anecdote  told  l)y  himself  of  a  trip 
he  made  to  the  grist  mill.  IIo^v  he  enjoyed  the  drollery  of 
an  African,  and  tells  it  at  the  expense  of  a  Modern  scientist. 
It  was  told  in  his  report  of  the  exercises  of  the  Phi-Ali)ha 
Society  during  a  Commencement  week  at  Central  Colleoe  : 

The  society  had  its  public  exhibition  on  Tuesday  evening.  The  audi- 
ence was  immense,  the  music  animating,  the  addresses  above  the  average 
of  sucli  occasions,  and  the  debate — what  shall  I  say  of  it?  Tlie  subject 
was  "The  Unity  of  the  Human  Race."  Well,  this  I  must  say  in  all  can- 
dor and  seriousness— the  boys  were  in  water  altogether  too  deep  for  them. 

During  tins  debate  I  thought  of  a  wise  remark  of  my  old  friend  Uncle 
Billy  Pratt.  Now  Uncle  Billy  was  jet  black.  Withal  he  was  a  very  re- 
spectable and  sensible  negro.  I  met  him  at  mill  one  day  when  I  was  a 
boy.  He  hatl  lately  been  to  a  menagerie,  one  of  the  remarkable  features 
of  which  was  the  monkey  show.  "Uncle  Billy,"  saiil  I,  "what  did  you 
think  of  the  monkeys?"  He  was  just  in  the  act  of  lifting  a  half-bushel  of 
wheat  to  pour  it  into  the  hopper,  but  the  question  arrested  the  movement. 
He  set  the  measure  down,  erected  himself  slowly  and  with  dignity,  placed 
one  arm  akimbo  and  laid  the  other  upon  the  edge  of  the  hopper.  This 
subject  was  in  the  line  of  his  profoundcst  and  most  recent  cogitations. 
His  conclusions  had  been  reached,  and  with  the  most  impressive  gravity 
he  proceeded  to  give  the  sum  of  the  whole  matter.  I  believe  I  have  the 
very  words :  "  I'll  tell  you  jess  what  I  think  about  dat.  De  monkeys  is  de 
ole  time  niggers.     Dai's  jess  vhat  dcy  is.''' 

Was  Uncle  Billy  a  Darwinian  before  the  time  ? 

The  question  must  be  answered,  as  Uncle  Billy  now  goes 
into  history — the  first  Darwinian. 

In  the  collection  of  incidents  of  his  childhood,  there  is 
one  of  the  boy  preacher,  not  uncommon  in  godly  families  ; 
but  this,  it  will  be   admitted,  is  the  best  specimen  of  the 


40  BISHOr    .AIAKVIN. 

g:cnus.     Ilis  friend  and   admirer,  Mr.  Sandy  Pratt,  relates 

it— that 

IJisliop  Marvin  preached  a  sermon  when  he  was  quite  a  small  boy. 
He  went  to  Uncle  Hilly  MeConnell's  to  meetinjj,,  and  on  his  return  home 
his  mother  requested  him  to  relate  to  her  all  that  he  remembered  of  the 
sermon.  It  bein^ij  customary  in  those  daj's  for  a  preacher  to  stand  behind 
a  chair  to  preach,  he  took  the  same  position  and  announced  the  text  :  then 
proceeded  to  repeat  the  sermon  from  memory,  much  to  the  astonishment 
of  the  whole  family.  When  through  the  sermon,  he  said  "  Let  us  pray," 
when  his  mother  interposed  by  saying,  "  That  will  do,  Mather." 

He  was  the  thii'd  cliild  in  the  family  of  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  Marc-ia.  The  parents  were  Ijoth  of  small  stature 
— the  father,  neat  in  person,  with  regular  features,  well- 
formed  head,  and  black  hair;  the  mother  had  brown  hair 
and  dark  ('om})le.Kion,  and  was  sprightly  and  active  in  her 
movements.  Except  Nathaniel,  the  .second  son,  who  re- 
sembled his  father,  there  was  not  much  likeness  of  the 
children  to  their  parents  or  to  eacli  other.  Elisha,  the  tirst- 
born,  is  d(\s(!ribed  as  robust  and  stocky.  ]\Iather  was  from 
childhood  of  slender  frame  and  delicate  constitution.  Mrs. 
Marv'in  reports  him  as  saying  that  he  used  often  to  feel 
ashamed  that  his  physical  strength  did  not  en*a])le  him  to 
keep  up  with  the  other  boys  in  the  work  of  the  tiehl.  On 
the  Wednesday  before  his  death,  when  disease'  began  its 
fatal  strokes,  he  exclaimed  in  a  violent  i)aroxysm  of  suffer- 
ing: "  I  have  never  had  such  ])ain  l)ut  once,  when  I  was  a 
hoy."  Every  sunnner  he  had  attacks  of  bilious  fev(M- ; 
often  pleurisy,  and  the  rheumatism,  which  plagued  him 
through  life,  l)egan  in  early  childhood.  In  boyhood  his 
hair  Avas  light.  All  descriptions  agree  that  his  frame  was 
very  angular  and  his  gait  ungainly.  His  features  were 
larofe  ;  and  i\Ir.  Pratt  notes  it  as  Avhat  is  most  strikinij  in 
his  recollections  of  the  boy,  that  he  was  awful  ugly.  He 
writes  it  now,  as  in  the  freedom  of  their  intimate  relations, 
it  had  often  been  the  iheme  of  amusing  pleasantry  between 
them  in  their  later  years.  Babies  on  their  first  Sunday  in 
life  are  not   often   handsome,  and  the    Hishop  re[)orted  to 


THE  FIVE  CEDARS.  41 

Mr.  Pratt,  for  his  amusement,  the  l-ooks  of  one  such  born 
to  him,  in  the  hmauaiic  of  the  old  dames,  who  Miid  with  a 
knowing  wink,  ''Just  lilve  its  papa."  The  preachers  will  re- 
member the  jokes  and  banter  between  him  and  one  for  whom 
he  had  a  special  fondness,  who  could  easily  be  voted  the  ug- 
liest man  in  the  St.  Louis  Conference.  Mr.  Pratt's  portrait  of 
the  boy  will  not  be  recognized  in  the  engraved  likenesses  of 
the  man  in  this  book,  which  bear  irood  resemblance  to  the 
original — not  especially  by  the  nmltitude,  who  looked  at 
him  through  the  eyes  of  love,  Avliich  is  a  beautitier,  nor  by 
the  greater  number  wdio  have  seen  him  only  in  the  pulpit 
and  viewed  him  from  the  pew,  when  a  holy  fire  kindled  in 
his  eye,  and  his  face  glowed  as  with  celestial  light,  and  his 
bodily  presence  at  times  seemed  to  be  lifted  into  sympathy 
with  the  majesty  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  power. 

There  are  no  details  of  the  manner  of  intercourse  amonsf 
these  children  ;  but  w^e  know  it  was  such  as  to  nurture  the 
natural  sentiment  of  their  kindredship,  and  which  in  later 
3^ears  expressed  itself  in  uncommon  measures  of  brotherly 
affection  and  sisterly  devotion.  As  was  natural,  he  had  the 
most  tender  attachment  to  Marcia,  an  only  sister.  His  de- 
votedness  to  her  had  no  conditions  and  no  bounds  within 
the  possibility  of  his  resources.  She  nmst  be  cared  for. 
She  had  in  earlier  years  taught  school  for  means  to  attend 
school.  She  must  have  better  advantaoes  of  education. 
Practically  she  had  been  motherless  since  she  was  about 
live  years  old  ;  the  mother  of  his  own  children  will  be  a 
mother  to  her.  She  becomes,  hence,  an  inmate  of  his  fam- 
ily, at  Hannibal  Station,  for  eighteen  months,  till  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  family  at  Her  father's  house  required  her 
return.  His  noble  wife,  in  sympathy  with  all  his  loves  and 
cares,  follows  to  take  her  place,  and  enabled  her  to  attend 
the  seminary  at  Danville.  The  loss  of  the  money  sent  for 
her  expenses,  in  its  transmission  through  the  mail,  inter- 
rupted this  arrangement.     It  had  been  hoarded  out  of  his 


42  BISHOV  AIAUVIX. 

meairor  salary,  and  rime  Avas  roquirod  to  retrieve  this  mis- 
fortune. Uurinu-  lliat  time  the  wife  of  Klislui,  who  liad 
luanicd  MIjss  ^hir<:aret  Falkner,  livinu'  near  Troy,  died  of 
consuniptioii.  Soon  after,  lu-r  In-other  conti'aetcd  a  eohl 
Avhidi  (Icxclopcd  into  the  same  fatal  disease.  Their  only 
ehihl,  a  lltth-  uirl  of  four  or  five  summers,  fell  on  the  hands 
of  jMareia  for  motherly  care.  It  too  faded  away  un(h'r  the 
Mitherinj^  bliiiht  of  consumi)tion.  These  ministries,  con- 
stantly durinir  two  years,  consumed  her  streniith,  and  nine 
months  after,  in  her  twenty-second  year,  in  the  i)ath  of  the 
same  malady  she  followed  them  to  the  orave.  The  only 
favor  in  his  ministerial  appointments  he  evei-  asked  was  to 
St.  Charles  (^ircuit  and  Disti'ici — an  opportunity  to  himself 
and  wife  to  share  the  burden  of  these  sorrows  and  cares. 
All  of  the  accounts  of  the  family  history  contributed  to 
these  pages  mention  Marcia.  Her  spirit  so  sweet  in  sisterly 
love  and  womanly  virtues,  she  had  a  hriiiht  intellect.  One 
speaks  of  her  as  the  jewel  of  the  family  and  the  i)ride  of  the 
flock.  Another  s])eaks  of  her  mind  as  one  of  nature's 
brightest  gems,  and  is  sure  that,  had  she  li^  ed,  she  would 
have  shone  in  the  world  of  letters.  Her  preceptor,  Mr. 
Pritchett,  has  written  • 

Marcia  died  in  tlie  fall  of  1852.  There  was  the  most  tender  and  beau- 
tiful attachment  between  this  brother  and  sister.  It  was  hallowed  and 
distinguished  by  the  circumstances  of  domestic  sorrow  undrr  wliich  it 
Avas  nurtured  and  develoiied.  Her  name  and  nu'Uiory  were  ever  nlo^t  ten- 
der and  precious  to  him.  In^leed  the  bare  mention  of  her  name,  even  in 
his  later  years,  would  cau^e  him  to  relapse  into  one  of  thofie pensive,  silent 
moods  which  those  wlm  knew  liiui  best  remend)er  so  well.  1  had  special 
oiiportunily  to  know  of  this  mutual  attacbmeut,  for  at  his  own  cxiK'Use, 
wliile  at  I'almyra,  he  maintained  this  sister  at  the  school  then  taiiiilit  by 
my  wife  and  myself  in  Danville,  Mo.  :  and  the  last  time  1  ever  saw  his 
father  was  during  a  brief  visit  to  Warren  Counly,  wlnii  he  came  from  the 
couch  of  this  sick  rlaugliti'r  and  broniilit  to  my  wife  some  little  mementoes 
of  Marcia's  love  — mementoes  we  ciierishetl  many  a  year. 

There  is  service  of  friendshii)  to  be  ]ierfonne(l  in  writing 
this  biography.      It  is  }»art  of  it  to  link  the  name  of  ]\Iarcia 


thp:  five  cedars.  43 

with  ]\r:itlior's  nnd  make  her  memory  ns  odorous  and  histins: 
as  his  own.  ]\rany  Avill  remember  his  allusions  to  her  in 
l)ul[)it  discourse.  The  utterances  cannot  bo  re[)roduced  in 
their  beauty  and  pathos — liis  words  born  in  the  heart  of  love 
and  arraAcd  in  the  most  charmino"  iinaiierv  ever  l)()i'n  in  his 
fancy,  the  story  of  Marcia  was  a  l)eautiful  idyl.  in  their 
life  too'ether,  the  briijht  sweet  child  that  stood  at  his  side 
and  looked  on  with  curious  eyes  when  he  planted  the  Five 
Cedars,  afterwards  the  beautiful  woman — beautiful  in  per- 
son and  clothed  in  l)righter  charms  of  intellectual  and  spir- 
itual adornments — she  was  his  sister,  his  only  sister.  He 
sought  for  images  of  their  pure  love  in  the  society  of  the 
skies — the  purest  of  earth,  that  of  true  brother  and  sister, 
most  akin,  he  said,  to  the  loves  of  angels.  When  the 
spring  flowers  bloomed  he  saw  the  hectic  flush  come  to  her 
cheek  from  the  seeds  of  a  sure  decay.  Durino;  the  lone: 
summer  months  she  was  withering  away  before  his  eyes. 
As  he  looked  out  at  the  Avindow  and  saw  the  fading  leaf  of 
autumn  quivering  on  its  stem  and  now  and  then  falling  into 
the  dust,  he  marked  the  date  of  those  three  last  days  he 
passed  at  her  bedside.  Her  thin,  transparent  hand  was  in 
his  own.  Her  lustrous  eyes  were  upon  him.  On  his  ear 
fell  a  low,  sweet  voice,  which  had  a  perpetual  echo  :  "  Kiss 
me,  brother.     Good  bye." 

In  Nathaniel  he  had  a  true  l)rother.  "When  he  sought 
religion  this  brother  led  him  to  the  altar.  He  had  learned 
the  shoe  and  leather  business,  in  which  he  did  not  prosper ; 
and  all  through  life,  in  responsive  affection,  Mather's  gener- 
ous hand  Avas  extended  in  help,  and  erected  the  tombstone  at 
his  grave  in  the  first  month  of  l)urial.  He  died  in  the  tri- 
umph of  faith,  at  Louisiana,  September  17,  1877,  in  the 
57th  year  of  his  age  and  the  40th  of  his  membership  in  the 
Methodist  Church.  In  his  illness  with  consumption,  which 
was  protracted,  he  Avas  ministered  unto  Avitli  patient  and 
tender  care  by  his  wife,  a  sister  of  Rev.  Mr.  Sherman,  and 


44  lUSllor  .MAUN  IN. 

■who  is  the  survivor  of  a  ohihlless  family.  During  the  sum- 
incr,  -which  it  avjis  stramre  that  he  should  survivi',  the  bur- 
<l(>u  of  his  pnivcr  was  a  lon<ring  to  live  till  his  l)rother 
should  get  back  fiDin  his  travel  around  the  world.  After 
his  arrival,  Avith  only  a  few  days  even  for  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren till  his  first  Conference  should  be  held,  he  spent  most 
of  them  at  his  brother's  bedside. 

Further  words  of  another,  in  description  of  the  loves  of 
these  brothers,  would  ])e  an  im])ertinence  in  connection  Avith 
the  plaint  of  the  following  letter.  While  he  was  holding  the 
Missouri  Conference  at  Fulton,  a  telegraph  reached  him  in 
the  ehair  announcing  the  expected  death  of  his  brother  be- 
fore the  day  Avould  close*.  For  more  than  twenty  years 
these  brothers  had  been  the  sole  survivors  of  the  old  family. 
All  its  memories  were  upon  his  heart  as  this  last  companion 
of  the  heart hst(me  was  going  away.  There  was  only  one 
other  passion  which  could  overmaster  the  impulse  of  that 
moment  to  go  to  his  dying  brother — it  was  church  devotion. 
Tie  asked  onlv  that  he  might  leave  the  chair  to  be  alone  in 
his  room  while  the  spirit  of  his  brother  was  ])assing  away. 
With  her  who  loved  hini  most  he  must  talk  of  him,  for  no 
last  word  could  now  reach  his  brother's  eye  or  ear.  As 
thcmirh  he  was  himself  at  the  bedside,  the  shortening  breath 
he  sees  compels  in  every  paragraph,  a  fresh  cry  of  grief. 

Fulton,  Sept.  17,  1677. 
My  Dear  Sister : 

I  have  just  received  Rro.  (lunn's  dispatch,  sayiuiT:  "Your  brother 
cannot  last  over  an  hour."  It  is  a  sreat  prief  to  me  not  to  be  able  to  go 
at  onc-e  to  be  with  you  in  this  time  of  bereavement,  tliat  we  misiht  minijle 
<nu- tears  and  1  miiiht  ])e  present  to  have  a  last  k)oi<  at  that  face  wliich 
has  been  so  dear  to  me  from  the  moment  of  my  earliest  recollection,  and 
to  see  him  laid  away  to  his  last  repose.  Only  he  who  made  the  heart 
knows  how  mine  suffers  now. 

My  great  irrief  is  that  1  could  not  be  with  my  i)oor  brother  in  his  last 
days.  How  I  did  hope  that  he  WduM  live  till  my  Coiifereiices  were  over, 
so  that  I  miudit  have  si(me  to  him  to  be  by  his  side  in  the  closing  days  of 
his  stay  on  earth.     But  God  has  ordered  it  otherwise.     All  is  well  with 


THE  FIVE  CEDARS.  45 

your  dear  husband.  If  there  are  any  good  men,  he  was  one.  0,  how  true 
he  acted — how  noble  in  all  his  .sentiments  and  purposes.  He  is  with  God 
now.  I  can  almost  imaiiiue  I  see  hiin  on  Mount  Zion,  in  the  City  of  the 
Great  King,  in  the  midst  of  the  innumerable  company  of  angels  and  of  the 
Church  of  the  First-born. 

It  is  more  than  an  hour  since  the  dispatch  came.  I  can  not  bear  to 
think  that  he  is  even  now  already  dead!  Gone!  gone!  I  shall  never  see 
him  again.     Oh,  God!  help  me  to  bear  it! 

What  a  day  this  is  to  him — his  first  day  in  heaven ! 

I  have  dispatched  to  Bro.  Gunn  and  Bro.  Guiley,  to  see  him  provided 
with  a  suitable  funeral.  So  soon  as  I  get  home  from  the  Southwest  Mis- 
souri Conference,  week  after  next,  I  will  pay  all  the  bills;  and  whatever 
personal  expenses  may  be  necessary  for  yourself  at  such  a  time  I  will 
gladly  meet. 

Dear  Ada  (the  Bishop's  daughter),  I  shall  always  have  a  more  tender 
feeling  for  her,  if  possible,  because  she  was  with  her  uncle  in  his  last 
hours. 

Oh!  Nat,  Nat!  are  you  gone  away  from  me  forever?  Lizzie,  my  heart 
feels  like  it  was  breaking! 

Perhaps  you  would  like  to  linger  a  week  or  two  in  the  house  from, 
which  you  dismissed  my  poor  brother  to  his  home  in  heaven.     If  so,  I  will 
come  and  see  you  as  soon  as  I  get  home,  and  we  will  go  and  weep  together 
at  the  grave.     But  if  you  prefer  to  break  up  at  once,  do  as  may  seem  best. 

God  bless  you  and  support  you,  my  dear  sister.  You  have  been  a  true 
wife.  I  can  never  forget  how  tenderly  and  faithfully  you  nursed  my 
brother.     God  will  reward  you ! 

I  am,  with  much  affection,  Your  Brother, 

E.  M.  Marvin. 

If  the  narrative  has  lingered  long  at  the  Old  Home,  it  is 
because  there  Bishop  Marvin's  thoughts  lovingly  dwelt  and 
traveled  back  there  in  all  his  journeys,  from  the  most  distant 
points,  even  from  the  other  side  of  the  globe  when  he  was 
at  Calcutta.  Of  all  places  of  earth,  that  was  his  "hallowed 
ground."  A  friend  says  of  him,  he  was  a  child  of  sorrow. 
There  was  never  a  marriage  festivity  under  its  roof.  Fes- 
tive days  were  funereal,  as  when  the  grandsire  at  Christ- 
mas and  on  New  Year's  Day  his  mother  lay  dead  iii  the 
house.  Before  death,  except  that  of  the  old  people,  had 
invaded  this  home,  for  nearly  twenty-five  years  the  daily 
presence  of  a  2:reat  grief  shadowed  all  hearts  and  all  scenes. 
Within  a  little  more  than  a  decade  all,   except  himself  and 


46  BISHOP  MAUVIN. 

Xtitlianicl,  liad  been  laid  away  in  the  lionio  of  tlic  (load  witli- 
\n  the  littlo  iiiclosurc  Uiiii;'  on  llic  other  si(h>  of  lln'  house. 
Tlu-re  three  of  his  own  l)al)e5>  sleep,  Enoch,  Avhose  days  did 
not  coniplctc  tlic  circle  of  a  month,  an<l  AVclls  h'ly,  Ji'., whose 
life  just  reached  half  the  round  of  a  yeai-,  and  a  nameless 
child  \\liich  died  in  the  day  of  its  birth.  Another  such  was 
l)orn  and  dieil  at  ^^'cston.  Amidst  tli(\se  shadows  there  were 
cheerful  liu'hts.  It  was  the  hom(»  of  his  own  family  for 
many  years  before  the  Avar.  It  sheltenMl  them  when  he  was 
an  exile  in  the  South,  under  the  faithful  guardianship  and 
service  of  old  family  servants,  Hculxui  and  Suky.  Tt  was  the 
birthjilace  of  five  of  his  children,  of  Cornelia  and  ^Nlary  still 
livinir. 

In  a  last  look  at  the  Old  Home,  the  reader  ^vill  j)re- 
fer  to  look  through  the  eyes  with  whi<'li  liislioj)  ^Marvin 
looked  at  it  and  ])ictured  its  dearest  views  in  his  writings. 
The  landscape  of  the  print  docs  not  end)race  the  thicket 
attlu!  north  end  of  the  farm,  mIucIi  he  made  do  service  as 
an  illustration  in  ont^  of  his  sermons — in  his  boyhood  it  was 
impenetrable  as  he  had  know  n  by  many  tiials,  but  it  was  an 
open  grove  when  he  canu^  back  after  tlu^  Mar.  Across  the 
meadow  over  there  is  a  piece  of  M'oods  where,  after  he  had 
been  anxiously  missed  for  many  houi"s,  his  1>rother  Elisha 
found  him,  Avandering  about  and  saying  with  sobs,  "I  can't 
find  Jesus."  The  childish  conceit  was  the  heart  echo  to 
one  of  his  Mother's  songs,  "  Oh,  when  shall    T  see  Jesus." 

Down  in  the  barn-yard  is  the  oid-fas]iione(l  log  corn-crib 
of  which  he  spoke  in  Ids  sermon  on  "  The  Corn  of  Wheat." 
There  had  been  a  killing  frost  in  the  fall.  In  the  si)ring  suc- 
ceeding came  the  question  of  seed.  It  hap|)ened  when  lie 
was  a  mere  child.  ''I'he  rest  his  own  words  shall  relate  :  My 
father  cntei-ed  th(»  old-i'ashioned  log  crib  to  select  the 
somidcst  ears.  *  *         Child-like  I  followed  him  into 

the  cril).      Half  the  corn  had  ]>vvi\   fed  away  and  the  ])ile  of 
unhusked  ears  lay  in  a   bank  with  a  face  tliat  was  almost 


TilE  FIVE  CEDAES.  47 

perpendicular.  Father  began  at  a  spot  Avhere  the  best  of 
the  corn  had  been  })hiced.  1  remember  now  how  he  stripped 
the  Imsk  from  the  ear  and  removed  a  few  Ji'rains,  breakins: 
them  and  examinino;  the  "•  heart" — the  oemi  point.  Jf  the 
fresh  aspect  of  vitality  Avas  wanting  it  Avas  thrown  aside. 
So,  many  ears  were  examined,  condemned,  and  throAvn 
aside,  and  the  sound  ones  shelled  for  seed.  In  imitative 
effort,  I,  too,  tugged  at  the  husk  and  strii)ped  an  ear  and 
broke  the  grain  and  examined  the  "heart,"  not  knowing 
what  it  was.  I  remember  how  the  pile  of  loose-hMng  husks 
grew  and  a  cavernous  opening  appeared  in  the  perpendicular 
face  of  the  bank  as  the  work  went  on.  I  remember,  too, 
another  thing,  as  if  it  were  vesterdav,  the  anxious  face  of 
my  INIother  appeared  at  the  little  crib-door.  As  I  gaze  upon 
it  now,  throuuh  the  recollections  of  fortv-iive  vears,  it  looks 
like  the  face  of  an  angel,  only  the  glow  and  the  glory 
seemed  touched  with  a  shade  of  sadness.  "Wells,"  she 
said,  calling  him  ])y  his  Christian  name,  "can  you  get 
seed?"  Little  did  I  comprehend  it  then  ;  but  it  was  a  ques- 
tion of  bread  for  her  children,  the  question  of  questions  for 
a  mother's  heart — "  can  you  get  seed?" 

It  remained  for  his  own  hand  to  introduce  into  the  pic- 
ture the  form  of  his  father  and  the  face  of  his  mother,  and 
to  add  his  own  comment  upon  the  mystery  of  life  and  of 
sorrows  which  shadowed  this  home.  Except  in  the  two  first 
statements  they  are  words  of  reference  to  family  histor}^ 
and  they  contain  the  solace,  "  What  I  do  thou  knowest 
not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  Then,  he 
writes,  all  the  perplexing  problems  of  an  inexplicable 
providence  shall  })e  made  plain ;  I  shall  know  why  the 
tongue  of  the  slanderer  was  permitted  to  make  havoc  of 
goodly  names  and  rend  the  very  Church  of  God  ;  I  shall 
understand  the  secret  of  baffled  hopes  and  ruined  fortunes  ; 
I  shall  know  why  my  mother  suffered  so,  and  my  father  was 
a  sou  of  grief  ;  why  my  sister  died  at  the  threshold  of  early 


48  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

womanhood  and  my  eldest  brotliei-  fell  under  the  hiiirht  of 
fruitless  efforts  iind  defeated  expectation  ;  J  shall  understand 
the  mystery  of  that  sti'oke  und<  r  which  my  hahy  boys  died 
U[)on  the  l)reast  of  their  mother — tlie  l)ud  perishing  with  all 
the  glorv  of  its  possibiHties  infolded  in  its  ow  n  bosom.  My 
own  tiery  trials  wdl  be  seen  in  their  most  giacious  effect  on 
character  and  destiny,  and  the  glory  of  (Jod  Mill  appear  in 
the  white  liaht  of  its  own  spotless  and  inlinite  })erfection  of 
wisdom  and  love. 

The  "  Old  Place  "  in  Warren  County,  Mo. — its  sad  and 
sweet  memories  locate  it,  also,  on  the  "  Magical  Isle  of  the 
Kiver  of  Time,"'  of  which  B.  F.  Taylor  sung,  in  well-known, 
touchinu'  lines  : 

And  the  name  of  flic  Isle  is  the  Long  Ago, 

And  wc  bury  our  treasures  there; 
There  ure  brows  of  l)eauty  and  l^osoms  of  snow, 
There  are  heaps  of  (Uist,  but  we  loved  them  so ! 

There  are  trinkets  and  tresses  of  hair. 

There  are  fragments  of  songs  that  nobody  sings, 

And  a  part  of  an  iufaiit's  prayer; 
There's  a  lute  unswept,  and  a  harji  without  strings, 
There  are  broken  v/vvs  and  pieces  of  rings, 

And  the  garments  that  she  used  to  wear. 

There  are  liands  that  waved  wlien  the  fairy  shore. 

By  the  mirage  is  lifted  in  air; 
And  we  souietiuies  hear  through  the  turbulent  roar, 
Sweet  voices  we  heard  in  the  days  gone  before, 

When  the  wind  down  the  river  is  fair. 


/<< 


CHAPTEE     III 


*'  THIS  MAN  WAS  BORN  THERE." PsalmS. 

God's  first  Church — When  does  education  begin? — Mother's  influence — 
Jobson  and  his  mother's  prayers — Bishop  Andrew  and  his  mother — 
Enocli  Mather  on  his  mother's  knee — The  holy  song  and  baptism  of 
tears — His  father  a  Deist— The  motlier  liis  Christian  teacher — The 
Sabbatli  School  in  her  house — The  first  in  Warren  County— The  family 
government— Happy  domestic  relations — Fatlier's  training — Education 
of  circumstances— Unseen  influences — Incident  of  the  wounded  flnger 
— Saintly  women— Old  neighbors— Godly  men— Contact  with  Metho- 
dist influences — Chief  factors  in  religious  training,  his  Mother  and 
Methodism. 


I 


REVISITED  the  '  Old  Place,'  and  sat  down  in  the 
room  where  I  used  to  sit  on  my  mother's  knee  " — 
there,  at  that  first  altar  of  childhood  prayer  and  holy  place 
of  maternal  benediction,  was  the  birthplace  of  the  earliest 
religious  impressions  of  this  Man  of  God.  The  fecmidity  of 
maternal  piety  was  a  form  of  words  frequently  used  by 
Bishop  Marvin — in  that  was  engendered  the  first  quickenin^s 
of  his  own  faith.  It  has  l)een  said,  beautifully  and  truly, 
the  family  was  God's  first  church,  in  godly  discipline  its 
instruction  and  ministries  antedating  the  ordinances  of  Tem- 
ple worship  and  service  directly  referred  to  in  the  caption 
of  this  chapter. 

Learned  authors  have  asked  and  answered  the  question, 
when  does  education  begin.  They  locate  the  tirst  school- 
house  on  a  mother's  lap,  and  for  the  time,  "while  the  father 
is  yet  marking  the  moment  of  birth."  The  tirst  pulse  of 
the  bal)e,  it  is  written,  has  already  dated  its  trainin<»-  for 
eternity.  Solitary  and  unrelated  as  it  may  seem,  cascades 
4 


50  Bisiior  :.i AK\  i.\. 

of  innuciu'e  stream  in  \i\)(m\  it  from  all  sidrs  ;  wrvy  ohjoct 
soon  Ix'comos  a  l)Ook,  cnci y  ])lace  a  school-hoiisc.  and  cxcry 
event  ploULi'lis  in  some  Avinu'cd  seeds  \\lii(Ii  will  lie  hcarinii" 
their  a[)i)ro})riato  fruit  a  thousand  ai:cs  ii('n((\  Tn  strong" 
teinis,  it  has  been  .--aid  by  another,  tlio  first  six  years  of  life 
is  man's  "  ereation  week  " — those  yeai:s*  iu  which  a  child 
may  he  used  to  l>lay  on  lln^  lloor  ai'ound  a  mother's  chair 
and  not  too  old  to  sit  on  her  knee. 

The  only  recorded  memory  connected  with  that  visit  of 
a  Bishop  to  the  "Old  l^lace '"  tinds  a  ])aral!el  in  the  first 
utterance  of  Jobson,  on  taking  the  chair  of  the  l*resident  of 
tlie  British  Wesleyan  Conference — it  is  in  answer  to  prayer 
that  I  am  luu-e,  the  prayer  of  my  mother.  Another  such 
fact  is  stated  in  Bishoj)  Keener's  discourse  at  the  ])urial  of 
Bishop  Andrew,  who  used  to  tell  of  the  face  and  words  of 
his  mother — "James,  1  had  rathc^r  see  you  a  faithful 
preacher  of  th(>  Gospel  than  emiieror  of  the  world  :"  and  in 
tcllinu-  it  exclaimed,  "  And,  O,  how  she  looked  when  she 
said  it."  She  taught  him,  says  Bishop  K.,  uiany  passages 
of  poetry,  which  he  could  repeat  to  the  close  of  life,  though 
he  had  never  seen  them  in  any  book.  She  was  a  woman  of 
fine  natural  taste,  strong  intellect,  fond  of  llowers  and 
poetrv,  and  deei)ly  i)ious.  ]\Iuch  like  her  was  the  mother  of 
Bishop  Marvin — mothers  Avho  give  bishops  to  the  church. 

Of  the  prerogative  of  a  mother's  inlluenct'  and  its  func- 
tions, which  no  hired  substitute  can  perform,  lie  himself 
wrote:  No  hands  can  caress  a  child  or  swathe  it  like  a 
mother's  ;  no  eye  can  beam  upon  it  like  hers  ;  no  voice  can 
baptize  its  heart  with  such  a  Avealth  of  tenderness  ;  no  other 
eai-  can  be  so  (piick  to  the  faintest  cry.  None  hke  her  can 
bear  with  all  its  weaknesses  ;  none  on  earth  can  so  train  its 
tongue  to  truth  and  form  its  soul  to  honor.  In  writing  of 
his  dear  friend  and  co-laborer,  Ca))les,  in  whom,  he  im- 
ao^ined,  a  casual  observer  would  see  onlv  a  verv  irrei^ressiblc 
boy,  running  over  with  vitality  and  fun,  he  wrote — but  his 


"  THIS  MAX  WAS  BORN  THERE."  51 

onotlier  "would  discover  .soniething  nmeli  deeper.  She  Avould 
see  the  young  spirit  opeuinij:  it.self  to  everA^tliing  divine  in 
nature  and  in  the  Bible.  Under  the  -watch-care  of  such  a 
teacher,  he  was  sure,  as  years  advanced,  there  was  an  ever- 
deepening  sense  of  God. 

Words  like  those  would  appropriately  clothe  his  re- 
flections while  he  sat  in  that  room  alone,  except  in  company 
with  the  most  hallowed  memory  of  his  childhood.  Many 
readers  will  note  in  them  the  lineaments  of  his  own  mother's 
portrait,  as  he  often  pictured  it  in  spoken  sermons.  The 
author  of  "  Our  Children"  had  fineness  of  vision  of  a  sen- 
sitive soul  to  reproduce  it  in  print.  It  was  a  companion 
picture  to  some  which  hung  on  the  walls  of  his  own  heart, 
and  under  the  inspiration  of  kindred  memories  he  has  made 
a  good  copy  of  the  original. 

We  have  heard,  he  writes,  one  of  our  hishops  tell  of  his 
child-experience  in  religion.  Even  he,  with  all  his  gift  of 
expression  cannot  tell  it  all  in  words.  The  gesture,  the 
tones,  the  look  on  his  face,  told  more  than  his  tomrue  could 
tell.  How  distinctly  he  recalled  the  time  when  his  mother 
held  him  in  her  lap  and  looked  down  into  his  face  as  she 
sang  her  favorite  hynm  : 

"Alas!  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed? 
And  did  nij-  Sovereign  die? 
Would  he  devote  that  sacred  head 
For  sucli  a  worm  as  I?" 

And  as  the  good  mother  sang  the  last  stanza  : 

"But  drops  of  grief  can  ne'er  repay 
The  debt  of  love  I  owe ; 
Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away, 
'Tis  all  tliat  I  can  do." 

tears  dropped  from  her  eyes  as  she  looked  down  upon  the 
child  in  her  lap  and  fell  upon  his  face.  As  the  good 
Bishop  told  us  these  things  his  voice  trembled  and  his  e3^es 
filled,  as  if  he  still  felt  his  mother's  arms  about  him.     How 


52  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

deeply  llie  iiiq)res.sioii  Avas  llicii  iiiadi-  on  liis  tender  mind — 
how  intensely  it  lias  been  retained — that  a  irood  and  sinless 
One  had  died  for  liini.  ( )n(^  scene  he  reealled  AvitJi  ])athetic 
simplieity.  A\'lien  a  little  child — his  mother's  soncfs  in  his  ear 
and  his  mother's  ])raA'er  in  his  hcai't — he  Avas  plaAinu"  near 
the  house  in  a  skirt  of  woods  Avherc  the  autumn  shadows 
and  sunshine  Avere  minirlini^  on  the  ground  and  the  autumn 
gold  and  jiurple  Avere  upon  tin;  leaA'es.  He  began  to  think 
over  the  somi::, 

"Alas!  .iikI  did  my  Saviour  bleed?" 
The  thought  went  down  into  his  heart,  "  Jesus  died  for  me 
— for  me;"  and   he   Avondered,  "Shall    I   ever  see   Jesus? 
"Will  he  eA(>r  come  to  me?" 

If,  as  the  same  author  propounds  in  substance  the  in- 
quiry, an  infant  soul  is  prejjared  for  heaven  Avhen  it  is  ealled 
hence,  may  not  the  same  gracious  PoAver  shed  its  light  upon 
the  3'oung  mind  at  an  early  daAvn  of  intelligence,  and  move 
silently  and  mysteriously,  but  efficaeioush',  ujion  the  moral 
nature  in  its  transition  into  form,  shaping  it  in  a  divine 
mold?  If  so,  tlie  Holy  Spirit  descended  on  that  scene — at 
that  baptism  of  a  mother's  tears.  They  floAved  at  the  spec- 
tacle of  Calvary.  At  first  floAV  and  ever  afterAvards  they 
Avere  to  liini  an  cAangel  of  Chi'ist.  To  his  u})turned  eye,  he 
has  said,  the;  saintly  face  often  ap[)eared,  still  looking  upon 
him  from  out  the  shadoAvy  past,  like  a  celestial  vision  through 
rifted  clouds  lie  spoke  of  her  voice  as  not  Avith.out  culture 
and  as  naturally  musical  :  and  the  cadence  of  that  song  slie 
sang  Avas  a  conslanl  iiiehxh'  m  hi.^  ear,  and  seemed  like  a 
note,  estray  on  eailh,  of  the  Song  of  the  ]>aiul). 

The  value  of  the  incident  just  i-elatcd  is  enhanced  in 
vicAV  of  the  theological  ()j)ini()ns  Avhich,  it  is  generally  mi- 
derstood,  wei-e  held  l)y  his  father.  So  far  as  ])aternal  ex- 
am[)le  and  inllnenee  might  he  j»re\aleiit ,  it  Avas  a  (juestion 
Avhether  his  son  should  not  heeonie  a  Deist.  It  is  not  in 
evidence  that  the   father  souirht   or  desired  to   indoctrinate 


"  THIS  MAN  WAS  BORN  THERE."  53 

his  children  in  that  system  of  l^elief.  On  tlie  contrary,  he 
committed  them  to  the  religion  of  the  mother.  Tliat  se- 
cured them  early  and  irrcvoeablv  to  "  the  faith  in  Christ." 
In  counteraction  to  the  authority  of  a  father's  opinions  and 
the  unintended  but  inevitable  influence  of  example,  that 
sono-  she  sansr  embodied  the  divinity  and  grace  of  the  Gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God.  Her  tears  were  a  solvent  of  infidelity. 
In  that  vision  he  met  in  the  path  of  childhood  the  son,  who 
afterwards  preached  Jesus,  became  Christian,  and  on  his 
heart,  copied  from  a  bright  image  of  its  love-compelling 
power,  there  was  stamped  the  ineffaceable  credo — "And  I 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  Son,  the  Lord  of  Glory 
crucified." 

It  is  proper  to  say,  that  different  understanding  concern- 
ing Mr.  jNIarviir  s  religious  belief  is  had  by  Rev.  Mr.  Pritchett, 
whose  discernment  and  opportunity  of  observation  entitle 
his  judgment  to  respect.  His  remarks,  it  will  be  noticed, 
are  in  confirmation  of  what  has  been  written  concerning  the 
salutary  home  influences  exerted  in  that  family. 

In  seckino;  for  the  oriirin  of  early  relioious  impressions 
produced  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  Enoch  Marvin,  says  Mr. 
P.,  there  is  one  factor  likely  to  be  omitted,  and  yet  it  is  one 
of  great  importance.  His  father  and  mother  had  been 
reared  in  the  faith  and  usages  of  Calvinism.  His  mother 
for  years  was  a  member  of  the  old  Regular  Baptist  Church. 
His  father  was  not  in  the  communion  of  the  Church.  He 
was  a  man  of  silent,  uncommunicative  manner,  yet  one  of 
t\\Q  most  patient,  enduring  i\\\(\  even-tempered  of  men.  He 
bore  the  great  burdens  of  his  life  with  a  spirit  l)orn  of  Re- 
ligion. It  Mas  mainly,  I  think,  his  traditional  faith  which 
kept  him  out  of  the  formal  communion  of  the  Church.  He 
waited  for  a  development  of  grace,  and  an  overpowering 
Divine  Impulse,  which  should  compel  him  into  the  Kingdom 
of  God.  His  meeh,  pure  and  devoted  life  was  no  doubt  the 
offspring  of  a  conscientious  faith  and   of  a  moral   haliitude. 


54  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

the  resultant  of  rolii^^ioii.  lie  ihovcmI  in  liis  family  in  lliat 
unpretentious,  quiet  why  which  nol  (iiil\'  won  their  venera- 
tion, hut  which  c()ininan(h'i|  llieir  wai-niest  I()\('.  Mrs.  Mar- 
\]\\,  j)revious  to  her  ni-eat  atlliction,  was  an  cncrii'etic,  con- 
scientious woman.  She  I'cad  much,  i'or  that  day,  and  had 
rules  and  system  in  her  familw  ( )n('  of  these  \\as  to  read 
the  Serij)turt's  with  her  <'hihh-<'ii  on  tlie  Sabbath  :  and  I  am 
tohl,  bv  those  now  ii\  ini:",  slic;  sometimes  invited  lh(;  chil- 
dren of  lier  neiii"hboi-s  to  join  in  these  Scripture;  r('adin<:;s. 
Ko  doubt  the  life. and  instructions  of  such  i)arent.s  liad  their 
full  moral  ('tfe<t  on  the  habits,  early  life  and  mature  charac- 
ter of  Enoch  Mar\  in.  The  father  died  a  Christian.  The 
family  government  llowcd  from  aood  parenthtxxl,  and  was 
aided  by  the  spirit  of  peace  which  sat  at  the  hearthstone. 

Tlie  few  details  in  the  histor}'  of  their  marriage  arc  in- 
terestinof  and  ,su<i"2:estive.  They  had  been  childi-en  together 
at  Pittstield,  Mass.,  their  birthplace — he  born  May  <Sth,  1791, 
and  she  Octol)er  3rd,  17<S7.  It  is  to  I)e  inferred  that  the 
families  of  their  parents  lived  on  terms  of  intinuicy.  A  sis- 
ter of  ]Mr.  jNIarvin  was  married  to  a  INlr,  IJenjamin  Davis, 
who  was  a  kinsman  of  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Mary  Davis.  The  two  families  removed  together  to  Che- 
naniro  County,  N.  Y.  There  they  wen;  married  in  the  \vi\v 
1817,  just  before  their  emigration  to  the  West.  He  was  in 
his  27th  year,  and  she;  was  his  senior  three  years  and  five 
months.  Not  in  the  impulses  of  romance  and  passion,  l)ut 
with  the  sol)er  views  of  the  laft(!r  days  of  youth  their  mai- 
ria<re  was  formed.  They  set  out  together  to  share  the  for- 
tunes  of  life  in  a  wilderness  home.  There  is  uniform  testi- 
mony to  the  conjugal  \irlues  which  mad(!  it  the  abode  of 
peace-  and  love.  Jt  was  the  adwintage  of  liisliop  ]\Iarvin's 
childhood  that  it  was  passed  amidst  scenes  of  domestic  order 
and  t ranijuility.  It  is  rare  to  iiud  a  llowcr  growing  amon^ 
thorns. 


r 


"  THIS  MAN  WAS  BORN  THERE."  55 

By  a  sad  and  strange  providence,  in  the  infirmity  which 
bcfel  his  wife,  the  care  and  cuUure  of  the  chihh'cii  devolved 
exclusively  upon  him.  The  tuition  of  the  mother,  which 
her  son  has  made  so  widely  known,  is  well  a|)preciated. 
The  value  of  that  of  his  father  should  not  he  overlooked. 
It  cannot  be  too  hiuhlv  estimated.  Hers  was  teachinir,  and 
especially  heart  culture.  His  was  training,  the  necessary 
complement  of  hers — hers  the  nurture,  and  his  the  admon- 
ition, of  the  Lord. 

The  misfortune  alluded  to  did  not  happen,  fortunately, 
till  jNIather  was  in  his  twelfth  year.  In  the  jears  before 
that  age  the  best  work  of  the  mother  is  accomplished.  The 
sowing  delayed  till  after  that  age  is  a  late  spring-planting. 
The  i)eriod  vvhich  elapses  before  the  child  is  put  to  formal 
mental  training  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  ordination  of 
nature  as  the  season  of  special  opportunity  for  the  nurture 
of  the  moral  sentiments.  Then,  when  the  child  may  sit  ou 
its  mother's  lap,  the  mold  is  softest  and  the  vernal  showers 
are  most  fruitful.  Impressions  made  then  are  sure  and 
lasting.  In  culture  then,  inevitably  there  is  "touch  and 
tincture."  In  one  of  his  Odes,  Horace  has  likened  it  to  a 
vessel  which  long  retains  the  scent  of  the  liquor  first  put 
into  it.  Robert  South,  adopting  the  same  idea,  speaks  of 
"  the  tano- "  of  the  vessel.  In  the  father's  training  sound" 
principles  became  embodied  in  right  conduct.  It  wasafeli- 
cit}^  of  his  life  that  it  had  never  Ijcen  marred  l)y  outl)reak- 
ing  wickedness.  There  was  exemption  in  after  life  from 
fierce  contest  against  proclivity  to  vices  which  had  become 
naturalized  by  habit.  In  character  there  was  not  the  de- 
formity and  weakness,  as  of  a  broken  limb  that  had  been 
mended.  This  advantage  is  strongly  expressed  by  Rev.  A. 
G.  Haygood  in  his  terse  saying,  "Paul  had  liecn  a  greater 
saint  had  he  not  been  so  o-reat  a  sinner."  It  is  the  startino: 
point  in  the  path  of  a  better  career   and  to   a  higher  goal. 


SG  BISHOP  M  AKVIN. 

It  is  silid  of  lliL"  fofL'niiiuci'  of  ('lirl>t,  tli;it  lie  was  filled 
Avith  the  Holy  (Jhost  from  his  mother's  woml),  ;m<l  of  the 
Bislio))  whom  Paul  oniaiiied  and  scUH'tctl  for  that  high 
otiicc  and  for  difficult  and  perilous  serviee,  because  from  a 
child   lie   had    known  the  Holy  Scrij)!  ures. 

In  the  dc[)artnicnt  of  education  know  n  as  that  of  circuni- 
stunces,  the  reader  of  the  foregoing  details  of  boyhood  his- 
torv  may  conjec-ture  Avhat  may  have  been  its  forms  and 
effects.  One  writer  names  it  insensible  education,  and  says 
of  it,  that,  like  insensilde  i)erspiration,  it  is  often  of  more 
powerful  effect  than  that  which  is  direct  and  apiJarcnt.  Not 
to  allow  too  much  latitudt'  to  conjecture  and  remark,  it  ma}'" 
be  supposed  justly  that  some  of  the  jjrominent  characteris- 
tics of  his   mature  life  had  origin  or  imrture  in   such  intlu- 

enecs 

Reared  amidst  rustic  scenes  and  familiarized  with  a  sim- 
ple manner  of  life  comports  with  his  sincerity  and  sinqilicity 
of  spirit,  and  entire  absence  in  him  of  ]n'etentiousncss.  AVitli 
this  corresponds  the  disgust  he  had  at  the  ai'tilicial  life  of 
fashional)le  society.  During  his  whole  childhood  and  far 
into  the  years  of  manhood,  one  friend  says,  he  was  pei  uliarly 
II  son  of  o-rief — this  fcllowsliin  of  sorrow  beuat  tlu^  sensi- 
bilitv  to  sympathy  Avliich  Avas  so  tender  and  acute  in  him. 
An  old  neighbor  said  of  his  father  that  he  had  more  atHic- 
tioiis  than  most  men,  and  was  "the  greatest  man  for 
l)atienc(^"'  he  eyer  knew.  Its  exercise  strengthens  it,  and 
fortitude  is  ti-aineij  to  endurance  in  contlict  with  trial. 
Brought  up  on  a  small  farm  yielding  only  maintenance  from 
year  to  year,  labor  was  a  necessity  and  the  spirit  and  habit 
of  industry  became  the  law  of  his  life.  In  this  school  he 
learned  to  respect  the  honest  toiler  in  tield  and  sho[) — a  sen- 
timent which  in  a  meinorabh^  incident  of  after  lite  directed 
his  steiis  from  the  society  of  a  college  and  tin;  homo  of  its 
President,  who  was  no  other  than  the  |)cei-less  (Icnei'al  Lee, 
without  air  or  sense  of  condescension  to  the  dwelling  of  the 


"  THIS  MAN  WAS  BOKN  THERE."  57 

Yillaiic  Blacksmith.  In  a  o-eneral  view  of  liis  circumstances 
in  life,  cut  off  from  any  expectation  of  inliuential  patronage, 
and  from  all  props  of  adventitious  aid,  there  was  born  in  him 
the  spirit  of  self-reliance,  and  he  loolced  out  upon  public 
life,  its  paths  of  distinction  and  its  lields  of  usefulness,  ■with 
the  conviction,  Avhich  was  victorv  l)e<>un,  that  whatever 
name  he  made  in  the  world  would  be  the  purchase  of  per- 
sonal worth  and  the  achievement  of  his  own  right  arm. 

There  is  an  incident  of  his  boyhood  illustrative  of  the 
moral  agencies  just  alluded  to,  and  l)clonoin<!:  to  what  has 
bceii  called  unseen  influences — spiritual  forces,  not  palpa- 
ble or  not  noticed  by  cursory  observation,  but  real  and  fruit- 
ful, like  the  silent  dews  of  the  night.  They  are  the  product 
of  good  example,  and  of  those  little  acts  of  piety,  unstudied 
and  often  almost  unconsciously  performed,  which,  never- 
theless, make  up  much  of  the  course  of  a  godly  life  and  con- 
stitute its  general  tone.  Such  spiritual  influence  is  spoken 
of  bv  a  modern  Avriter,  as  sprinirino;  forth  from  hitherto 
hidden  springs  deep  in  humble,  but  saintly  souls,  even  as  the 
clouds  of  Heaven  have  often  draNvn  their  precious  stores 
from  perennial  springs  in  far  off,  secluded  spots,  Avhich  the 
foot  of  man  has  never  trod. 

A  remarkably  saintly  woman  among  the  intimate  friends 
of  his  mother,  was  Mrs.  McConnell — Aunt  Rachel,  he  called 
her.  She  died  in  the  year  1870,  during  one  of  his  Episco- 
pal visitations  in  Texas.  In  a  puldished  letter  from  there, 
he  makes  a  loving  tri])ute  to  her  memory.  It  is  a  remark- 
able testimony  in  many  respects,  and  exhibits,  not  l)v  a  single 
incident,  1)ut  in  a  constant  and  copious  stream  of  influence, 
the  outgoings  of  genuine  Christian  character  and  holy  living. 
From  this  source  what  streams  of  hallowed  influence  flowed 
in  upon  his  childhood  and  fertilized  his  own  character,  1)otli 
in  manhood  and  j'outh.  It  Avas  in  this  relation  to  her,  that 
he  would  have  her  memory  linked  with  his  (mvd,  and  he  has 
embalmed  it  in  the  followino;  loving:  and  o-rateful  words : 

o  o  o 


58  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

There  is  an  incidiMil  in  the  experienees  of  this  trip  which 
I  can  not  f()rl)o:ir  to  introduce,  thouiili  it  l)eh)n£rs  more  to 
Missouii.  autl  is  chiefly  of  interest  to  me  as  an  individual. 
A  letter  from  home  l»cai's  the  inlclli,--ence,  "  Sister  MeC'on- 
ludl  is  (U'ad/'  To  me  these  Avords  conveyc(l  a  message  of 
personal  hcreavement .  ANilliani  McConnell  lived  within  one 
mile  of  my  father  from  mv  earliest  recollection .  In  fact,  for 
several  years  before  my  hirtli  both  families  had  been  living- 
there.  Amongst  the  earliest  facts  whicii  I  remember  are  visits 
bet\veen  mv  mother  and  Mrs.  McConnell.  A\'e  always 
called  her  .^i«i^  7?rtc7/6'/.  TT-om  the  time  I  was  born  until 
this  moment  I  have  never  seen  nor  thought  of  her  vviihout 
a  feelmg  of  respect  and  affection. 

1  have  said  that  Bro.  McConnell  had  his  faults.  (We  called 
him  Fncle  Billy.)  \lut  Aunt  ij'acAe/— what  faults  had  sjie? 
Had  she  any?  Had  she  one?  What  Avas  it?  What  wrong 
act  did  any  one  ever  know  her  to  commit?  \\hat  wiong 
word  did  ev(n- any  one  hear  her  utter?  A\hat  evil  temi)er 
was  she  ever  known  to  indulge?  I  dare  not  say  that  she 
was  absolutely  perfect,  for  she,  too.  was  a  daughter  of  Eve. 
But  I  do  declare  that  after  an  intimate  accpiaintance, 
runninsj-  thnniiiii  m\  v.hole  life,  /  did  lol  know  ahJpmhJtin 
her  cJinrnrfpr.  I  never  knew  her  to  1)e  wanting  in  any  duty. 
T  never  knew  her  to  discharge  a  duty  reluctantly  or  in  an 
undntiful  ten^x-r.  Through  what  years  of  domestic  labor 
she  jia.ssed  with  perfect  sweetness  of  teni[)cr'  'I  he  ten 
thousand  vexations  of  every  day  life  in  a  large  family  of  boys 
never  jostled  her.  For  her  own  ease  and  pleasure  she  took 
no  thought,  but  nhat  would  >he  iiof  do  for  others?  A\  ife, 
mother,  neighI)or.  friend.  Christian — what  obligation  do 
these  words  imply  that  she  faile(l  lo  meet.  All  this  sounds 
extravao-ant .  Ibit  a>k  liei- old  neighbors  alxml  \\'right  ( "ity, 
if  the  life  she  li\c(l  does  not  justify  every  word  which  1  have 
written . 

But  she  was  a  pool',  hard-working  woman,  not  cultivated 


"  THIS  MAN  AVAS  BORN  THERE."  59 

nor  oiftcd,  except  with  great  good  sense.  She  had  no  per- 
sonal [)eauty — that  is,  of  the  outside  sort.  But  her  native 
ooodness  o-'ive  her  an  air  of  i>-ood  breeding,  and  sweetness 
of  manners  that  to  me  was  charming.  The  purit}'  and  benevo- 
lence that  always  rested  upon  her  face  made  it  hjvely.  Of 
gratitude  she  possessed  an  excess.  After  all  the  good  deeds 
she  had  done  to  others  it  seemed  only  just  that  her  wants, 
in  old  aofe  and  straiahtened  circumstances,  should  l)e  looked 
after  by  old  friends.  But  every  attention  shown  her,  every 
little  present  made  to  her,  every  little  piece  of  work  done 
for  her,  seemed  to  oppress  her. 

Sht)  spent  the  day  at  my  house  just  before  I  left  home 
on  this  trip.  She  was  l)owed  with  j^ears.  The  dear  old 
saint !  how'  my  heart  melted  toward  her.  I  did  not  once 
think  that  it  was  probably  the  last  time  I  should  see  her.  But 
I  now  think  that  she  must  have  felt  it.  She  was  overcome 
by  tears  in  taking  leave.  I  had  never  seen  her  melt  so  fully. 
My  eyes  are  dim  with  tears  as  I  write.  She  is  with  God  to- 
night. Oh  !  that  I  mav  have  grace  to  meet  her  in  the  man- 
sions  of  the  just.  She  was  always  self-depreciating.  She 
even  thought  meanly  of  her  own  spiritual  attainments.  To 
every  one  else  it  was  evident  that  they  were  of  the  highest 
order.  The  Church  has  never  any  trouble  with  such  mem- 
bers. Oh  !  that  there  might  be  many  thousands  like  them 
everywhere. 

I  am  reluctant  to  take  leave  of  them.  But  death  has 
come  in  between  us,  and  I  must  submit.  Few"  friends  of 
my  childhood  remain,  and  to  these  I  must  say — farewell ! 

For  all  the  old  neighbors  and  their  descendants.  Bishop 
Marvin  cherished  through  life  the  Avarmest  affection. 
Some  of  them  have  already  been  mentioned.  Among  other 
good  and  tried  friends  of  the  family  Avere  EdAvin  Pleasants, 
and  Royal,  a  batchelor  brother ;  V.  K.  Pringle,  noAV  of 
Salem,  Oregon,  and  Dr,  Wright,  the  family  ])hysician,  avIio 
is  now  in  extreme  old  ajje  and  resident  at  St.  Louis.      I  can 


GO  BISHOP  .AIAKVIX. 

never  forget,  he  said,  how  much  I  owe  to  tlio  few  godly 
moil  and  woincii  J  knew  in  the  time  of  my  own  s[)irilual 
infancy.  h\  Church  ministrations  Methodism  was  predomin- 
ant, as  it  was  effectual,  in  the  formation  of  the  religious 
creed  and  s[)iritual  character  of  Bishop  ]Marvin.  He  has  often 
spoken  pul)licly  of  himself,  as  a  product  of  Methodism.  In 
a  letter  addressed  to  the  writer  of  these  i)ages,  he  said: 

To  the  Methodist  people,  under  God,  J  owe  all  my  hopes 
for  eternity.  Through  thein  the  gospel  became  effectual  in 
my  awakeninji  and  conversion  in  early  youth.  Thr()U!j:h 
them  1  ha\(^  enjoye(l  the  means  of  grace  and  the  sacraments 
of  the  Church,  so  helpful  and  necessary  to  my  growth' in  the 
life  of  religion.  All  this  I  owe  to  the  Methodist  people  of 
Missouri,  the  State  of  my  nativity. 

TTis  mother  Avas  a  Ba[)tist,  ])ut  neyer  attached  herself  to 
that  Church  m  the  neighborhood,  l)ecause,  it  is  said,  of  the 
Antinomian  doctrines  so  prevalent  at  that  time  in  the  Ikiptist 
Church  of  the  State.  She  was  not  favorably  disposed 
toward  the  jNIethodist  Church,  objecting  to  some  of  its 
usao-es.  \n  that  community  generally,  Methodism,  Mr. 
Pratt  says,  was  uMp()[)ular,  and  the  few  who  attended  upon 
the  ministry  at  Uncle  Billy  McConnelTs  went  as  much  for 
fun  as  for  anything  else.  There,  however,  Bishoi)  Marvin 
was  brought  into  contact  with  Methodist  influences.  Meth- 
dist  preachers  seldom  visited  at  his  father's  house.  As  he 
states  it,  the  tirst  who  was  eyer  under  the  roof  was  a  local 
preacher.  Rev.  Joseph  Allen.  His  yisit,  he  said,  Avas  like 
the  advent  of  an  angel.  Rev.  D.  T.  Sherman,  then  a  local 
preacher,  also  visited  the  family.  Among  the  lirst  ^letho- 
dist  preachers  he  ever  saw,  was  Robert  II.  Jordan,  still  a 
member  of  tlu^  Missouri  (Conference,  and,  excepting  Rev. 
din-ome  C.  Berryman,  the  oldest  survivor  of  the  pioneer 
preachers  of  the  State. 

The  earliest  ]\Ieth()dist  preaching  place  in  the  neighbor- 
hood was  at  Lyle's.     Besides  that  at  Mr.  McConneirs,  there 


"THIS    MAN    WAS    BORN    TIIEKE."  Gl 

was  circuit  preacliinir  at  tlu;  house  of  Mr.  Pritclictt,  who  has 
given  two  sons  to  the  ministry.  The  ehler,  Rev.  C.  W. 
Pritcliett,  has  AvrittcMi  of  the  indebtedness  of  Bishop  Mar\in 
to  the  ministrations  of  the  church,  as  complementary  to 
tliose  of  his  liomc.  "Still  athome,''  he  writes,  "he  was  not  in 
direct  communication  with  that  permeating  spiritual  influ- 
ence, M'liich  led  his  younii;  heart  to  Christ.  It  is  of  interest  to 
inquire  how  this  clement  of  sjiiritual  power  was  supplied. 
By  what  agency  was  he  put  into  comnmnication  with  the 
sjiiritual  forces  of  the  Gospel  ?  It  is  of  the  more  importance 
to  ask  this  question,  since  our  Heavenly  Father  emploj's 
human  agencies  in  his  work  of  grace  in  individual  experi- 
ence, as  well  as  in  the  ao-o-reixato  results  of  His  kinsjdom  ; 
and  there  arc  many  such  agencies,  very  humble  it  may  be, 
and  very  much  over-looked  in  their  day,  which  future  years 
and  the  day  of  Eternity  will  reveal  as  God's  chosen  and 
efficacious  instrumentalities.  The  house  of  'old  father  \\'\\~ 
liam  McConnell,  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Marvin,  and  lower  down  the  Creek.  This 
house  was  for  many  years,  not  only  the  home  of  a  hn-ge 
family,  but  it  was  the  home  of  the  Methodist  Church  for 
all  that  region  of  country.  Here  the  regular  circuit  appoint- 
ments were  tilled,  and  here  were  held  the  Class  and  Prayer 
meetings.  Here  was  a  centre  of  divine  and  spiritual  power, 
whose  influence  permeated  at  that  region.  It  was  here  that 
Marvin  was  brought  into  contact  with  the  spiritual  forces 
of  jNIethodism.  How  much  the  church  of  the  present  and 
of  the  future  will  owe  to  the  sclf-sacritice  and  devotion  of 
AVilliam  and  Rachel  INIcConnell,  it  can  never  know.  The  waves 
of  Christian  influence  have  widened  out  from  their  humble 
home,  and  their  undulations  are  still  felt  in  several  cir- 
cuits of  the  iSlissouri  Conference." 

These  reflections  Ijring  the  narrative  back  to  the  incident 
noted  in  the  opening  sentence  of  this  chapter — the  visit  to 
his  mother's  room.     He  had  oone  there  from  the  jSIonroe 


1)2  lUSlIOP    MAltVIX. 

Camp-p-ound,  near  AVriirlit  City.  It  was  the  second  annual 
encanipnuMit,  in  August/  1^71.  His  Avords  as  (juotod  are 
the  coiichidinu-  senteni-e  of  his  letto-  report iim-  the  occasion. 
The  cniire  h-ltcr  is  a  sketch  in  outline  of  the  huiuaii  agen- 
cies, Avhich  had  l)een  operative  in  the  hand  of  (jlod  upon  his 
character  and  history. 

The   chief  factors    in    the   result  were  his    mother    and 
^Methodism — fJier(\  as   locality   of   inlhience   and    other  than 
the  divine,  it  must   he   written,   this    man    was    l)orn.      The 
Camp-uround  was  in  the  neighhorhood  of  the   phice  of   his 
nativity,  where  he  retired  at  the  ch)se   of   the   meetinir,  on 
AVednes(hiv.      Therc^   had    been    constant  greet ings,  on   the 
riii'ht  hand  and  the  left,  of  old   neigld)<)rs  and  friends.    On 
Sunday  the  concourse  of  people  had  been   immense.      The 
sacramental  service  on  Monday  was  a  great  solemnity.     The 
jDresence  of  God  in  the  encampment  was  felt  by  all.      Quite 
a  number  wew   converted.      The   members   of  the   Church 
were  strengthenetl  and  built  up   on  their  most  holy  faith. 
Amono-  the  i)reachers  present    there    were   old    veterans — 
Andrew  Monroe,  one   of   them,   the   patriarth  of   Missouri 
Methodist  itinerancy,   who    had    come    to    the    State   when 
Mather  was  oidy  al)out  tifteen  months  old,  and  had  pioneered 
the  settlement  of  the  Chm'ch.    Of  him  and  (leorge  Smith  and 
Horace  Brown,  Avho   were   also  present,  the   BisJiop  wrote: 
I  met  these  three  aged  ministers  with  a  feeling  of  reverence 
and  affection  that  grows  upon  me.      1  ha\c  had  sweet  eoim- 
sel    with    them    all    for    many   years,  and    have   the   feeling 
toward  them  of  a  son  in  the  Gospel.      ^^^'  all  feed  that  (iod 
has  been  gracious  to  the  Church  in  sparing   them   to    us   so 
lono-.     The  incidents  of  the  occasion,  in  his  own  descriptive 
words,  dis(dosc  the  Christian  influences   which  had   been   at 
work,    in    the    formative    period,    upon    his    character — its 
birthplaces,  on  his  Mother's  liuee  and  at  the  altar  of  Meth- 
odism. 


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;,.,l.ii. '  .11 


CHAPTER     IV. 


HIS  CONVERSION. 

The  Scriptural  idea  of  conversion— New  Birtli,  the  great  fact — An  epoch  of 
life — MetliocHst  views— The  muii^tratitm  of  the  Church  — His  own 
account  of  his  conversion— Time  and  place — Rev.  U.  T-  Sherman's 
account — Raised  a  Baptist — Change  of  views— An  episode  in  history  of 
his  opinions  on  Baptism — Joined  the  Churcli  as  a  seeker— Human 
instruments  in  liis  conversion — His  vow  as  a  seeker  severely  tested — 
His  faith— Closure  with  Christ— Conscious  acceptance— Born  from 
above — Testifies  to  the  glorious  cliauge. 

tX  a  diavy  kept  by  Bishop  Marvin  during  his  first  visita- 
tion of  the  churches    on  the  Pacific  Coast,  the  record 
of  the  conversion  of  souls    was  in  the   significant    phrase, 
"  Entered  into  life."     That  is  a  Scriptural  idea  of  conver- 
sion.    It  is  to  1)6  created  anew  ;  to  be  l)orn  agtun.     In  other 
similar  terms  he  was  accustomed  to   Avrite   of  this   radical 
chanse :      "Every  birth  is  the  be2:innin<2:    of    a    new    life. 
The  restoration  of  the  soul  to  God  is  nothing  short  of  this. 
There  is  a  new  life.     It  is  the  divine  life — the  life  of  God 
in  the  soul."     It  is  a  great  mystery  in  doctrine,  but  to  him 
it  was  a  great  reality  in  consciousness.     The  mystery  is  ad- 
mitted ;  the  fact  is  claimed,  mysterious  as  the  wind,  but  as 
real.     "  The  New  Birth,"  he  wrote,  "  is  not  a  dream  nor  a 
sentiment,  but  a  life  communicated  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
'  We  are  made  i)artakers  of  the  divine  nature,  having  es- 
caped the   corruption  that  is  in  the  world  through    lust.' 
This  is  the  life  of  holiness."     The  same  idea  appears  in  the 
typical  teaching  of  the  Old    Testament.     The    chronology 
of  Jewish  history  was  altered  when  the  feast  of  the  Pass- 


(jt 


IllSllOi'    -MAIININ, 


over  \\:i>  instituted — "  This  shall  he  to  you  tlic  l)ci:iimin«-  of 
iiioiiths,"  It  'j:n\r  a  new  dale  to  time,  as  if  to  teach  men 
that  then  oiilv  tlicy  hcuin  really  to  live,  Avhen  they  live 
thi'ouiiii  ('liri>t,  in  Christ,  and  I'oi'  Christ. 

He  spoke  of  the  New  Uirth  as  thei^i-eat  fact  in  the  (livinc^ 
workinii':  Avitli  a  deeper  enii)hasis  he  has  written,  the 
sui)i-eiue  fact  is  [)urity  of  heart — the  ai-eatc.st  fact ,  Ihe  Incar- 
luitioii,  and  second  only  to  that  is  the  New  Birth,  As  he 
eoneeived  and  knew  it,  that  is  the  divinest  work  of  tlic  IIolv 
Spirit,  greater  than  inspiration,  urealei-  tiian  miracles,  great- 
er than  the  oriiiinal  creation.  '1  he  Sj)irit  broocUnl  over  the 
cliaos  of  ])rimeval  nal nre,  and  gax c  hirt  h  to  forms  which  \vero 
l)ronounced  •'"ood  and  wvy  nood  :  the  superior  li'lorv  is  the 
new  creation.  Corresjjondinglj^  to  he  pure  in  heart  is  the 
true  gh)ry  of  intelligent  life. 

In  a  record  of  the  conversion  of  a  friend,  he  wrote  of  it, 
as  the  great  epoch  of  his  life.  It  hegins  a  higher  life  and 
a  better  history.  As  a  life,  it  is  capable  of  histoiT.  It 
has  a  })arentho()d,  distinct  and  di\ine,  of  which  Bishop 
Pierce  Avrote  :  "  8i)iritual  I'eireneration  is  the  noblest  2'enea- 
looy  the  oldest,  the  lara-est,  the  best."  There  is  hirth  and 
growth  and  the  i)erf(H't  man  in  Christ  Jesus,  As  a  life,  it 
has  self-consciousness;  there  are  vital  organs,  ordained 
functions,  and  fornud  exjiressions  of  life-foi-ce.  The  jNIethod- 
ist  A'iews  are  sustained  by  the  analogy  of  natural  life. 
The  life  which  is  from  abo\-e  nuiy  have  clearh  marked  time 
and  j)lace  of  nativity,  is  self-witnessing,  and  may  be  real- 
ized and  enjoyed. 

In  the  conversion  of  Bishop  Marvin  there  is  a  marked 
and  interesting  histor}^  of  the  agency  of  jn-ovidential  occur- 
rences and  of  tlu!  ministration  of  the  Church.  In  the  chanofe, 
it  is  true,  from  a  carnal  to  a  spiritual  state,  he  Avrote,  the 
agency  of  the  Spirit  is  immedkite.  All  means  are  made 
etiicient  by  the  S[)irit,  in  His  direct  agency  ;  and  the  actual 
transfonnatiou  of  character  is  the  immediate  work  of  God, 


HIS  CONVEIISIOX, 


65 


to  be  prayed  for  and  not  just  souirht  through  certain  pre- 
scribed media.  "  The  Church,"  he  taught,  "  has  no  official 
custody  of  the  sanctifying  grace  of  God.  Beyond  all  ques- 
tion, a  man's  relations  with  his  Maker  must  be  determined 
by  himself.  He  can  confer  no  power  of  attorney  upon  the 
Church  to  attend  to  the  business  of  salvation  for  him."'  It  is 
true,  nevertheless,  that  motives  to  repentance  are  appealed 
to  ;  the  ordinary  and  the  strange  events  of  life  are  sancti- 
fied, and  especially  is  the  soul  awakened  l)y  the  mediate 
enlightenment  of  the  written  or  spoken  Word  and  helped 
in  prayer  and  faith  by  the  ordinances  of  worship.  There  is, 
also,  the  ministry  of  Annanias  to  Saul — servants  of  Christ, 
other  than  preachers,  who  are  often  strangely  directed  and 
are  divinely  qualified  to  show  the  way  of  salvation  and 
ready  for  the  service,  when  it  comes  to  their  ears,  "  Behold, 
he  prayeth." 

Some  historical  incidents  of  his  conversion  have  been 
recorded  by  his  own  pen.  He  could  date  it,  in  December, 
1840.  He  could  locate  it.  It  was  in  a  private  house — in 
the  same  kind  of  place  and  in  the  same  month  of  the  year 
as  that  of  Bishop  Morris,  who  sat  down  in  his  home  at 
Salumbria,  Ohio,  on  Christmas  night  of  1<S(!9,  and  wrote  of 
the  fifty-sixth  anniversary  of  his  adoption,  which  took  place 
at  the  house  of  Thomas  Buffini>:ton's  father.  So,  also,  of 
the  conversion  of  Merle  D'Aubigne,  the  historian  of  the 
Reformation,  at  a  private  house  in  Geneva ;  and  of  John 
Wesley,  God's  chosen  instrument  in  the  great  revival  of 
the  Eighteenth  Century,  at  a  house  in  Aldersgate  Street, 
London  ;  and  of  Saul,  in  a  certain  street  called  Straight,  in 
the  house  of  Judas.  It  was  at  the  hou^e  of  Brother  Wil- 
liam McConnell,  the  Annanias  of  this  history  ;  after  a  ser- 
mon and  invitation  to  seekers  of  religion  by  Rev.  D.  T. 
Sherman  ;  in  a  certain  room,  kneeling  at  a  chair,  where  he 
found  peace  wnth  God  and  was  born  again.  In  the  same 
letter  already  quoted  from  in  allusion  to  Aunt  Rachel 
5 


06 


BlSIlOr    MARVIN. 


McConiicll,  ho  writes,  also,  of  her  husband  and  his  house 

as  his  spii-itii:il  l)irtliphic('  : 

Ml",  ami  Mrs.  McCohihU  were  Methodists.  At  first,  and  for  some 
3'ears,  they  were  the  only  Mtlhodists  in  '.he  immeiliaie  neighborhood — say 
witliln  three  miles  of  our  home.  Their  lioiise  was  open  for  meetings.  The 
lirst  circuit  preaching  in  our  neighborhood  was  under  their  roof.  It  was 
the  only  preaching  place  for  many  years.  This  involved  a  great  deal  of 
hibor,  for  many  loungers  would  always  stay  for  dinner.  More  than  ouce, 
Avhen  a  thoughtless  boy,  1  did  so  myself. 

A  snnUl  class  was  organized  here  after  a  time,  and  Brother  McOonnell 
literally  had  a  church  in  his  house.  All  the  means  of  grace  and  ordinances 
of  religion  were  actively  maintained.  After  sermon  tiie  preacher  would 
meet  the  class.  Quarterly  meetings,  with  their  incidents  the  love-feast 
uud  the  II  )ly  Supper,  were  held  there  within  my  recollection. 

In  that  house  I  experienced  the  lirst  joys  of  the  new  life,  in  December, 
1840.  In  it  I  received  the  ordinance  of  Baptism  and  was  formally  received 
into  full  connection  in  the  Clmrcli.  In  it  I  received  license  to  exhort. 
In  the  same  house  I  have  several  times  preached  the  Gospel  to  my  friend? 
and  neighbors. 

I  have  never  known  a  man  of  more  intense  Christian  character  than 
Brother  McConnell.  lie  conversed  more  on  the  subject  of  religion  thait 
any  one  I  ever  knew.  I  believe  I  have  never  known  one  who  spent  so 
much  time  in  reading  the  Bible.  I  am  certain  that  I  never  knew  any  one 
■who  sang  so  much  or  devoted  more  time  to  praver.  Moreover,  it  was  only 
tl'iere/(j7to«  of  singing  that  he  enjoyed — not  the  music.  In  nuisic  he  had 
Beither  talent  nor  taste.  It  was  the  hymns,  not  the  tunes,  that  he  took 
pleasure  in.  He  sang  them  instead  of  reading  them,  because  the  Word  of 
God  commanded  singing  of  songs.  Yet,  much  as  he  sang,  he  read  the 
Ilyum  Book  a  great  deal  besides.  He  was  the  only  man  I  ever  knew  who 
could  sing  at  all  that  had  no  idea  of  time  in  music. 

He  had  a  word  of  admonition  for  every  one,  especially  for  the  young. 
He  was  "  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season."  I  can  not  doubt  that  he 
was  a  sanctilied  man.  Yet  there  were  traits  that  his  friends  regretted. 
There  wag  a  certain  austerity  that  repelled  the  young.  He  wanted  a  per- 
ception of  propriety.  There  was  no  adjustment  to  time,  and  place,  and  cir- 
cumstances. In  the  government  of  his  children  there  was  a  severity  that 
defeated  itself.  But  his  errors  were  of  the  head  and  of  natural  tempera- 
ment. They  were  not  of  the  heart.  He  purposed  to  do  right  with  the 
utmost  intensity. 

During  the  war  he  died.  He  was  never  much  of  a  politician;  but 
lie  felt  instinctively  that  the  invasion  of  the  Southern  States  to  subjugate 
them  was  an  outrage  u])on  American  liberty.  He  felt  it,  and  revolted 
against  it  in  the  very  deptlis  of  his  ])eing.  This  cloud  was  upon  the  last 
days  of  his  life.     But  upjn  his  soul  there  was  no  cloud.     He  died  full  of 


HIS  COXVERSION.  67 

years  and  full  of  peace.  He  rests  from  his  labors  and  his  works  follow 
him.  The  class  that  was  organized  in  his  liousc,  and  that  never  flourished 
greatl}'  while  he  lived,  but  which  he  nurtured  and  watered  with  prayers, 
entreaties  and  tears  throughout  his  life,  has  grown  at  last  to  be  the  Church 
at  Wright  City. 

He  was  my  first  and  only  class-leader.  My  early  Christian  life  was 
greatly  helped  and  strengthened  by  him.     I  love  aud  honor  his  name. 

Rev.  D.  T.  Sherman,  who  had  such  an  interesting  rela- 
tion to  the  conversion  of  Bishop  jNLirvin,  is  well  known  in 
the  "West.  He  has  been  in  the  ministry  forty-two  years, 
during  the  greater  portion  of  them  in  the  traveling  connec- 
tion and  serving  important  circuits  and  stations.  Of  his 
conversion  on  that  memorable  night  in  December,  1840,  Mr. 
Sherman,  in  a  modest  narrative,  says  : 

In  the  fall  of  1840,  the  Warrenton  Circuit  was  orsran- 
ized  from  territory  taken  from  the  St.  Charles  Circuit. 
Eev.  George  B.  Bowman  was  appointed  to  the  charge  and 
Eev.  William  Patton  was  presiding  elder.  The  preaching- 
place  nearest  to  the  home  of  young  Marvin  was  two  miles 
distant,  at  a  private  house,  Mr.  "William  McConnell's.  There 
Mr.  Bowman  preached  at  a  Aveek-day  appointment,  and  I 
l^reached  there  on  Sunday.  In  December,  1840,  at  night, 
after  the  sermon  an  invitation  was  extended  to  those  seek- 
ing salvation  to  come  forward.  Young  Marvin  came  and 
knelt  at  the  chair  occupied  as  the  preacher's  stand.  There 
he  found  peace  with  God  through  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.     Then  he  entered  upon  a  new  life,  the  life  of  Faith. 

Of  joining  the  Church,  Mr.  Sherman  says  : 

He  wished  the  approval  of  his  mother,  and  waited  for  it.  At  length  it 
occurred  under  circumstances  which  he  related  (io  the  writer  of  this  a 
few  j^ears  since.  On  returning  from  worship  one  Sabbath  afternoon,  his 
cousin,  Mr.  Perry  Perkins,  and  the  writer,  who  were  both  members  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  called  at  Mrs.  Marvin's  house  and  spent  some  time 
there  in  singing  the  so-ngs  of  Zion.  After  they  left  his  mother  remarked 
in  his  hearing:  Perhaps  the  Methodists  are  as  good  as  any  other  people. 
The  remark  contained  what  he  had  longed  for — a  token  that  his  uniting 
with  them  might  not  displease  his  mother.  It  lifted  a  load  from  his  heart 
£Lud  determined  him  to  join  the  Methodist  Church.     It  was  done  in  August, 


68  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

1831),   at  the  Bethlehem  Camp-grouiid,   near  Wentzvillc,   Mo.,  on    the  St. 
Charles  Circuit,  Rev.  Silas  Comfort  preacher  in  charge. 

In  the  :il)ovc  statement  it  appears  how  through  his  moth- 
er's iniliiriicc  lie  iiiiuht  liave  been  a  Baptist,  as  it  l)as  })eeu 
seen  heretofore  how  throuuh  th(^  hias  of  liis  father's  theo- 
loo-ic;il  views  ho  niiulit  have  l)eeii  a  Deist  ;  but  upon  nitelli- 
gent  com  let  ion  and  in(h'[)eii(leiit  choice  lie  became  a  Cliristian 
and  a  jNIethodist.  There  is  a  very  interesting  episode  in  the 
liistorv  of  his  ojjinions  on  tlie  sid)ject  of  the  mode  of 
Baptism  and  tlie  Comnumion  of  the  Lord's  I'able.  Kev. 
]\Ir.  Jiowman,  the  preacher  in  cliarge  of  AN'aiTcnton  Circuit, 
came  West  fi'om  North  Carolina,  and  througli  him,  it  U 
likelv,  a  controvensial  pami)ldet  on  those  subjects  by  Rev. 
Peter  Doub  of  that  State  fell  into  tiu;  hands  of  Marvin.  It 
consisted  of  a  series  of  discourses  oriuinallv  delivered  in  the 
Methodist  i)ulpit  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.  After  long  years  the 
young  discii)le  of  Warrent(m  Circuit  appeared  in  the  same 
pulpit  as  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and 
subsequently,  on  the  platform  at  the  Centeimial  celebration 
of  North  Carolina  Methodism.  In  one  of  the  addresses  on 
that  occasion  the  rest  of  the  storv  is  told,  thus  :  I*ossi])lv 
it  was  a  pamphlet  containing  i);irt  or  all  of  these  sermons  of 
Dr.  Doub  that  accomi)lished  Avhat  I  will  now  state.  Out 
in  Missouri,  a  niiniher  of  years  ago,  a  young  man,  the  sou 
of  a  i)i()us  r)a[)tist  lady,  attended  a  Methodist  meeting  and 
was  convicted  and  converted.  lb'  very  soon  Ixname  sensil)le 
that  it  was  his  duly  to  be  a  herald  of  the  Cross.  He  loved  those 
who  had  been  instrumental  in  his  conversion,  and  was  inclined 
to  tlu^  ^lethodists  ;  but  he  had  serious  doubts  abont  l)a[)tism. 
The  Methodist  Circuit-rider  })laced  in  his  hands  a  pamphlet 
l)y  Peter  Doni),  on  r)a[)tism  and  Communion.  The  young 
man  has  grown  much  older.  He  was  in  Xoi'th  Carolina  last 
yejir  and  made  this  statement  (he  is  on  the  platform  to- 
niirht.and  hears  the  statement  repejiled  )  :  '*  I  did  not  know 
who  l^cter  Doub  was.      1   had    never  heard    of   him    l)efore. 


HIS  CONVERSION. 


69 


But  that  pamphlet  forever  settled  my  doubts  ou  that  (jues- 
tion,  and  I  have  never  had  any  since."  That  young  man  is 
now  our  beloved  BisJiop,  E.  M.  Marvin. 

Bishop  INIarvin  joined  the  Church  as  a  seeker  of  religion. 
He  was  led  to  the  altar,  it  is  said,  by  his  brother,  Nathaniel, 
who  performed  for  him  the  service  of  Andrew  to  Peter.  He 
was  a  stranger  at  that  Camp-ground,  and,  then,  a  boy  only 
about  fourteen  vears  old.  The  event,  no  doubt,  was  little 
noticed  at  the  time,  though  it  was  the  beginning  of  a 
Christian  life  and  of  an  apostolical  ministry.  The  history 
is  in  confirmation  of  the  wisdom  and  value  of  that  peculiarity 
of  Methodism,  which  extends  the  pastoral  care  of  the 
Church  over  the  desire  of  salvation  when  first  born,  and  in 
its  first  and  feeblest  motions  affords  helps,  then,  when  they 
are  most  needed.  In  this  respect,  and  in  others  which  the 
reader  will  observe,  there  is  a  parallel  illustrative  history 
in  the  religious  life  of  Bishop  Morris,  in  the  following  narra- 
tive written  bv  his  own  hand  : 

I  had  fully  and  firraly  intended  that  day  to  stay  in  class-raeetins;  and 
there  join.  Sermon  ended,  Mr.  Brown  said  :  "  Having  to  preach  elsewhere 
to-day,  there  is  not  time  for  class-meeting;  but,  as  this  ismy  last  day  here, 
before  we  close  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  open  the  door  of  the  society  for  any 
who  may  wish  to  join,"  and  began  to  sing: 

"Jesus,  my  all.  to  heaven  is  gone!" 
It  was  a  cold,  dull  time  then;  no  one  had  joined  for  a  year  and  a  half.  I 
was  not  familiar  with  their  usages,  but  seeing  Robert  Casebault,  the  class- 
leader,  I  asked  him  could  I  join  now?  "Certainly;  all  you  have  to  do  is 
to  go  forward  and  give  your  hand  to  the  pieacher;  "  which  I  did,  to  the 
astonishment  of  all  present.  Now,  suppose  a  man  lost  in  the  forest  three 
days,  witliout  food  or  shelter,  and  never  expected  to  see  home  or  f liends 
again,  but  suddenly  finds  himself  at  home  and  among  his  friends,  and  you 
can  form  a  just  idea  of  my  feelings  that  day.  And  I  have  felt  at  home 
with  the  Methodists  ever  since.  Still  I  was  not  saved,  was  only  a  penitent 
seeker  of  salvation,  and  as  such  resolved  to  leave  no  means  untried. 

Introducing  Miller's  Infant  Baptism,  Bishop  Marvin 
wrote  : 

There  are  two  extreme  views  with  respect  to  the  Church,  each  of 
which  is  false  and  mischievous.  In  one  view,  the  Church  has  official  cus- 
tody of  the  grace  of  God,  which  it  dispenses  by  authority,  through  sacra- 
mental channels  of  communication.     In  the  other,  the  Church  is  made  no- 


70  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

tliiiiEC  of,  or  next  to  nothini;.  ronnoftion  with  it  is  liold  to  bo  of  little  or 
no  value.  Its  ordinances  and  nicaus  of  grace  are  slighted  as  nothing 
wortli. 

It  is  tnif,  l)eyoiid  all  (jiiestlon,  that  a  man's  relations  -with  his  Maker 
are  to  be  determined  by  himself.  lie  nmst  come  to  God  in  his  own  person. 
In  tlie  vital  process  of  repentance  and  faith,  and  in  the  mystery  of  the  New 
liirth,  no  proxy  can  be  employed.  Yet  it  is  also  true  that  God  has  ordained 
in  the  Chnrch  many  elliclent  aids,  many  means  of  grace,  through  which  the 
earnest  penitent,  and  the  more  advanced  believer,  are  alike  strengthened 
and  hclpfd  lurward  in  the  Christian  race.  The  fellowship  of  saints  and 
the  ordinances  of  religion  <iuickcn  the  spiritual  perception  and  sensibilities, 
and  encourage  and  strengtlien  faith. 

The  mere  fact  of  membership  in  the  Church  exerts  a  most  wholesome 
effect  on  the  mind  and  heart.  Of  course,  like  all  oilier  aids  and  means  of 
grace  it  loses  lis  effect  upv)n  the  conscious  and  deliberate  hypocrite,  for  all 
the  means  are,  to  us,  what  we  make  tln-ni  by  our  manner  of  using  them. 
Perversely  and  hypocritically  used,  they  liardm.  When  used  in  the  candor 
and  simplicity  of  genuine  faiih  they  are  an  invaluable  agency  in  the 
develojimcnt  of  the  Christian  life.  Not  that  the  Church  confers  salvation 
ollicially  through  them;  but  their  use,  in  keeping  with  the  laws 
of  our  being,  quickens  faiih  and  commits  us  openly  and  formally 
to  a  Christian  course,  (iod  makes  them  a  blessing  through  a  pro- 
cess altogether  rational.  In  the  same  way  the  very  fact  of  membership  in 
the  Church  gives  strength  to  our  purposes.  It  separates  us  openly  and 
formally  from  the  world.  It  classities  us  with  the  people  of  God.  It  brings 
home  to  us  our  high  privileges,  and  jiuts  us  into  a  category  altogether 
favorable  to  the  service  of  God.  It  enforces  upon  our  attention  all  the 
motives  of  piety. 

During  his  probtition,  the  succes.sive  pastors  differed  in 
age,  tonrperament  and  iniiiisterial  gifts.  He  derived  de- 
cided and  varviiiiT  advtintaije  from  ilieir  ininistrv,  and  under 
that  of  each,  no  <h)uht,  there  was  some  signal  benefit,  re- 
sulting in  (h'finite  progress  and  marked  advaneenient.  It 
may  thus  be  exphiined  that  different  ministers  liave  been 
mentioned  ])y  liimself  and  others,  as  ehief  instruments 
among  the  human  agents  of  his  conversion.  jMr.  Perkins 
names  as  such  Kev.  I\Ir.  liowman,  whose  preaching  Mr. 
Pritchett  speaks  of  as  a  quickening  nnnistry,  under  which 
th(^  votnig  disciph'  Avas  ])rompted  to  a  more  vigorous  spiritual 
movement  in  i)rayer  and  faith.  Bishop  Marvin  lias  often 
made  public  allusion  to  the  tend(n'  and  painstaking  pastoral 


HIS  CONVERSION.  71 

care  of  Rev;  Silas  Comfort,  mIio  roceived  him  into  the 
Church  on  probation.  He  w;is  his  pastor  during  the  suc- 
ceedino;  conference  vear  with  Eev.  J.  L.  Forsvthe,  now  of 
the  Mississippi  Conference,  as  assistant  preacher.  For  the 
first  time  after  an  interval  of  about  twenty  years,  Mr.  F. 
met  the  young  parishioner  of  St.  Charles  Circuit  in  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  then  the  pastor  of  one  of  its  chief  churches. 
There  is  touchino;  allusion  to  the  davs  of  which  we  are  Writ- 
ing,  and  particular  reference  to  the  point  under  immediate 
consideration  in  the  following  narrative  of  that  interview, 
which  he  published  after  the  death  of  the  Bishop  : 

The  year  before  I  went  to  the  circuit  Brother  Marvin  be- 
came a  member  of  the  little  society  at  McConnell's,     The 
first  time  I  preached  there  he  Avas  in  the  congregation.     Af- 
ter preaching  (as  the  custom  was  in  those   da^^s)  we   had  a 
class  meeting,  to  which  he  remained.     After   speaking  to 
several  members  of  the  class  I  approached  Enoch  Marvin, 
who  seemed  only  a   few  years  younger  than   myself,   and 
asked  if  he  was  a    member  of   the    church,    to    which   he 
promptly  replied,   "  I  am."     For  some  reason,  for  which 
I  could  not  then  account,  I  was  strangely  and  strongly  at- 
tracted toward  him,  and  felt  an  intense  desire  for  his  con- 
version.    I  therefore,  by  various  arguments,  urged  him  to 
seek  God's  regenerating  grace  at  once,  and  requested  him, 
if  he  Avas  Avilling  to  seek  pardon  then,  to  kneel  at  the  chair 
where  AA^e  then  stood,  and  promised  that  we  would  all  pray 
for  him.     He  instantly  complied  ;  and  while  Ave  prayed  the 
Spirit  of  the  Holy  One  descended  upon  us,  and  we  Avept  and 
rejoiced  together.     As  I  arose  from  my  knees  I  thought 
surely  the  young  man  is   converted.     But  no,  the  burden 
was  still  on  his  heart.     When  I  returned  there,  a  month  from 
that  time,  I  ao-ain  met  him  in  the   congregation  and  in  the 
class,  an  earnest  penitent.      WhencA'er  an  invitation  AA^as 
given  to  mourners  to  come  to  the  altar  for  prayer  he '  was 
ever  among  the  first,  and  seAxral  times  the  only  one  to  ac- 


72  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

cept  it,  and  would  remuiu  as  long  as  any  one  Would  stay  by 
him.     I  wondered  at  his  perseverance,  and  was  often  dis- 
couraged by  his    case.     I    could   not   understand   why   he 
should  thus  seek  so  long  and  not  find.     I  even  doubted  his 
sincerity.     But  an  incident  occurred   on  Christmas  Day  of 
that  year  which  banished  my  doubts.     I  held  a  meeting  on 
that   day,    if    I   remember   rightly,   at   the    house    of   Mr. 
Pritchett,  which  was  so    numerously    attended    that   when 
Brother  Marvin  got  there,  with  his  company  of  two  young 
ladies  and  a  young  man,  they  could  only  find  seats  for  the 
ladies  ;  so  the  two  gentlemen  had  to  stand,  which  they  did 
patiently  until  the  close  of  the  sermon  ;  after  which  I  pro- 
posed to  those  who   desired  the  prayers   of  the   church  to 
kneel  where  they  were.     Young  Marvin  alone  accepted  the 
invitation.     After  this  he  continued  publicly  and  privately 
to  seek  salvation  up  to  the  close  of  the  year,  when  I  parted 
from  him.     When  I  next  heard  of  him  his  name  was  offered, 
in  1840,  to  the  Missouri  Conference  for  admission.     If  I 
remember  rightly,  he  was  not  present  at  that  Conference, 
so  that  I  did  not  see  him  again  until   we  met  at  Jefferson 
City,  the  seat  of  the  Conference  that  year,  when  he  appear- 
ed among  his  young  companions  to  stand  his  examination, 
which  he  did  creditably.     I  was  transferred  to  the  Missis- 
sippi Conference,  and  therefore  did  not  meet  him  again  until 
18 GO,  when  I  visited  St.  Louis,  where  the   St.   Louis  Con- 
ference met  that  year.     During  that  visit    I    heard    many 
o-ood  things  said  of  my  friend — that  he  had  outpreached, 
and  taken  the  congregation  from  that  grand  pulpit  orator, 
C.  B.  Parsons,  and  that  he  was  the  triumphant  champion  of 
Protestantism  against  the  Papacy.     I  heard  his  presiding 
elder  sav,  in  open  Conference,  that  E.  M.  Marvin  had  made 
a  deeper  and  broader  impression   on  that  connnunity  than 
any  other  minister  who  had   ever  labored  there.     Several 
days  after  Conference  had  adjourned   I   was   sitting  in  his 
oflice,  when,  after  conversation  on  various  subjects,  there 


HIS  CONVERSION. 


73 


was  a  pause.  Looking  at  me  most  earnestly,  and  with  such 
emotion  as  I  shall  never  forget,  he  said:  "  Do  you  know 
that  you  are  my  spiritual  father?  "  or  words  to  that  effect. 
I  replied  that  I  did  not.  "Well,"  said  he,  "you  are  the 
man  Avho  started  me  in  the  way  to  heaven."  He  then  spoke 
of  the  first  class-meeting,  of  his  awakening  at  that  time, 
and  of  a  solemn  vow  made  to  God,  when  he  knelt  at  the 
chair  in  that  class-room,  that,  come  wiiat  would,  he  would 
continue  to  seek  the  Lord  until  he  found  him.  He  spoke 
also  of  the  Christmas  meeting,  and  said  that  there  he  came 
near  breaking  his  vow.  On  the  way  to  that  meeting  the 
company  had  indulged  excessively  in  levity,  so  that  when 
the  call  came  for  penitents  he  did  not  know  what  to  do.  If 
he  knelt  in  the  presence  of  his  young  friends  he  would  ap- 
pear inconsistent,  and  perhaps  be  the  subject  of  jest  among 
them ;  if  he  refused,  his  vow  w^ould  be  broken,  and  he 
would  perhaps  be  lost.  He  trembled  under  the  emotions 
produced  by  these  thoughts,  and  bowed  before  the  Lord. 
Thus  his  integrity  was  maintained,  and  he  left  feeling  that 
he  mio-ht  vet  be  saved.  It  was  long  after  this  when  he 
found  the  pearl  of  great  price.  You  can  well  imagine  my 
feelinos  durino-  this  recital.  I  was  humbled,  but  thankful 
to  God  that  1  had  been  the  humble  instrument,  in  His  hands, 
of  doino-  wood.  When  he  was  an  exile  from  his  State  and 
family  he  came  to  my  circuit  and  spent  several  weeks  with 
me  in  protracted  meetings.  Those  were  to  me  among  the 
most  delightful  of  my  life.  During  the  time  many  souls 
were  converted,  some  of  whom  preceded  him  to  rest. 

He  was  a  seeker  thirty-one  months.  According  to 
the  custom  of  the  former  times,  a  Discipline  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  young  Marvin,  as  a  probationer.  From  it  he 
was  to  become  acquainted  with  the  polity  of  the  church,  and 
to  learn,  also,  what  manner  of  conversation  and  experience 
was  expected  and  required  of  a  Methodist.     From  the  first, 


<■!  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

as  an  element  of  his  probation,  the  General  Rules  must  be 
observed.  They  became  the  directory  of  his  conduct.  In 
answer  to  specific  inquiry  among  those  who  know  of  his 
practical  life  after  joining  the  church,  the  testimony  is  uni- 
versal that  it  was  eminently  consistent  and  salutary  in  its 
influence  upon  his  youthful  companions.  He  has  referred 
to  his  uniting:  M'itli  the  church  in  terms  which  show  his  sense 
of  its  import  as  a  pledge  to  a  holy  life,  and  how  keen  were 
his  sensibilities  to  both  the  authority  and  honor  of  the 
Divine  Master.  The  reference  is  contained  in  the  following 
passage  in  his  volume  of  sermons  :  Soon  after  I  had  united 
with  the  Church  I  had  an  experience  I  am  sure  I  can  never 
forget.  I  was  in  the  saddle  on  the  Lord's  Day  on  my  way 
to  a  social  meeting  in  the  country.  The  aspects  of  the 
autumnal  scenery  are  as  distinct  in  my  memory  as  if  it  had 
been  onlv  yesterday  ;  the  warm  sun  lay  on  the  mottled  foli- 
age, and  there  seemed  the  hush  of  a  hallowed  peace  upon 
the  face  of  nature.  All  at  once  the  thought  came  to  me, 
"  I  am  in  the  Church,  and  it  is  in  my  power  now,  by  my 
unholv  living,  to  bring  a  blot  on  the  Cliurch,  and  to  dis- 
honor the  Saviour."  For  a  time  the  reflection  seemed 
insupportable  ;  it  was  almost  more  than  I  could  bear.  "  The 
name  of  God,"  said  the  ])rophet,  "is  blasphemed  among 
the  Gentiles  through  you." 

In  an  unpublished  manuscri})t  which  contains  an  analysis 
of  experimental  religion,  Bishop  Marvin  refers  frequently 
to  his  personal  religious  experience.  In  the  following 
passage  descriptive  of  the  general  character  and  final  act  of 
faith,  he  alludes,  it  may  be,  to  his  own  closure  with  Christ : 

Faith  in  the  word  of  God  is  simple  and  heartfelt  as  the  faith  uf  a  little 
child.  Sinai  is  no  mere  a  hgory.  The  thunde  folds  investing  the  crapiaced 
snmmit  of  the  m'luntain  are  the  frowns  of  an  anj^ry  (Jod  The  forked 
lightnings  that  inscribed  the  name  of  God  npon  the  blackness  are  a  revela- 
tion of  the  Almighty  in  an  attitnde  of  threatening  and  condemnation  upon 
all  violation  of  His  law:  and  the  tliunder-voices  that  rent  the  mountain 
are  the  hoarse  utterance  of  the  divine  wrath  upon  sin.  The  Avord  hell 
is  no  mere  empty  word  in  the  ear  of  faith.     The  wrath  to  come  blackens 


HIS  CONVERSION.  75 

all  eternity  with  horror  to  the  eye  of  fuitli.  The  Bible-statements  are  not 
exaggerations  of  some  truth.  Tlie  denunciations  against  sin,  the  doc- 
trine of  eternal  torment,  are  seen  and  realized  in  their  full  force.  Every 
word  of  God  is  literally  true.  Hell  is  everything  the  Bible  has  described 
it  to  be.  A  lost  soul,  in  its  eternity,  realizes  in  liis  personal  condition  all 
the  hori'ors  that  are  revealed  in  that  Bool<,  for  God  has  not  trifled  with  the 
fears  of  men.  This  clear,  distinct,  definite  view  of  the  demands  and  the 
terrors  of  tlie  law  brings  conviction  of  sin  intensely  into  tlie  consciences 
of  men.  The  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Wesleyan  Societies  in  our  Book 
of  Discipline  lias  in  it  a  tone  of  earnestness  tliat  is  most  impressive  It 
solemnizes  me  every  time  I  recur  to  it.  A  few  men  and  women  came  to- 
gether for  a  purpose,  a  most  serious  purpose.  They  came  burdened  and 
bowed  down  with  sin.  The  wrath  of  God  "  they  saw  continually  hanging 
over  their  heads."  They  came  to  be  instructed  how  to  escape  the  wrath 
to  come.  To  their  faith  it  was  an  awful  reality;  it  was  imminent;  it  was 
impending,  "  hanging  over  their  heads."  It  was  near  them;  the  clouds 
were  angry,  laden  with  the  "curse  of  the  law'  and  just  ready  to  bur.st  on 
their  heads.  But  faith  in  Christ  is  as  simple  and  distinct  and  child-like  as 
faith  in  the  Law.  Here  am  I,  a  sinner,  unquestionably  condemned  by  the 
law  to  eternal  death,  the  wrath  of  God  hangs  over  me;  Init  there  is  Christ, 
on  the  Cross,  dying  for  my  sins;  there  is  Christ,  on  the  throne  of  media- 
tion interceding  with  His  own  blood  for  my  salvation  He  died  for  me, 
for  my  sins.  For  my  sins  lie  sufTered  in  His  own  body  on  the  Cross. 
That  is  it.  In  child-like  simplicity  faith  accepts  Christ  as  the  great  aton- 
ing sacrifice  provided  by  God  for  the  salvation  of  the  soul  Thereupon 
there  is  the  incoming  of  the  Ploly  Ghost  into  the  soul,  as  Christ  has  prom- 
ised. 

Ill  illustration  of  the  above  views  of  the  method  of  par- 
don, in  the  same  mtmuscript  he  refers  to  the  conversion  of 
John  Wesley.  "  Our  Lord,"  he  wrote,  "  defined  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's character  when  he  said,  '  Except  ye  be  converted  and 
become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.'  His  faith  was  as  simple  as  that  of  a  little 
child.  There  is  the  secret  of  his  Christitm  life,  it  was  faith 
in  the  Word  of  God." 

In  this  experience  a  broad  and  deep  foundation  w^as  laid 
for  it  in  a  genuine  repentance.  There  was  thorough  awaken- 
ing. Conviction  of  the  turpitude  of  sin  shook  his  soul. 
The  wrath  of  God  he  saw  hanging  over  his  head.  There 
was  godly  sorrow,  forsaking  sin.  He  saw  the  dreadful  ruin 
and  the  deep  degradation  of  sin.     Of  Original  6in  he  ex- 


76 


BISHOP    MARVIN. 


claims,  "  what  a  fall  is  this  !  "  and  adds,  "  the  solemn  and 
aAvful  fact  is  that  man  is  totaJJij  depraved.''''  At  length, 
faith  broadens  to  embrace  the  "whole  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus, 
lie  l)elieves  and  is  justified  freely.  He  submits  himself  unto 
God  and  is  born  from  above. 

The  foreo-oino-  statement  of  the  exercises  of  soul  in  his 
coming  to  God  is  justified  by  his  descriptions  of  Christian 
experience  and  references  to  his  own,  which  were  common 
in  his  pnli)it  discourses  and  are  scattered  through  his  writ- 
injxs.  He  spoke  of  these  things  as  of  things  "  seen  and 
heard."  Of  the  New  Birth  he  test-ified.  He  declared  the 
fact.  He  announced  it  with  exultation  and  rapture.  He 
connects  it  with  the  final  olorv — "  what  a  wonder  is  this 
that  a  nature  so  gross  and  polluted  should  be  at  last  brouglit 
to  the  heiglits  of  His  holiness,  and  introduced,  without 
shame,  into  heaven  itself  !"  The  change  is  from  alory  as  well 
as  to  glory.  The  soul,  he  writes,  is  brought  into  the  broth- 
erhood of  the  holy.  A  pure  heart  is  the  crownhig  gift  of 
the  Spirit.  It  is  this  which  lilxcns  men  to  God — which 
makes  them  sons  of  God.  What  an  amazing  and  glorious 
fact  is  this,  he  exclaimed,  that  God  is  present  Avith  men  in  a 
real  and  sensible  communion,  raising  us  to  assured  con- 
nection and  kinship  with  the  Infinite  !  The  greatest  fact, 
he  declares,  that  ever  took  place  on  the  earth  was  Godcom- 
inir  to  man  in  the  incarnation  of  the  Son.  Second  onlv  to 
that  is  man  coming  to  God,  through  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  the  new  birth.  The  new  birth  of  a  soul  in  God  ! 
Man  emer<>in<r  out  of  the  littlenesses  and  filth  of  a  carnal 
condition  into  the  dignity,  the  liberty,  the  holiness  of  the 
sons  of  God.  Bursting  open  the  prison-doors  of  the  world 
and  the  flesh,  the  spirit  finds  itself  invested  with  the  free- 
<h)ni  of  the  universe  and  finds  the  sweep  of  its  liberties  com- 
mensurate with  omnipresence  ! 


CHAPTER     V. 


THE    CHOSEX    VESSEL. 

His  father's  plans  for  him — Called  to  the  ministry — Chosen  agents — Basis 
of  selection — Gifts  and  grace — Conviction  of  duty  to  preach  thoroughly 
examined — Severely  tested — Incident — Sense  of  the  Divine  call  posi- 
tive and  profound — Perplexities  and  struggle— His  "  fanwell  to  the 
world" — Preparation  for  the  ministry — His  divinity  school — His  stud- 
ies— Goes  to  liear  Maffit — His  call  tested  by  the  Church — Licensed  to 
exhort — The  function  of  the  Church  in  ministerial  investiture — Care- 
less exercise  and  abuse  of  it — The  intuition  of  the  Church  true — 
Licensed  to  preach. 

^JTz-HE  father  of  Bishop  Marvin  intended  him  for  secular 
^1^  life.  His  joining  the  ministry  was,  perhaps,  a  vexa- 
tious disappointment.  Mr.  Perkins  relates  a  conversation 
he  had  with  the  father,  in  which  he  said  that  he  had  often 
been  importuned  to  become  a  candidate  on  the  ticket  of  the 
dominant  party  for  County  Clerk,  and  he  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  accept  and  to  take  Mather  into  the  office  as  Deputy. 
But,  just  at  that  time  Mather  -took  it  into  his  head  to  be- 
come a  preacher,  and  his  plan  was  frustrated.  A  higher 
power  had  asserted  a  superior  claim  of  right  and  control — 
"  He  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  Me."  God's  purpose  towards 
him  w^as  to  make  him  "a  minister  and  a  witness"  in  a 
world-wide  testimony  to  the  Crucitied  Christ  and  the  Risen 
Jesus. 

Here,  at  the  opening  of  his  public  life,  two  ways  are 
marked  out  for  him.  He  went  in  the  path  of  the  Divine 
appointment,  and  what  he  became  is  known.  If  he  had 
gone  in  the  other  way,  what?      The  father's  deputy  would 


78  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

not  have  been  the  father's  successor  ;  nor  Ions:  remamed  a 
clei"k.  Very  soon  he  would  have  read  all  the  law-books 
about  the  Court-house.  He  would  have  bceu  au  eager  and 
vioihint  observer  of  all  the  proceedino;s  durino;  Court-week. 
He  would  have  entered  with  zest  into  the  trial  of  the  prin- 
cipal cases,  and  in  his  own  mind  have  had  fixed  up  an  ad- 
dress to  judge  or  jury.  He  would  soon  be  a  student  under 
some  lawyer,  and  have  studied  and  mastered  Blackstone  and 
Chitty  like  he  did  Watson's  Institutes  and  Fletcher's  Checks. 
Before  his  father's  term  of  office  expired  he  would  have 
been  practicing  laAV.  There  are  good  grounds  for  the  con- 
jecture that  he  would  ultimately  have  gone  into  political 
life.  In  his  mature  years  he  always  took  great  interest  in 
public  affairs — not  in  partisan  politics,  but  rather  in  the 
leading  questions  of  administration  in  government  m  his 
own  and  foreign  countries.  We  mean  to  say,  as  a  ra- 
tional conjecture,  that  the  great  preacher  and  the  distin- 
guished ecclesiastic  Avould  have  been,  in  secular  life,  a  noted 
lawyer  and  an  eminent  statesman.  In  the  stress  put  upon 
the  aids  of  the  Methodist  economy  as  auxilliary  to  his  dis- 
tinction, the  sentiment  is  in  excess  if  it  is  supposed  that  he 
would  not  have  been  distinguished  without  such  aids  or  in 
another  sphere  than  in  the  sacred  vocation  he  pursued. 
Greatness  was  in  him.  With  such  natural  endowments  and 
personal  force  as  he  possessed,  he  would  never  have  re- 
mained hidden  in  the  obscurity  of  Warren  County,  nor  had 
other  than  a  history  of  high  aims  and  lofty  achievement. 
The  vessel  which  God  chose  and  fashioned  was  not  common 
clay. 

It  was  on  the  highway  to  distinction,  that  Saul  was  ar- 
rested as  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord  for  the  a})ostleship. 
"The  very  qualities,"  says  Richard  Watson,  "  which  made 
him  chiefest  of  the  Apostles  would  have  made  him  first  of 
the  Pharisees."  Bishop  jNIarvin  has  made  a  similar  remark 
concerning  God's  choice  of  men  to  be  great  leaders  in  the 


THE    CHOSEN    VESSEL.  79 

Church,  the  chief  instruments  to  direct  its  movements  in  a 
crisis  or  his  chosen  agents  in  founding  an  epoch  in  its 
history — such  as  Wesley  in  the  Metliodist  movement,  and 
Luther  in  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Reformation  in  the 
Sixteenth  Century,  and  Paul  in  the  planting  of  Christianity 
and  defense  of  the  Gospel  in  the  apostolic  age.  Without 
intending  to  assert  a  parallel  in  renown  of  name  or  labors 
with  those  great  Confessors  and  Reformers,  in  comparison 
with  whom  to  be  less  is  not  to  be  little,  yet  the  eminent 
character  and  wonderful  career  of  Bishop  ]\larvin  will  jus- 
tify the  application  of  the  same  principle  to  his  ministerial 
history  which  he  applied  in  exposition  of  theirs.  "There 
is  always"  he  wrote  in  writing  of  them,  "adaptation  in 
God's  instruments.  He  does  not  select  feeble  men  to  do  a 
great  work."  The  selection  proceeds  upon  the  basis  of 
natural  traits  as  well  as  endowments  of  grace.  There  is 
God,  the  Creator,  who  makes  men,  as  well  as  the  sovereign 
Master  who  puts  them  in  their  lot  and  appoints  their  labors. 
Thus  Paul  was  interpreted  by  Bishop  Marvin  :  "  God  made 
him  for  the  w'ork  he  had  for  him  to  do- — that  is,  to  turn  the 
"world  upside  down."  So  of  Wesley,  of  whom  he  wrote  as 
no  common-place  man,  no  second  or  third-rate  great  man, 
as  alike  with  Paul  "one  of  those  instruments  which  God 
always  takes  care  to  have  ready  when  the  need  is  greatest." 
In  ministerial  endowments,  it  is  the  question  of  ques- 
tions— "has  he  ""race."  The  gifted  man  has  neither  cre- 
dentials  nor  capacity  for  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  till  he 
has  come  out  from  under  the  hand  of  God,  like  Moses  after 
his  life  in  INIidian  or  Paul  stricken  to  the  ground  on  the  high- 
way and  receiving  his  sight  at  Damascus.  In  the  orders  of 
the  ministry  there  are  differing  gifts  and  correspondingly 
varying  proportions  of  faith.  If  by  eminence  there  is  a 
chosen  vessel,  there  will  be,  also,  eminent  Christian  expe- 
rience. There  will  be  an  extraordinary  revelation  of  Christ. 
There  will  be  a  measure  of  faith  in  which  the  Divine  person 


80  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

and  offices  of  the  Son  of  God  will  be  discovered  in  clearness 
of  vision  under  a  liiiht  from  heaven,  clear  and  distinct,  above 
the  brightness  of  the  sun.  There  is  an  over-powering  asser- 
tion of  the  lordship  of  Christ.  Submission  is  j)rofound  and 
permanent,  inclusive  of  all  self-surrender  and  excluding  all 
cavil,  all  questioning,  all  making  of  terms  either  for  temporary 
furlough  or  partial  exemption.  Under  the  dominancy  of  God 
and  the  arrest  of  the  love  of  Christ,  service  is  the  iirst,  the 
supreme,  the  passionate,  sentiment  and  purpose — "Lord, 
what  wilt  tliou  have  me  to  do?"  The  answering  voice  is 
obeyed.  AVhat  is  demanded  is  done.  There  is  no  disobe- 
dience to  the  heavenly  vision — all  done,  though  there  be 
o-reat  tliino;s  to  be  suffered  in  the  doino-,  whether  straiijht- 
way  to  preach  Christ  in  the  synagogue,  or  to  be  an  exile 
in  Arabia,  or  to  return  to  the  place  where  nmrderous  ene- 
mies are  to  be  encountered,  or  go  where  the  distrust  of  the 
Church  shall  be  met,  nor  cease  going  though  the  line  of 
travel  should  stretch  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome  and  the  cir- 
cuit of  labors  should  circumscribe  the  world. 

This  enthusiasm  of  zeal  does  not  belong  to  an  ordinary 
Christian  experience.  In  the  ministry  every  vessel  has  not 
a  capacity  of  grace  for  such  measure  of  devotedness.  We 
may  not  say  of  Bishop  Marvin  that  he  was  separated  from 
his  mother's  womb,  but  it  is  evident  in  the  foregoing  history 
how  from  the  earliest  years  he  was  under  the  touches  of  the 
Divine  Spirit.  God  had  him  in  hand,  as  again  and  again  he 
kneeled  at  the  chair  in  the  house  of  William  McConnell. 
All  that  passed  between  him  and  God  at  that  altar-place  or 
in  the  closet  has  never  been  revealed.  We  are  morally  cer- 
tain that  it  Avas  no  loose  work  being  done  then  and  there. 
He  did  not  rise  from  the  chair  till  Christ  had  appeared  to 
his  faith,  disclosed  unmistakably  and  fully  ;  not  till  God 
was  regnant  in  will  and  affections  ;  not,  certainly,  till  there 
was  a  profound  submission,  to  be  anything  and  to  do  any- 
thin<r  for  God,  upon  which  was  founded  the  call  of  God  to 


»  TIIE    CHOSEN   VESSEL.  81 

the  ministry,  to  which  he  was  not  disobedient,  ana  an  ap- 
pointn^ent  to  seiwice  projected  on  an  elevated  plane  of  labor 
and  reaching  bej'ond  the  line  of  ordinary  service  and  sacri- 
fice. In  the  growth  in  grace  with  the  progress  of  his  min- 
istry— the  other  things  in  which  Christ  appeared  to  him — • 
how  manifestly  did  he  become  a  man  full  of  faith  and  the 
Holy  Ghost.  How  ascendant  and  permeating  was  the  God- 
ward  consciousness  in  him  !  How  Christ  dominated  him  ! 
How  he  orave  himself  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Word  !  There 
is  significance  in  the  AVord  of  God  concerning  Abraham, 
the  custodian  of  the  earlier  revelation  for  transmission  to 
posterity:  "I  know  Abrani;"  This  man,  too,  was  known 
of  God:  God  committed  to  Him,  as  a  chosen  vessel,  a  dis- 
pensation of  the  Gospel  for  an  extraordinary  ministry. 

"In  all  cases,"  Bishop  Marvin  has  said,  "where  God 
has  chosen  a  man  for  this  work,  He  will,  in  one  way  or  an- 
other, bring  the  duty  home  to  his  conscience."  The  convic- 
tion of  duty  to  preach  the  Gospel  followed  at  once  upon 
his  conversion.  It  was  earl}^  announced  by  him  to  his  friend 
and  Christian  counselor.  Rev.  Mr.  Sherman.  It  does  not 
appear,  and  it  is  not  probable,  that  the  suggestion  of  a  desig- 
nation to  the  work  of  the  ministry  came  tirst  from  any  human 
source.  The  original  suirgestion  was  divine  :  it  came  first  and 
directly  from  al)ove.  The  c^uestion  was  considered  and  deter- 
mined in  secret  interview  and  solemn  audience  with  God 
— simply  the  voice  of  God  and  the  responsive  submis- 
sion, "Here  am  I;  speak.  Lord."  Before  the  pro- 
fession of  a  call  to  preach  was  whispered  to  human  cars  or 
announced  to  the  Church,  it  had  been  considered  and  tested 
and  authenticated  at  the  tribunal  of  conscience.  The  sense 
of  his  vocation  was  originally  and  purely  a  personal  convic- 
tion.    It  was  distinct  and  profound. 

There  are  several  incidents  to  be  related  hereafter  which 
indicate  distrust  of  the  irenuineness  of  his  call  to  the  minis- 
try  by  older  ministers  and  leading  members  of  the  Confer- 
6 


82  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

ence.  It  was  frankly  oommunieated  to  liini.  Thoy  went  so 
far  as  to  advise  him  to  go  ])ack  home.  AMiat  a  l)arrier  was 
then  raised  in  his  way  !  What  temptation  to  doubt  his  call 
— to  discredit  the  impression  and  distrust  the  impulse  he 
had  obeyed  !  What  young  man,  humble  as  he  was,  might 
not  have  faltered  and  stopped  !  But  in  his  consciousness 
the  voice  of  God  sounded  above  human  voices.  To  go  back, 
in  his  convictions,  was  to  face  God  and  encounter  the  divine 
rebuke  and  a  threatened  woe.  The  momentum  of  Godhead 
had  been  delivered  upon  his  soul  and  pushed  him  on  over 
the  barrier.  There  was  nothino;  in  that  scene  and  hour  left 
to  him  but  the  stay  of  a  personal  conviction,  so  distinct  ani 
inwrouo-ht  in  conscience  as  to  make  it  unmistakal)le  and  ini- 
movable.  That  saved  him.  They  went  on  their  way  and  he 
went  on  to  his  Circuit.  His  steady  purpose  was  anchored 
in  the  solid  "  For  "  of  Paul — in  the  fact  and  sense  of  the  di- 
vine vocation  personally  realized  and  operating  with  the 
constraint  of  a  moral  necessity,  under  the  voice  of  the  In- 
finite Authority  and  with  sanctions  of  an  infinite  woe  :  "  For 
necessity  is  laid  upon  me  ;  yea,  woe  is  me,  if  I  preach  not 
the  Gospel !"  In  some  directions  he  has  given  to  test  the 
character  of  the  impression  of  duty  to  preach,  it  was  pro- 
bably from  his  own  experience  he  sends  the  inquirer  at  once 
and  first  of  all  to  God:  "  Let  him  live  near  to  God.  Let 
him  by  prayer — earnest,  constant  prayer — put  himself  in 
God's  hand  to  be  guided  whithersoever  He  will.  Let  pride 
and  self-will  be  thus  cast  out.  When  he  is,  in  fact,  ready 
for  God's  will  to  be  done,  he  will  be  led  by  a  way  he  knows 
not.  If  he  is  really  a  chosen  vessel,  and  gives  himself  up 
to  be  anything  or  nothing,  as  it  may  please  Him  that  called 
him,  God  will  '  set  his  feet  in  the  way  of  his  steps.'  " 

The  final  decision  in  this  momentous  question,  there  is 
reason  to  believe,  was  concluded  Avith  the  utmost  delibera- 
tion. It  was  preceded  by  anxious  questioning.  There  had 
been  careful  scrutiny.     It  is  invariable  with  elevated  and 


THE    CHOSEN    VESSEL.  83 

sincere  minds  ;  it  is  inevitable  in  case  of  enlightened  views 
concernino;  the  divine  vocation  of  the  New  Testament  min- 
istiy,  its  sacred  functions  and  awful  responsibilities.  He 
was  under  the  profound  impression  of  the  high  relations 
and  solemn  sanctities  of  a  messenger  of  God  and  an  over- 
seer of  the  flock  of  Christ.  "Every  man,"  he  has  said, 
"  must  realize  the  solemnity  of  the  work.  I  cannot  con- 
ceive of  a  man  being  set  between  the  living  and  the  dead, 
and  made  responsible  for  souls  for  whom  Christ  died,  with- 
out feeling  himself  oppressed.  What  an  awe  of  God  must 
be  upon  him  !  A  man  so  flippant  as  not  to  tremble  at  the 
thought  of  occupying  such  a  place,  is  not  fit  to  represent 
the  Son  of  God  in  the  world."  In  this  God-ward  view  of 
the  ministry,  not  to  be  sent  and  yet  to  run,  to  speak  in  God's 
name  with  no  burden  of  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  to  act  for 
God  without  a  commission — all,  in  his  apprehension,  stood 
for  folly  and  madness,  a  daring  effrontery  and  abhorrent 
sacrileo-e.  He  must  have  an  understanding  with  God — a 
disclosure  of  His  will  and  purpose,  authenticated  by  unmis- 
takable marks  ;  a  vision,  if  it  shall  be  obeyed,  so  palpable 
that  the  supernatural  light  shall  shine  distinctly  and  be  dis- 
cernable  in  its  separate  brightness,  even  in  the  glare  of  noon- 
tide light. 

Again,  it  is  to  be  observed,  in  order  to  receive  the  au- 
thority of  the  church  to  preach,  there  is  required  a  formal 
and  public  profession  of  being  inwardly  moved  thereto  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  With  a  spirit  like  his,  so  candid  and  in- 
genuous, that  declaration  could  never  have  passed  his  lips 
except  it  had  first  been  written  by  the  divine  finger  in  l)laz- 
ing  characters  on  the  walls  of  his  soul.  A  similar  profes- 
sion is  required  in  the  ritual  of  the  ordination  of  a  Bishop. 
YoY  a  time  he  held  in  abeyance  at  that  point  the  acceptance 
of  the  high  office  to  which  he  had  been  elected.  He  did  not 
see  his  way  clear  to  make  that  declaration.  His  apprehen- 
sions were  confused.     Till  they  should  be  enlightened  and 


84  BISHOr    MARVIN. 

shaped  into  a  clear  and  complete  discernment  of  the  divine 
■will  and  a})pointraient,  not  the  vote  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, not  the  whole  ])ody  of  the  church  present  in  its  assembled 
delegates,  could  have  prevailed  with  him  to  make  a  profession 
which,  in  his  view,  and  in  fact,  would  have  been  sheer  hy- 
pocrisy and  a  profanation — to  enact  a  solemn  lie  at  the 
altar  of  the  church  and  in  the  sight  of  heaven.  The  impres- 
sion of  his  call  to  preach,  it  is  certain,  underwent  rigid 
analysis.  He  took  it  to  pieces  and  scrutinized  every  pait 
M'ith  severe  discrimination  against  pride  and  vanit}^  self- 
will  and  self-seeking  and  self-sufficiency,  and  knew  it  to  be 
of  God  by  the  witness  of  His  hand  and  the  imprint  of  His 
seal.  His  credentials  were  clearly  certified  when  he  en- 
tered the  ministry,  and  were  never  afterwards  in  question 
with  him.  This  clear  definition  of  duty  in  tiie  judgment  of 
his  conscience  was  not  reached  without  much  perplexity ; 
nor  without  painful  self-surrender  was  there  the  ready  sub- 
mission to  God's  will,  which  he  rendered.  There  were  con- 
flicting claims  which  appealed  strongly  to  his  fllial  senti- 
ments. It  cost  him  a  struggle  to  cross  his  father's  wishes, 
or,  rather,  to  occasion  derangement  of  plans  which  offered 
more  congenial  employment  to  his  father  and  relief  t )  his 
hard  struirale  to  o'et  alomi;.  Other  circumstances  in  the  con-r 
dition  of  the  family  joined  with  that,  all  interposed  claiuis  of 
exemption  or,  at  least,  dela}^  as  sacred  and  tender  as  the 
appeal — let  me  bury  my  dead.  He  had,  also,  to  overcome 
local  attachments,  and  to  deny,  like  P'.lisha,  the  social  im- 
pulses which  were  strong  in  him,  and  which  had  surrounded 
him  in  his  home-life  with  the  most  cherished  and  endearing 
associations.  Especially  to  exchange  these  for  the  priva- 
tions and  hardships  of  the  JMethodist  Itinerant  jMinist:/  in 
the  far  West  of  forty  years  ago,  was  trying  to  "  flesh  and 
blood." 

Bishop  Marvin  has  referred  to  the  mental   anguish,  as 
shown  in  the  history  of  pioneer  preachers  of  that  early  day. 


THE    CHOSEN    VESSEL. 


85 


with  which,  nuturally  hardy  uiid  ])ravc  as  they  Avero,  tliey 
looked  out  upon  the  thhigs  awaiting  theni  in  a  call  to  the 
Itinerant  jNIinistry.  There  were  things  to  be  suffered.  To 
enter  the  ministry  then  was  a  covenant  with  poverty.  In 
much  it  was  to  encounter  derision  and  contempt  of  men.  It 
Avas  a  farewell  to  the  world.  That  was,  indeed,  the  title  of 
an  article  which  he  wrote  just  before  leaving  home  for  his 
first  circuit.  This  incident  has  been  comnmnicated  by  a 
companion  of  his  Aouth,  Rev.  C.  W.  Pritchett.  It  will  be 
read  with  interest  in  his  own  words  : 

111  the  youthful  life  of  Mtu'viu,  I  next  recall  his  first  appearance  as  a 
writer.  It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1841,  about  the  time  he  began  to  preach. 
The  publication  was  made  in  the  old  ]Ve.^tr'ni  Christian  Advocate,  then  un- 
der the  control  of  Dr.  Charles  E.liott.  That  little  production,  about  one- 
fourih  (if  a  column,  should  be  sought  out  and  given  to  the  Church  :  first, 
to  siiow  the  zral  fur  Christ,  and  the  fervent  love  of  souls,  which  then 
stirnd  his  heart ;  and  secnnd.  to  show  the  similarities  and  contrasts  be- 
tween the  earlier  and  the  latrr  productions  of  his  mind.*  It  was  simply 
an  appeal  to  the  young  to  become  religious.  I  have  not  read  it  for  thir  y- 
scven  years;  but  I  remember  its  spirit  and  style  as  of  yesterday,  and  the 
sensation  it  ci'eated  in  that  region  of  country.  It  was  his  Farewell  to  the 
"world,  and  liis  note  of  preparation  for  the  impending  conflict  of  life. 
Those  who  only  knew  Marvm  as  the  distinguished  and  honored  ambassador 
of  Jesus  Christ,  perhaps  know  little  of  the  social  surroundings  of  his 
early  life,  his  strong  social  impulses,  and  the  strength  of  .local  a^socia«- 
tions,  which  he  overcame  in  becoming  a  Methodist  and  youthful  mission- 
ary. That  little  artic'e  will  shed  some  light  on  the  exercises  of  his  mind 
and  his  spiritual  conflicts  in  those  days. 

An  appointment  at  that  day  to  a  frontier  circuit  was, 
indeed,  almost  literally  to  leave  the  Morld,  save  that  the 
man  was  still  in  the  body  and  stood  on  the  earth.  In  later 
years  he  wrote  of  the  isolation  in  a  pleasant  vein  and  oi 
what  was  not  a  cheerful  perspective  w^hen  he  started  lirst  to 


*  The  Author  has  sought  to  recover  the  article,  through  the  kind 
offices  of  his  kinsman.  Rev.  William  Lee,  t'.ie  pastor  of  the  Seaman's 
Bethel,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Mr.  Lee  made  diligent,  but  unsucce-s'.ul, 
search  for  it  in  the  files  of  the  Advocate  for  that  year.  In  such  a  tliflicult 
search  it  might  be  overlooked,  or  a  mistake  in  recollection  of  the  exact 
date  might  easily  occur. 


86  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

sucli  an  appointment — descTil)ing  the  young  evangelist  as 
disappearing  from  the  gaze  of  friends  and  neighbors  "in 
impossible  distances,  with  no  railroad,  nor  telegraph  wire, 
nor  scarcely  an  old-fashioned   stage  line  to  disenchant  the 
scene.     He  was  out  swimming  rivers  on  horseback,  wander- 
ing of  tempestuous  nights  in  morasses,  with  the  howl  of  the 
wolf  and  the  scream   of  the  panther  making  chorus  in  the 
song  of  the  wind  and  thunder,   attacked  by  robbers,   or, 
'  mayhap  '  (as  Hugh  Miller  would  say),  by  savage  Indians." 
Ill  a  measure,  no  doubt,  he  experienced  what  he  has  said  of 
others,  that  in  those  days  the  call  required  to  be  uttered  in 
a  nio-jt  authoritative  tone  ;  and  that,  in  the  sharp  struggle  at 
the  threshold  of  such  a  ministry,  many  a  refractory   spirit 
was  lashed  forward  with  a  Avhip   of  scorpions.      Days   of 
bitterness  and   nights   of    groaning  preceded  the  final  de- 
cision.    Whatever  the  agonism,  however,  greater  or  less, 
Christ  was  Conqueror  :  the  plough  and  oxen  were  left  in  the 
field  ;  the  dead  left  to  bury  their  dead — he  arose  and  fol- 
lowed at  the  Master's  call.     In  eight  months  afterwards  he 
-  was  out  at  work  on  a  mission  field. 

Preparation  for  the  ministry  arrested  and  occupied  his 
attention  from  the  first.  During  the  winter  following  his 
conversion  he  taught  a  school,  with  a  view,  perhaps,  to  his 
own  literary  culture,  as  well  as  its  needed  pecuniary  emolu- 
ment. In  the  spring  he  is  at  work  on  Mr.  Sherman's  farm, 
at  stipulated  Avagos.  What  took  him  there  was  the  library 
in  the  house,  consisting  of  standard  theological  works,  such 
as  the  works  of  Watson,  Benson,  Clarke  and  Fletcher. 

It  is  common  to  quote  the  example  of  Bishop  Marvin  in 
proof  of  a  polished  and  powerful  ministry  without  the  ad- 
vantages of  literary  culture  and  theological  training,  lliis 
is  largely  a  mistake  and  an  exaggeration.  It  is  wholly  a  mis- 
take that  he  was  not  a  student  in  letters,  and  that,  notwith- 
standing his  limited  opportunities,  he  had  not  acquired  con- 
siderable intellectual  culture,  more  than  many  possess  having 


THE    CHOSEN    VESSEL.  87 

superior  advaiit:igr,s  of  education.  With  liis  sober  application, 
he  mastered  the  knowledge  in  books  within  his  reach,  and 
the  eager  inquisitiveness  of  his  mind  sought  out  knowledge 
in  books  ordinary  minds  never  read.  In  the  small  library 
to  which  he  had  access,  there  was  before  him,  in  AVatson's 
sermons,  a  superior  model  of  elegant  English,  in  grace  and 
irrandcur  of  stvle :  and  his  Institutes  cannot  be  studied 
without  an  exercise  and  development  of  the  logical  faculty. 
Clarke's  Commentaries  would  set  him  on  the  study  of  phil- 
ology. Fletcher's  Checks  would  inspire  the  prowess  and 
instruct  him  in  the  skill  of  a  Defender  as  well  as  an  Expos- 
itor of  truth.  There  was  in  them  all  a  large  fund  of  infor- 
mation and  of  varied  learning..  "Above  all,"  says  Mr. 
Sherman,  "  he  was  a  student  of  the  Bible."  So  he  was  in 
his  earlier  youth.  Even  then  he  studied  it  thoughtfully,  as 
appeal's  from  a  reference  in  one  of  his  own  sermons  to  its 
text,  as  having  perplexed  his  mind  when  a  boy.  He  studied 
it  critically  with  the  aid  of  Clarke.  Versed  in  his  Commen- 
taries a  learner  would  be  wise  in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  who 
that  has  mastered  Watson's  Institutes  is  not  a  sound  theo- 
logian ! 

Larger  remark  on  his  preparation  for  the  ministry  be- 
louiTS  to  a  future  page.  It  belongs  to  this  place  to  note 
simply  that,  at  the  outset,  he  recognized  the  propriety  and 
formed  the  purpose  of  it.  Mr.  Sherman's  house  was  his 
Divinity  School,  It  was  not  inadequate  at  the  time.  The 
text  books  were  enough  for  a  summer  course  of  study  and 
the  best  for  thorouuh  ijrounding  in  theology.  The  study 
time  was  between  the  hours  of  farm  work.  Some  hours,  no 
doubt,  were  often  taken  from  sleep,  and  there  was  good  di- 
gestion of  study  done  between  the  plow-handles  and  along 
the  furrows  in  the  tield.  He  was  very  diligent  in  his 
studies,  says  Mr.  Sherman.  A  day's  ploughing,  to  be  sure, 
was  too  costly  a  tuition  fee  not  to  learn  something  every  day 
before    bed-time.      Charity  students    often  become  distin- 


88  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

guished,  hut  often  the  charity  is  Avasted  on  indolent  or  in- 
competent minds,  passing  through  the  academy  and  not  ed- 
ucated, and  througli  the  divinity  school  and  not  apt  to 
teach.  He  was  not  a  heneficiary.  He  paid  his  way  ;  and 
he  studied  and  profited. 

Mr.  Sherman  relates  an  incident,  occurring  at  this  time, 
which  illustrates  his  absor1)ing  interest  in  equipment  for  his 
vocation,  and  the  eagerness  with  which  he  embraced  all  aids 
to  it.  Matfit  was  holding  a  meeting  at  St.  Charles.  He 
must  hear  the  great  pulpit  orator  and  renowned  evangelist. 
The  kind  hands  of  Mr.  Sherman's  sister  are  busy  with  his 
wardrobe.  On  his  return  she  was  concerned  to  know  about 
the  comparative  appearance  of  his  attire  in  the  city  congre- 
iration.  He  did  not  once  think  of  that,  he  said  ;  and  talked 
only  of  the  spiritual  feast  and  other  profit  of  the  meeting 
he  had  irone  on  a  horseback  ride  of  thirtv  or  fortv  miles 
to  attend. 

Durinir  this  time  he  w^as  exercisino;  the  office  of  an 
Exhorter,  which  he  called  "•  ai)prentice  work  in  the  (xospel." 
He  considered  this  office  as  of  great  utility,  and  lamented 
that  it  had  gone  into  disuse  so  largely  in  the  present  day. 
It  w^ould  seem  to  be  indispensible  in  the  circuit  work,  for 
more  frequent  religious  services  during  the  interval  of  three 
or  four  weeks'  appointments.  The  local  ministry  may  sup- 
ply the  lack  in  part ;  l)ut  its  function  is  formal  preaching, 
and  there  is  iri'eat  lack  in  the  circuit  work  of  social  meetings. 
They  aie  the  organs  in  the  church  for  the  digestion  of  the 
preached  Word,  the  cement  of  its  fellowship,  instruments 
of  its  testimony  and  springs  of  comfort.  Tlie  office  of  Ex- 
horter, with  that  of  Class-leader,  stands  in  much  for  social 
meetinsfs.  It  was  known  to  his  ow^n  oljservation  and  which 
he  has  recorded  that,  "  as  leaders  of  prayer  meetings  their 
services  were  invaluable.  I  have  known  some  in  this  office 
to  be  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  many  sinners  to  God. 
They  used  to   carry  on  protracted  meetings  in  wdiich  there 


THE    CHOSEN    VESSEL. 


89 


would  be  no  formal  proachino:,  but  in  which  many  souls 
were  converted.  Would  to  God  there  were  more  of  such 
labor  in  the  Church  in  our  day." 

This  office,  likewise,  has  a  relation  to  the  ministry  ;  and 
in  former  times  commonly  looked  to  it.  It  serves  good 
uses  in  the  way  of  advancement  to  the  regular  ministry. 
Its  functions  afford  the  young  candidate  excellent  practice 
for  the  improvement  of  his  gifts,  both  natural  and  of  grace  ; 
and  they  furnish  to  the  Church  good  tests  of  his  powers  and 
his  titness  for  the  pulpit — better  than  trial  sermons,  of 
which  Bishop  Marvin  wrote,  "  The  discipline  comtemplates 
a  period  of  apprenticeship.  There  can  be  nothing  more  re- 
pugnant to  modesty  and  good  sense,  not  to  say  Christian 
feeling,  than  the  custom  of  making  young  men  preach  trial 
sermons.  The  effect  must  be  bad — l)ad  on  the  candidate 
and  on  the  Church.  Rather  let  him  hold  prayer  meet- 
ings and  exhort,  as  occasion  may  serve — not  under  circum- 
stances where  he  will  expect  criticism,  but  with  a  view  of 
doing  good.  In  this  apprentice  work,  often  awkward  and 
embarrassed  enough,  the  heart  of  the  church  will  respond  to 
the  voice  of  the  true  worker.  The  questions  of  the  discipline 
can  then  be  answered,  '  Has  he  gifts?  Has  he  grace?  Has 
he  fruit?'" 

It  was,  no  doubt,  generally  known  that  he  contemplated 
entering  the  ministry,  and  was  preparing  for  it  under  the  di- 
rection and  tuition  of  Mr.  Sherman.  The  license  to  exhort 
given  to  him,  it  was  understood,  was  to  be  followed  by  ap- 
plication for  license  to  preach.  The  profession  of  a  call  to 
preach  was  passing  under  the  judgment  of  the  Church. 
This  solenui  function  is  delegated  to  the  Church — not  to 
call  men  to  the  sacred  office  ;  that  is  exclusive  to  God  by 
His  Spirit — not  to  endow  men  Avith  authority  to  preach  the 
Word  of  God  ;  that  is  the  prerogative  of  the  Head  of  the 
Church  ;  but  to  discern  and  recognize  the  persons  thus  called 
and  qualified.     The  call  of  God  constitutes  the  ministry : 


90  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

without  that,  the  candidate  is  purely  and  wholly  not  eligible  ; 
and  no  amount  nor  solemn  forms  of  Church  sanction  can 
confer  authority  or  furnish  credentials,  which  God  will  con- 
firm or  men  should  respect. 

These   definitions    are    forciljly    stated    and    argued   by 
Charles  Elliot  in  his  learned  treatise  on  "  Ordination  to  the 
Ministry,"    in  which  this  function   of   the  Church  is  thus 
qualified,  but,  also,  strongly  asserted.     It  needs  to  be  re- 
asserted   in  this  day,   in  view  of    a  pernicious    tendency, 
which  is   common  and   is  tolerated,  to  loose  views  on  this 
subject,  and  which  has  filled  the  land,  under  the  name  of 
evangelists,  with  a  pseudo  class  of  teachers,  not  only  with- 
out the  license  of  the  Church,  but  many  of  them  affecting 
a  boast  of  independence  of  it,  and  even  avowing  an  undis- 
guised contempt  for  the  established  forms  of  ministerial  in- 
vestiture.    God  calls  ;  the  Church  recognizes  it — both  are 
true,  and  combined  they  constitute  the  divine  method.    The 
call  of  God  is  vital — the  prime  and  indispensable  condition 
of  the  ministerial  function.     This  the  Church  should  ascer- 
tain and,  attested  by  scriptural  marks,  must  recognize.     In 
apostolic  precedent,  the  lot  of  Mathias  was  an  appeal  to 
God,  in  recognition  of  His  prerogative  to  choose  and  of  the 
duty  of  the  Church  to  conform — not  confirm,  as  though  a 
right  of  nomination  existed  in  God  and  a  right  of  confirma- 
tion in  the  Church,  so  that  God's  appointment  may  be  re- 
sisted and  set  aside.    On  the  other  hand,  the  concurrent  se- 
lection of  the  Church  is  of  divine  ordination  and  scriptural 
precedent.      The  College  of  the  Apostles  was  assembled  to 
fill  the  place  made  vacant  by  the  apostasy  of  Judas.     Paul, 
in  his  two  weeks'  abode  with  Peter  and  James,  submitted 
his  credentials  to   inspection   in  deference  to  the  order  and 
authority  of  the   Church.     In  the  language  of  Mr.  Elliot, 
both  the  call    and  qualification   come  from   God  ;  but  still 
He  chooses  that  there  should  be  the  sanction  of  the  Church, 
to  which  the  persons  belong.     It  is  important  for  the  rea- 


THE    CHOSEX    VESSEL.  91 

son  which  he  states,  not  merely  to  sanction  those  -whom 
God  has  sent  and  (lualiticd,  but,  what  is  of  more  importance, 
it  is  to  prevent  those  whom  God  has  never  called  from  en- 
tering into  the  ministry — not  to  call  those  whom  God  has 
called,  but  to  prevent  those  whom  He  has  not  called. 

How  important  and  solemn  this  function  of  the  Church, 
it  is   needless  to  say  ;  yet  it  is   amazing  to  observe  how, 
oftentimes,  there  is  low  apprehension  of  its  momentous  re- 
sponsibility and  the  careless  exercise  of  it — sometimes  the 
criminal  abuse  of  it  in  church  meetings  and  quarterly  con- 
ferences, when  nepotism   decides  an  affirmative  vote  and  a 
neo-ative  vote  is  silenced  by  a  weak  sentiment  of  reluctance 
to  hurt  feelings.     In  its  best  exercise,  there  may  be  mis- 
take.    Not  every  zealous  man  is  called  of  God  to  preach. 
The  test,  "  Has  he  gifts,"  would  exclude  him.     There  is 
use  for  Exhorters   and   Class-leaders  as  well   as  Preachers. 
Once  on  the  admission  of  a  man   of  great  zeal  and  useful- 
ness in   his  sphere  into  the  conference,  a  sagacious  presid- 
ing Elder  remarked,  "  a  good  Class-leader  was  spoiled  when 
he  was  made  a  Preacher."    On  the  reverse  side,  in  the  idol- 
ati-y  of  talent,  gifts  fascinate  and  absorb  the  exclusive  at- 
tention.     Because  a  young  man  has  fluent  speech  and  talks 
elegantly  and  eloquently  (sometimes  only  sophomorically), 
he  is  destined  for  the  ministry  in  the  common  talk  of  the 
members.     At  a  meetins:  once,  a  voung  man  who  had  been 
an  infidel  came  to  the  altar  and  in  a  very  short  time  pro- 
fessed conversion.     He  was  asked  to  give  his  testimony, 
which  he  did  in  diction  of  surpassing  beauty  and  with  real 
eloquence  of  thought  and  feeling.     He   had  scarcely  con- 
cluded when,  surprising  as   it  was   and   surprisingly  injudi- 
cious, a  member  with  gray  hairs   upon   him  said,  "  Young 
man,  God  has  called  you  to  preach."    The  glamour  of  gifts 
dazed  him.     God  has  need  of  sanctified  gifts  in  the  learned 
professions  and  in  the  senate  chamber,  and  in  the  marts  of 
commerce  and  in  the  pew,  as  well  as  in  the  pulpit. 


92  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

But  in  the  usual  fact,  the  Church  will  discern  the  call  of 
Gocl  justly.  To  guide  it,  the  Scriptures  contain  numerous 
marks  of  discrimination,  as  specified  by  Paul  in  his  Epistles 
to  Timothy  and  Titus — thirteen  qualifications  in  the  office  of 
a  Deacon  and  twenty-nine  in  that  of  an  Elder.  Bishop 
Marvin  has  spoken  of  the  fallibility  of  the  Church  in  a  char- 
acteristic style  :  "  The  ideal  church  is  perfect ;  *  * 
but  the  human  material  in  which  it  takes  its  organization  is 
very  stubborn  and  impracticable — often  cranky."  At  the 
same  time  in  large  terms  he  has  expressed  his  conviction 
and  confidence  in  "  God  in  the  Church,"  for  preservation 
and  guidance — a  divine  Headship  and  a  real  Presence, 
"  walkino;  in  the  midst  of  the  ijoldcn  candlesticks."  The 
abiding  Spirit  expressing  itself  through  the  organ  of  a  holy 
jDCople,  the  intuition  of  the  Church  is  rarely  at  fault.  Di- 
vine guarantees  secure  the  integrity  of  the  Insitution  of  the 
Christian  Ministry  and  its  succession  from  age  to  age. 

The  signs  of  a  true  ministry  were  conjoined  in  his — the 
call  of  God  and  the  sanction  of  the  Church.  The  one  was 
distinct  and  commanding ;  the  other  w^as  well  considered, 
unhesitatiniT  and  unanimous.  Min<xlin<r  in  the  sober  delib- 
erations  of  the  Church  there  was,  no  doubt,  much  of  the 
affectionate  and  romantic  interest  which  has  been  pictured 
by  his  own  pen  in  such  natural  lights  and  charming  colors, 
that  the  reader  will  wish  to  have  the  picture,  as  he  portrays 
it,  of  the  generous  interest,  so  near  akin  to  family  pride, 
which  the  simple-hearted  members  take  in  a  young  man  in 
their  midst  marked  out  in  their  predictions  for  a  preacher  ; 
and  which,  he  said,  constituted  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
traits  of  old-time  Methodist  piety.  "And  I  am  thankful," 
he  continues,  "  to  believe  that  this  trait  is  not  obsolete  now. 
Every  truly  pious  heart  nmst  feel  a  devout  interest  in  a 
vounir  man  who  is  '  called  of  God  to  preach  the  Gospel.'  In 
the  eye  of  faith  there  is  in  him  somewhat  there  is  not  in  other 
young  men  of  the  Church.     He  seems  nearer  to  Christ,  and 


THE    CHOSEN    VESSEL 


93 


in  one  sense  is  actually  so.    He  is  a  chosen  vessel,  to  whom 
God   has   committed    a    dispensation  of  the  Gospel.     The 
freshness  and  ardor  of  his  youni]^  manhood  have  the  air  of 
consecration  upon  them.      If  he  is  more  deeply  pious  than 
is  common  with  those  of  his  age,  there  is  a  recognized  spir- 
ituality and  self-abneiration  in  him,  the  odor  of  which  is  a 
*  sweet-smelling  sacrifice.'     No  genuine  Christian  can  fail  to 
be  touched  by  all  this.      Accordingly,  there  has  ever  been 
in  the  Church  a  rich  sentiment  of  prayerful  regard  toward 
the  youth  who  are  looked  upon   as  being  destined,  by  the 
call  of  God,  to  the  ministry.     In  the  local  Church  where  he 
resides,  and  where  he  was  converted — ^the   Church  that  was 
in  travail  when  he  was  born — the  Church  that  was  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  penitential  anguish,  and  heard  his  tirst  shout 
of  praise,  and  thrilled  under  the  sunburst  of  immortal  joy 
when  it  blazed  out  of  the  thick  darkness,  changing,  it  may 
be,  in  one  moment,  his  midnight  into  day — there  is  a  sort  of 
proprietary  interest  in  him.       jNIuch  note  is  taken  of  every 
hopeful  fact,  and  many  a  sage  prediction   of  the   coming 
greatness  of  the  young  worker  for  God  is  delivered." 

The  class  recommended  him  for  license  to  preach.  The 
Fourth  Quarterly  Conference,  Rev.  AYm.  Patton,  the  pre- 
siding elder,  present  and  presiding,  convened  at  Ebenezer 
Church,  near  Marthaville,  as  Mr.  Sherman  states — at  Pink- 
ney  according  to  Mr.  Sandy  Pratt's  recollection.  There  was 
a  trial  sermon  on  Sunday  night.  On  Monday  the  Quarterly 
Conference  licensed  him  to  preach.  Mr.  Pratt,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  class  and  the  conference,  gives  the  simple 
record  of  a  memorable  transaction  enacted  that  day : 
*'  Rev.  Daniel  T.  Sherman  asked  the  class  to  recommend 
him  to  the  Quarterly  Conference  for  license  to  preach,  which 
was  done.  I  was  a  member  of  the  conference,  which  was 
held  by  Rev.  Wm.  Patton  at  a  place  named  Pinkney,  AVar- 
ren  County.  The  Quarterly  Conference  appointed  Sunday 
night  for  him  to  preach  a  trial  sermon.      Elder  Patton  was 


94 


BISHOP    MARVIN. 


not  very  much  preposesscd  in  his  favor,  for  he  did  not 
come  out  to  hear  him  ;  but  asked  iu  the  Conference  next  day 
if  the  vouna:  man  had  anv  '  ori^inalitv.'  " 

If  in  the  Class  there  was  any  hesitating  Annanias,  or  any 
distrust  of  the  Chosen  vessel  in  the  Conference,  there  was 
none  on  the  return  to  his  Mother  church  in  the  following 
years  and  at  last,  laden  with  the  highest  honors  of  the  min- 
istry and  wearing  "  the  signs  of  an  apostle." 


^jmi^ 


CHAPTER    VI. 


GRUNDY  MISSION. 

His  f5rst  sermon  at  Old  Bethlehem— The  Dinner— Manner  of  preaching.— 
Varying  opinions— Other  sermons— Recommended  for  the  traveling 
Connection— Called  to  the  Itinerancy— Received  on  trial  in  Annual 
Conference — Appointment  to  Grundy  Mission — His  outfit — Leave 
taking— On  his  travel  to  first  Circuit— Incident  of  a  Sunday  at 
Fayette— His  field  of  labor— Preaching  places — His  acceptability- 
Life  in  cabins— Frontier  travels— Anecdote  of  his  morning  ablu- 
tions— Privations  and  hardships — Fruits  of  his  labor — Mrs.  Peery's 
conversion— The  first  convert  of  his  ministry. 


.HE  first  sermon  by  Bishop  Marvin  was  preached  at  Old 
[^     Bethlehem,  near  the  camp  ground  where  he  joined  the 
church.     Mr,  Sherman  o-ives  the  incidents  of  the  occasion 


in  the  folloAvins;  narrative  : 

A  short  time  before  he  obtained  license  to  preach,  at  the  request  of 
the  writer,  he  went  to  fill  an  appointment  at  the  Bethlehem  Church  on  the 
old  camp  ground  midway  between  Wentzville  and  Flint  Hill,  St.  Charles 
County.  It  wf£s  distant  from  my  house,  where  he  then  resided,  about  ten 
miles.  It  was  a  large  Society,  numbering  about  seventy  or  eighty  mem- 
"bers.  He  started  in  good  time.  What  may  have  been  his  tlioughts  and 
feelings  in  that  solitary  horseback  ride,  on  the  way  to  preach  his  first  ser- 
mon, the  reader  may  imagine.  Before  he  reached  the  place  he  fell  in 
company  with  good  Brother  W.,  and  they  went  on  together  to  the  church. 
The  brethren  were  grouped  around  the  door,  and  some  remarks  were 
made  respecting  the  cause  of  my  failure  to  come,  to  which  he  made  no  re- 
ply, but  entered  the  house  immediately  and  went  into  the  pulpit.  He 
opened  with  the  usual  services  and  announced  the  text:  "Be  ye,  there- 
fore, followers  of  God,  as  dear  children."— £';)/i.  v.  1,  2.  His  personal  ap- 
pearance was  not  prepossessing;  about  eighteen  years  old,  thin-visaged, 
Tery  little  beard,  of  slender  frame  and  tall,  in  his  attitude  a  little  inclined 


96  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

forward,  and  rather  iinsa'nly  than  graceful  in  cait.  He  wore  his  hair  long, 
and  wa-^  clad  in  a  suit,  of  blue  jean<,  much  faded.  Of  Hie  sermon,  some 
thouiiht  it  \va-<  quit  ■  credil:ible;  but  others,  perhaps,  were  of  a  contrary 
o  iuioii.  S  me  exi)ressc(l  tin  mseives  pleased  with  the  thoughts  of  the 
young  i)reacher,  bui  objeced  to  his  gestures  and  the  liigh  key  on  whieli 
hi-;  voice  was  pitch  d.  j^ro  her  A.  remarked  that  lie  might  some  day  make 
a  IMshop.  which  proved  to  be  pro.  hetic. 

After  ])ro;i('hino-  coiiies  dinner  ;  not  a  romantic,  but  a 
very  pnidical  matter,  and  not  uninteresting  to  the  preacher 
after  a  long  ride  and  pulpit  labor — in  very  deed,  then,  "  a 
tocsin  to  the  soul,  the  dinner-bell."  There  is  about  this 
matter  an  episode  of  the  occasion,  ^vUich  has  importance 
only  as  it  involves  the  reputation  for  hospitality  of  the  i)eo- 
ple  of  the  congregation,  some  of  whom  are  still  living,  and 
are,  it  may  be,  sensitive  to  the  apparent  reproach  of  neglect 
of  the  preacher,  in  being  chary  of  a  dinner  wdien  a  ride  of 
ten  miles  and  the  good-will,  if  not  the  value,  of  the  sermon, 
was  worth  his  feeding.  If  the  matter  is  to  be  treated  seri- 
ously, the  writer  of  these  pages,  as  an  imi)artial  judge  with 
all  the  testimony  before  him,  will  charge  the  jury  of  the 
public  to  find '•  not  guilty  "  on  the  indictment.  The  facts 
are  that,  wdieu  he  left  the  meeting-house  he  had  not  been  in- 
vited to  dinner,  and  that  it  was  an  excusable  inadvertence, 
lie  had  come  to  th(^  church  in  company  with  Brother  Walk- 
er, and  all  the  rest  reasonably  supposed  he  was  his  guest. 
He  rode  off  in  company  with  the  same  brother,  and  w  hen 
they  came  to  the  forks  of  the  road,  if  there  was  about  to  he 
a  separation  without  tin  invittition  to  dinner,  as  it  is  reported, 
that  vetenin  Methodist  tmd  good  friend  of  the  preachers 
must  have  been  ruminatiug  and  just  for  a  moment  neglected 
Avhat  was  the  habit  of  his  life  and  the  joy  of  his  heart — to 
hiive  the  preachers  at  his  house.  The  tillusion  to  the  inad- 
vertent omission,  Mrs.  Marvin  knows,  was  made  by  the 
Bishop  in  after  yetirs,  under  the  bent  of  his  humor  in  a  vein 
of  pleasantr3^  In  that  attitude  it  would  have  stood,  if 
hasty  sketches  had  not  made  it  serious,  on  the  theory  that 


GRUNDY   MISSION.  ii7 

his  subsequent  f:ime  must  be  set  off  on  !i  bnck-grouiid  of 
obscurity,  the  shadows  deepened  sometimes  by  touches  of 
fancv. 

One  of  these  myths  is  that  he  dined  that  day  with  a 
colored -woman  who  took  pity  on  the  young  preacher;  and 
dined  with  her  again  on  his  return  to  the  church,  then  a 
popuhir  preacher,  refusing  the  chimorous  invitations  of  the 
best  people  in  the  comnmnity  and  going  homo  with  "Aunty." 
The  truth  is  that  he  took  dinner  at  Brother  W:ilker's, 
where  he  Avas  cordially  welcomed  at  the  time,  as  he  was  ever 
afterwards  a  most  honored  and  cherished  guest.  That  is  a 
historv  of  the  preacher's  tirst  diiiner  with  the  brethren, 
after  the  preacher's  tirst  sermon.  It  is  not  the  least  curi- 
ous and  amazing  part  of  the  dinner  that  it  has  made  a  page 
of  sober  history. 

Mr.  Pritchett  gives  the  following  account  of  the;  preach- 
in  «•  : 

A  word  about  bis  first  sermon  at  Old  Bethlehem,  iu  the  siniiiner  of 
1841.  lie  had  scarcely  been  licf  used  io  preacA;  I  think  he  had  then  only 
the  license  ot  an  Exhortt-r,  for  that  is  the  way  most  of  us  bei^an  in  those 
days ;  and  I  well  remember  that  his  effort  to  sermonize  on  that  occasion 
was  adversely  criticised  by  old  church  membei's  as  premature,  and  as 
transcending  authority.  This  fact  I  well  remember.  On  Sunday  morn- 
ing, clothed  in  his  best  suit  of  loose-titting  home-spun,  and  mounted  on 
horseb:ick,  he  rode  from  home,  two  miles  west  of  the  present  town  of 
Wright  City,  down  to  the  old  log  church.  The  road  was  long  and  sol- 
itary— ten  miles  or  more.  The  greater  part  of  it  was  along  the  immed- 
iate line  of  the  present  St.  L.,  K.  C  and  N.  11.  R. — long  before  any  railroad 
was  tliought  of.  That  old  church  was  famous  in  those  days,  not  only 
for  the  annual  camp-meeting,  Init  for  the  large  congregations  which 
always  attended  ti\ei*e.  Indeed,  people  had  no  other  church  to  attend, 
for  it  was  the  only  hou-^e  of  worship  for  miles  around.  I  am  sure  tiie 
young  preiieher  had  a  large  congre'iaiion.  I  avn  sorry  not  to  know  his 
text  an'd  subject.  His  appearance  was  enough  to  fix  attention  on  him. 
His  tall,  spare  figure,  pale  and  thin  visage,  awkward  and  vehement  ges- 
ticulation, loud  and  rapid  and  impetuous  enunciation,  joined  with  his  in- 
tense earnestness  and  zeal,  created  an  unusual  sensation.  Tlie  greater 
]>art  of  the  congregation  had  never  heard  of  him  before,  and  very  few  had 
ever  seen  him.  It  was  as  if  an  apparition  had  appeared.  The  general 
feeling  of  the  older  people  was  one  of  distrust  and  disappointment.  In 
7 


08  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

their  juilgmc-ut  there  was  not  much  of  promise  in  the  yonnGC  man  ;  so  they 
shook  their  lieads  doubtfully,  and  wisely  woinlered  at  his  zeal,  eonsidered 
to  border  on  indiscrelion  and  pre'^umption.  The  younu;  ])eoi3k',  more  in 
sympatliy  witii  his  fervor,  had  rather  a  feeliiii?  of  pily  than  of  adiuiratioa 
ior  what  they  reirarded  a«  wasted  zeal  and  boundless  enthusiasm. 

The  text  of  ilio  sermon,  on  the  alleged  authority  of 
Bishop  jMarvin,  is  said  to  have  hoeii  other  tliaii  that  named 
by  Mr,  Shermiin,  us  from  Isaiah  iii.  10,  11:  "Say  ye  to 
the  righteous  that  it  shall  be  Avell  ^vith  hiiu  ;  for  they  shall 
eat  the  fruit  of  their  doings.  Woe  unto  the  wicked  !  it  shall 
1)c  ill  with  him  ;  for  the  reward  of  his  hands  shall  be  given 
him."  The  violent  gesticulation  and  impassioned  manner 
of  Avhich  Mr.  Pritchett  speaks,  appear  remarkabl}^  in  an- 
other of  his  first  sermons,  of  which  he  writes:  "lie 
preached  his  second  or  third  sermon  in  my  father's  house, 
in  1<S41.  His  text  was  in  Hebrews  :  "  The  rest  remaining 
for  the  people  of  God."  The  peculiarities  of  his  manner, 
voice  and  o-estures  on  that  occasion  I  can  never  forget. 
Often  as  I  heard  him  in  after  years,  I  invariably  recurred  to 
that  sermon.  His  gesticulation  at  times  was  so  violent  as  to 
be  almost  frightful.  Several  times  he  caught  up  the  chair 
that  stood  before  him,  and  lifting  it  up  one  or  two  feet, 
would  hurl  it  with  violence  against  the  floor."  Joseph  H. 
Pritchett,  then  a  small  boy  about  live  years  old,  yet  re- 
memT)ers  well,  and  it  is  all  that  he  remembers,  as  he  states 
it,  "  the  uncouth  appearance  of  the  3'oung  man,  his  wild 
gestures,  his  boisterous,  stormy  delivery — especially  his  up- 
setting chairs  and  table,  impressed  me  profoundly."  He 
adds  the  following  note  concerning  the  general  opinion  of 
the  young  preacher's  ability,  and  an  account  of  another  ser- 
mon :  "  My  recollection  is  that  his  first  efforts  Avcre  not 
very  highly  appreciated.  Yet,  from  the  first,  there  was  an 
originality,  an  earnestness  and  a  devotion  to  his  Avork  that 
could  not  fail  to  impress  tlic  candid,  thoughtful  observer. 
I  have  heard  my  father  relate  an  incident  in  point:  The 
Bishoi)  had  preached  one  of  his  lirst  sermons  in  Wal'renton, 


GRUNDY    MISSION. 


99 


the  County-seat,  about  six  miles  from  his  old  home.  He 
preached  in  the  Court-house,  and  the  lawyers  in  attendance 
at  court  week  heard  him.  During  a  discussion  of  the  merits 
of  the  sermon,  (the  general  impression  seeming  to  be  that 
the  young  man  had  mistaken  his  calling,  and  had  better  re- 
turn to  his  father's  farm)  Joseph  Wells,  a  man  of  great 
shrewdness  and  of  fine  leual  ability,  thouoh  not  reliirious, 
gave  it  as  his  deliberate  opinion  that,  if  E.  M.  Marvin  lived 
to  mature  manhood  he  would  make  no  mean  mark  in  the 
world.  This  opinion  Mr.  Wells,  who  moved  to  California, 
lived  to  see  verified." 

There  is  another  of  his  iirst  essays  to  preach,  which  re- 
lieves somewhat  the  reputation  of  the  young  preacher.  It 
is  narrated  by  Rev.  S.  W.  Cope,  of  the  Missouri  Confer- 
ence : 

Tlie  first  time  I  remember  to  have  seen  Bishop  Marvin  was  on  the 
event  of  his  coming  to  myfatlier's  house,  in  Mout^;oniery  County,  soon  after 
he  was  licensed  to  preach.  He  came  as  a  supply  for  the  regular  circuit 
preacher,  who  had  an  appointment  in  the  neighborhood  for  the  next 
day.  Our  Lyceum  or  Debating  Society  met  that  night,  and  Brother 
Marvin  attended.  I  remember  distinctly  he  asked  me,  on  reaching  the 
school-house,  if  I  had  my  speech  ready.  I  answered  negatively.  He 
replied,  "  Well,  sir,  I  think  it  time  you  were  making  some  preparation. 
The  opportunity  is  alreadv  well-nigh  gone."  I  did  not  speak,  but  Bro. 
Marviu  did,  much  to  the  gratiticatiou  of  all  present.  Both  the  matter 
and  manner  of  his  speech  suriirised  the  audience.  I  was  thrilled  and 
enrapt.  There  was  a  vigor  and  freshness  in  what  he  said,  as  well  as  a 
depth  of  thought  and  meaning  unusual,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  for  one  of 
his  age  and  experience.  I  have  no  distinct  recollection  of  the  sermon 
the  next  day,  only  that  it  was  received  with  favor  both  by  the  church  and 
people.  At  a  camp-meeting  in  the  same  neighborhood,  soon  after  this, 
he  preachid  again.  He  argued  at  length,  from  various  stand-points,  that 
the  Avorld  was  still  in  its  infancy — a  subject  that  Rev.  R.  Abbey  and 
others  have  enlarged  upon  siuce.  This  sermon  was  much  talked  of  by  the 
people. 

Of   Bishop    Andrew    it    is    said  :     On    his    way   to    his 

horse,  after  the  sermon,  a  principal  official   of  the   society 

accosted  him,  and  said  •     "Well,  James,  if  I  had  heard  that 

sermon  before  Quarterly  Conference  I  would  not  have  voted 


100  BISIIOr    MAKVIN. 

for  your  license."  Young  Andrew  replied  that  he  thought 
he  Avas  about  riahl,  and  then  inentallv  resolved  to  preach  no 
more.  But  shortly  after  an  old  negro — the  servant  of  the 
official  brother — told  him  that  he  had  been  very  much  1)h'ssed 
under  his  preaching,  and  this  determined  him  to  continue. 
The  incident  illustrates  both  views — on  the  one  hand,  hum- 
bled ;  but  on  the  other,  some  voice  of  encouragement,  com- 
ing from  a  source  which  the  humlih'd  soul  will  not  despise. 
What  is  certainly  known  is,  that  the  young  preacher,  who 
also  became  a  bishop,  went  straight  forward — in  singleness 
of  eve  and  inteoritv  of  conscience  regarding,  rather  than 
human  criticism,  favorable  or  adverse,  the  command  of  God 
that  was  upon  him  and  over  him,  leaving  it  to  the  Master, 
who  called  him,  to  set  before  him  an  "  oi)en  door"  and  to 
Give  "mouth  and  wisdom." 

At  the  same  time,  Bishop  Marvin  was  licensed  to  preach 
and  recommended  to  the  Annual  Conference  for  admission 
on  trial  into  the  traveling  connection.      Ilis  call,  as  he  con- 
ceived it,  was  to  the  excilu^ive  work  of  tlie  ministry  in  the 
Itinerancy.     In  its  original  c()nteni[)lation,  his  consecration 
to  the  sacrcnl  office  was  out-and-out  and  life-long.      Never 
was  there  a  preacher  more  purely  and  severely  non-secular. 
He  lias  said  that  a  banker  or  an  enteri)rising  merchant  does 
more  business  in  one  week  than  he   had  ever  done   in  the 
course  of  his   whole   life.       He   took  exception,  kindly  but 
positivelv,  to  an  editorial  notice  by  the  writer  of  this,  an- 
nouncino-  his  return  from  the  Pacific  Coast  after  an  absencti  of 
fifteen  months   ;ind   a   career   of   extraordinary  labors,  and 
pleading  in  his  behalf  Un-  needed  rest  and  attention  to   his 
"private  affairs,"  as  it  was  written.     He  felt  impelled  to  a 
public  disclaimer  at   the    conclusioii   of   a   communication, 
which  appeared  in  a  following  number  of  the  paper,  report- 
ing his  visitation  of  the  Church  on  the  Coast:      '-In  your 
mention  of  mv  arrival,"  h(^  said,  "you  intimate  that  I  will 
spend  the  winter  chieliy  at  home,  and  mention   'private  af- 


GRUNDY    MISSION.  101 

fairs '  Jis  one  of  the  reasons.  That  phrase  sounds  like  bus- 
iness, of  which  I  have  noiu;  that  consumes  any  appreciable 
amount  of  time.  The  fact  is,  I  feel  that  a  little  relaxation 
is  imperative.  I  must  take  it  to  recover  tone.  I  feel  half 
ashamed  of  having  said  thus  much  of  mj^self ,  nor  would  I 
have  referred  to  the  matter  at  all  but  that  I  could  not  feel 
easy  to  have  it  understood  that  any  business  was  keeping  me 
from  the  work  of  God.  T\ventv-eii>"ht  years  af^o  I  ^ave  my- 
self  to  the  service  of  God  in  the  ministr}^  and  have  ever  felt 
that  the  demands  of  this  calling  are  exclusive  of  all  secular 
engrossments.  What  I  desire,  first  of  all,  for  myself  and 
for  my  famih'^,  is  that  we  may  be  holy  and  have  treasure 
laid  up  in  heaven.  For  this  I  pray  and  labor.  In  the 
Church  at  large,  I  desire  to  see  the  great  work  of  personal 
holiness  go  forward.  For.  this  I  labored  especially  in  the 
West.  To  show  how  full,  as  w^cll  as  free,  is  the  sah^ation 
purchased  by  our  blessed  Lord,  is  my  chief  desire." 

On  several  occasions  presenting  a  lure  to  ambition,  or 
an  appeal  to  tender  and  sacred  sensibilities,  or  the  stress 
and  violence  of  perplexed  circumstances,  the  integrity  of 
his  purpose  was  urgently  assailed,  but  it  never  failed  or  fal- 
tered. Literally  and  sublimely,  as  l)y  the  Apostle  who  first 
uttered  it,  he  adopted  and  mtiintained  the  sentiment:  "I 
determined  to  know  nothing  among  men,  save  Jesus  Christ 
and  Him  crucified."  Before  the  vows  of  ordination  were 
upon  him,  he  was  under  that  covenant  with  God — with  this 
two-fold  cord  the  sacrifice  was  bound  to  the  horns  of  the 
altar. 

He  has  said  he  could  not  be  a  local  preacher — his  call 
was  to  the  Itinerancy,  wholly  and  solely.  He  did  not  dis- 
parage that  order  in  the  ministry.  On  the  contraiy,  he  en- 
tertained for  it  sincere  and  profound  respect,  and  held  it  in 
high  estimation.  He  recognized  it  as  of  providential  ordi- 
nation in  the  history  of  Methodism.  He  has  magnified  its 
usefulness.     From  the  day  when  God  forced  on  Mr.  Wesley 


102  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

the  employment  of  lay  preachers,  till  now,  they  have  helped 
forward  the  Methodist  movement.  In  this  country,  espe- 
cially, they  have  largely  pioneered  Methodism  and  opened 
the  wav  in  the  wilderness  for  the  Itinerant  preacher;  Nota- 
1)1}%  in  numerous  instances,  the  ascendancy  of  Methodism 
in  cities  and  states  is  due  to  the  timely,  unscltish,  and  faith- 
ful labors  of  local  preachers.  Jiut  he  could  not  be  a  local 
preacher — all  his  time,  all  his  cares,  all  his  powers  (rod  de- 
manded. His  conscience  would  not  allow  less  devoteduess 
— not  in  measure  nor  duration.  He  had  great  respect  for 
the  local  ministry.  He  had  none  for  local  and  secular  itin- 
erancy, lie  could  not  he  such  ;  not  of  choice,  not  happily, 
not  innocently. 

He  was  admitted  on  trial  into  the  Missouri  Conference 
at  its  session  held  in  the  fall  of  1841  at  Palmyra,  Bishop 
Morris  presiding.  He  was  not  present — fortunately,  it  is  a 
warrantable  saving:  some  preachers  would  have  voted  on 
the  cut  of  his  clothes  and  the  un-cut  of  his  hair.  The  Pre- 
siding Elder,  who  presented  the  application,  was  not  pre- 
possessed and,  withal,  was  a  phlegmatic  man.  The  history 
of  the  application  wa^,  pro  formal.  He  had  no  friend  at 
court.  The  claims  of  his  ministry  stood  just  where  he  would 
choose  they  should  stand — on  God's  call  and  its  own  merits, 
to  be  tested  by  trial.  On  both  grounds  it  was  vindicated  by 
the  subsequent  history. 

There  is  an  element  among  the  marks  by  which  a  call  to 
the  ministry  is  authenticated,  which  has  not  been  named. 
"Where  there  is  a  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,"  Bishop 
Marvin  has  said,  "there  will  be  a  corresponding  providence 
opening  the  way.  There  will  be  an  o[)en  door."  In  the 
foregoing  history  we  do  not  find  strikingly  apparent  the  ex- 
ternal conditions,  to  which  he  refers,  as  affording  prompt- 
ing and  encouragement  to  an  impulse  towards  the  ministry. 
In  a  wider  view  and  in  another  direction  Ave  must  look  for 
the  open  door.     It  was  in  the  pressing  need  at  that  date, 


GRUNDY    MISSION.  108 

and  ill  the  ui'<ront  (ta^  which  iilled  tlie  Church,  for  rc-iiiforce- 
ment  of  the  ministry.  With  this  he  was  familiar.  As  a 
contemi)orary,  the  Avriter  of  this  knows  how  it  l)urdened  the 
heart  and  the  in-aA'crs  of  the  Chureh.  It  is  rarely  heard  at 
this  day  in  tiu^  devotions  of  the  Clmrcli,  but  then,  in  the 
prayer  meeting  and  invariably  in  the  ]3ulpit-prayers,  the  cry 
to  God  was  incessant  and  fervent  "to  send  more  laborers 
into  the  Vineyard."  The  planting  was  under  full  press  of 
industry  for  the  spread  of  Scriptural  holiness  over  that  part 
of  the  land  covering  the  vast  area  of  the  basin  of  the  j\Iis- 
sissippi  Valley.  In  Missouri,  there  was  a  full  flow  of  tide 
of  emigration  to  its  Western  and  Northern  borders,  pouring 
into  the  Platte  purchase  and  aloffg  the  waters  of  Grand 
River  up  to  the  Iowa  line.  There  was  at  the  time  outcry  to 
God  and  man — "the  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  la- 
borers are  few."  His  eyes  were  opened  and  lifted  up  to 
look  upon  these  fields,  "  white  to  the  harvest."  To  follow 
the  emii^rants  at  the  head-waters  of  Grand  Hiver,  was  his 
appointment  l)y  the  Conference — it  was  Grundy  Mission. 

The  outfit  of  a  circuit  rider  is  to  be  provided  from  slen- 
der means.  The  horse — it  was  a  o-ood  one  ;  a  laro-e  brown 
and  black.  The  saddle,  bridle,  and  saddle-bags  were 
bought  with  him,  from  Rev.  ]Mr.  Bowman,  the  preacher  on 
Warrenton  Circuit  that  Conference  year,  and  who  transferred 
at  its  close  to  the  Iowa  Conference.  But  there  Avas  not 
money  to  pay  for  the  equipment.  It  was  bought  on  credit. 
Alas,  that  Avas  a  burden  and  a  grief  for  many  a  3'ear.  Fif- 
teen dollai's,  the  entire  pay  of  the  preacher  for  that  year  on 
Grund}^  Mission,  would  just  pay  the  interest  on«.the  cost  at 
ten  per  cent.  There  was  a  fatality  attendins;  it.  Fifty  dol- 
lars,  which  by  some  miracle  of  economj^  he  had  saved  during 
a  following  year  and  was  intended  to  reduce  the  principal, 
was  lost  in  transmission  throuo'h  the  mails.  It  was  his  first 
lesson  in  the  horrors  of  debt — one  of  the  texts,  from  which, 
when  pastor  of  the  preachers,  he  uttered  his  frequent  charge, 
"Don't  go  in  debt." 


104 


BlSIIOr    MARVIN. 


Thei-e  is  a  ]e:ive-t:ikino-  at  the  Five  Cedars.  The  fatlier 
is  not  pleased,  but  he  does  not  oppose.  He  was  too  good*a 
father  not  to  bless  his  son,  in  his  heart,  if  not  with  lijjs. 
He  was  more  interested  in  his  fortunes  than  it  seemed. 
Often  afterwards,  he  Avas  in  oonirreijations,  which  waited  on 
his  ministry  Avitli  the  spell  of  a  fixed  iittention  and  profound 
emotion,  and  not  less  moved  than  an}-.  The  mother — it  re- 
mained rather  for  the  sen  to  bless  her  and  leave  her  in  prayer 
under  the  over-shadowing  wing  ;  but  still  she  often  spoke,  in 
his  visits  home  from  time  to  time,  how^  Mather  had  improved 
in  preaching  and  w^as  drawina"  the  whole  neisrhborhood  to  his 
conirrc2:ations. 

He  is  on  the  way — tnTveling  northward  on  the  Booneslick 
road.  The  Sabbath  overtook  him  at  Fayette,  Howard 
County.  Here  he  did,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
Fathers,  what  he  scrupulously  observed  throughout  life, 
not  M-illingly  to  travel  on  Sunday.  It  happened  there,  also, 
what  was  the  ])eginning  of  a  settled  habit — to  preach  on 
proper  call  without  hesitation  and  without  reluctance.  The 
W'riter  of  this,  who  remonstrated  against  his  ready  compli- 
ance v/ith  the  solicitations  of  citv  pastors  at  his  home,  when 
worn  by  labors,  to  preach,  while  they  were  only  auditors, 
he  replied  :  "I  am  called  of  God  to  preach,  and  the  call  f)f 
the  Church,  it  is  fair  to  interpret  as  a  direction  of  His  prov- 
idence. T  must  not  be  too  particular  in  judgment  whether 
the  invitations  to  preach  are  judicious."  With  the  single 
remark  that  the  emphasis  upon  the  Avord  "exhortation"  is 
significant  of  humilitj''  superior  to  a  slight,  the  narrative 
of  the  events  of  that  Sunday  are  o;iven  in  his  own,  the  fol- 

I/O  ' 

lowing  words,  in  a  iiublished  letter  written  at  St.  Louis: 

"  i\ly  })ersonal  knowledge  of  Fayette  dates  from  the 
iiutumn  of  1841.  On  my  way  to  my  first  circuit  I  spent  a 
Sa])l)ath  there.  Introduced  by  Rev.  G.  "W.  Bewley  to  Bro. 
Kring,  T  enjoyed  jiis  hospitality.  The  oidy  ])ul)lic  religious 
service  in  t^)wn  that  day  was  at  the  Baptist  Church,  if  my 


GRUNDY   MISSION.  lO'j 

memory  is  not  at  fault.  The  preacher  failed  to  appear. 
After  .some  consultation  in  an  undertone,  the  officei'.s  of  the 
Church  invited  mc  to  give  an  exhortation,  which  1  did,  in 
much  weakness.  After  the  conirreo-ation  was  dismissed, 
Bro.  Jas.  Miller,  now  of  this  county,  made  himself  known 
to  me,  and  informed  me  of  a  class-meeting  to  be  held  at  his 
house  in  the  afternoon.  I  attended.  The  parlor  was  well 
filled.  The  leader  insisted  that  I  should  take  charge  of  the 
meeting.  Was  ever  a  boy,  in  the  be^-inniuor  of  his  ministry, 
in  such  an  asconv  of  embarrassment  ?  Class-leadins;  was  done 
in  a  very  buno-ling  way  that  time.  After  class,  I  Avent  a 
mile  into  the  country  and  spent  the  night  with  Bro.  Sears, 
the  father-in-law  of  Rev.  R.  H.  Jordan,  who,  by  the  way, 
was  oiie  of  the  first  Methodist  preachers  I  ever  saw.  The 
first  whom  I  ever  knew  personally  Avas  Bro.  Allen,  a  local 
preacher,  living  in  St.  Charles  County.  His  occasional  visits 
at  my  father's  house,  where  preachers  seldom  came,  were 
to  me  like  the  advent  of  an  anoel." 

The  Grundy  ^lission,  at  least  under  that  name,  appears 
that  year  for  the  first  time  among  the  charges  of  the  Con- 
ference. It  is  probable  that  he  had  no  plan  of  the  work, 
and,  not  having  been  present  at  Conference,  had  no  direc- 
tions to  guide  him  at  his  entrance  upon  his  field  of  labor. 
There  are  no  data  furnishing  the  incidents  of  the  first  round, 
except  that  it  was  a  travel  of  three  hundred  miles — such,  at 
least,  it  is  known,  was  the  size  of  other  missions  at  that  time 
in  the  same  section  of  country.  The  p<)i)uIation  was  sparse. 
The  preaching  places  were  mostly  at  private  houses,  and 
were  separated  by  long  distances.  The  names  of  some  of 
the  appointments  are  still  extant.  On  his  first  visit  to  the 
Pacific  Coast,  in  ISliS,  fJo  met  in  Oregon  people  whom  he 
had  known  from  his  first  three  circuits.  "Two  days  ago," 
he  wrote,  "  I  dined  with  a  man  whose  house  was  one  of  my 
preaching  places  on  my  first  circuit — a  Mr.  A^an  Duzer.  He 
was  then  a  vouno-  man,  thirty  years  old;  now  he  is  be<iin- 


106  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

nin«:  to  look  old.  T  will  soon  be  ffcttin'o-  old  myself."  On 
a  journey  to  the  Atlantic  Seaboard,  as  he  passed  throuirh 
the  Scioto  Vall(\v,  it  recalled  the  appointment  at  Keith's, 
who  was  the  leading-  mem1)er  of  the  class,  the  Jerusalem  of 
the  circuit,  of  which  he  makes  the  followinai:  mention  :  "  On 
my  first  (nrcuit  there  was  a  society  of  Ohio  i)eople,  all  from 
this  valley.  They  were  excellent  people,  and  very  earnest 
Christians.  There  was  a  continuous  revival  among  them 
during  the  wdiole  year.  Their  names  have  ever  been  i)rccious 
to  me.  Ashbrook,  Schuyler,  Keith,  Plumley  and  others, 
Avere  full  of  faith  and  zeal.  In  their  cabins  I  was  at  home. 
The  young  preacher  was  very  tenderly  regarded  by  them. 
They  encouraged  him  b}''  every  manifestation  of  sympathy 
and  confidence.    It  always  did  me  good  to  be  among  them." 

Accordins:  to  the  custom  of  those  davs  and  in  the  nee- 
essity  of  the  case,  the  young  preacher  at  the  same  time  had  no 
home  and  many  homes — nowhere,  and  yet  everywhere  as 
niiiht  might  overtake  hirii.  or  whoi-(»  his  appointments  for 
each  week  took  him.  There  is  other  testimony,  besides  his 
own,  of  his  popularity  at  Keith's — there,  and  all  round  the 
circuit,  his  coming  Avas  welcomed,  and  in  their  cabins  he 
was  "  at  home."  l>nt  it  was  life  in  cabins.  On  this  and 
the  Oreo'on  mission,  to  which  he  was  appointed  the  succeed- 
ing vear,  the  accommodations  of  1)ed  and  l)()ard  were  scanty 
and  rude,  and  #the  conditions  of  social  life  very  primitive. 
An  amusing  anecdote  is  related  l)y  Kev.  W.  G.  Miller,  of 
Caples,  and  printf^d  in  his  Life,  by  Bishop  Marvin. 

Bishop  M.,  in  comment  on  the  narrative,  remarked  that 
the  narrator  could,  no  <loubt,  have  given  many  similar  inci- 
dents in  frontier  tra\'els — there  were  sojne  in  his  own,  (juit<! 
identical  in  the  [)eril  and  bravery  or  tlu^  mid-winter  t)-avel  ; 
and,  in  lieu  of  the  story  of  tlu;  hounds,  there  is  a  well  known 
incident  often  related  of  and  by  himself.  He  lodged  one 
niirht  at  a  cabin,  where  morning  aldutions,  it  seems,  were 
only  occasional.     He  asked  for  a  basin  and  water  to  wash. 


GRUNDY    MISSION. 


107 


The  request  wis  granted,  ^vilh  the  iiKjuirv  added  :  "blister, 
do  you  wash  every  nioruinir?  "  And  as  he  combed  his  hair  : 
"  Mister,  do  you  comb  your  hair  every  morning?"  Having 
answered  atHrniatively,  the  wondering  native  said  :  "  Mister, 
what  a  sijxht  of  troubh'  you  must  be  to  yourself!"  Tlie 
ani'e(h)te  was  called  to  mind  in  his  travel  in  the  Mountains 
of  Viririnia  in  company  with  Key.  Doctor  Samuel  Roilgers, 
of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  who,  after  a  long  and  dusty 
ride,  was  refreshing  himself  with  plentiful  ablutions  and 
change  of  linen,  Avhile  the  wear}^  Bishop  had  thrown  him- 
self on  an  invitin<r  couch,  needin<r  rest  rather  than  the  bath, 
just  then.  In  humorous  self-defence  he  avenged  himself 
by  relating  the  story,  Avith  its  backwoods  moral — ''it  gives 
some  people  a  great  deal  of  troul)le  to  keep  clean." 

The  merriment  of  the  Bi'sho[)  at  these  reminiscences  was 
not  in  caricature  of  the  people  whose  kindness  he  has  ac- 
knowledged and  among  whom  he  w^as  made  to  feel  "at 
home."  He  was  amused,  but  said  in  sober  and  grateful 
terms  of  Mr.  Caples'  experiences  and  his  own  :  "The  hospi- 
tality of  the  pioneer  settlers  is  unbounded.  They  never 
turn  the  stranger  from  their  doors.  However  inadequate 
their  means  of  entertainment,  they  alwa^^s  receive  the  trav- 
eler with  the  utmost  coi'diality,  and  this  amply  compensates 
the  lack  of  much  else  that  might  h6  desirable." 

There  were,  howevei-,  real  and  severe  b^rdships.  The 
travel  was  perplexing,  along  bridle-paths  and  over  the  track- 
less j)rairie.  In  the  rides  between  the  widely  separated 
settlements  there  was  inevitable  exposure  to  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather.  With  enforced  fasts  and  a  scanty  ward- 
robe, there  were  trials  of  cold  and  hunger.  Like  Paul  at 
Rome,  he  had  need  of  a  "cloak"  jiiid,  worse  off,  he  had 
none  at  Troas.  He  slept  often  in  open  cabins.  Sometimes 
throuiih  the  crevices,  where  the  chinking  had  fallen  out,  the 
snow  would  blow  on  to  his  bed  and  he  Avould  cover  his  head 
for  protection.     On  one  of  his  long  rides  his  ears  and  face 


-     108  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

hecaiue  frost-bitten.  These  ;iiid  ^iiuiliir  physical  hardships, 
Avhicli  Mrs.  Marvin  rei)()rts  in  an  account  of  his  health,  were 
a  l)ur(kMi  and  si  rain  to  his  delicate  constitution.  He  endured 
the  hardness  of  every  kind  with  fortitude  and  tidelity,  "as 
a  uood  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.'  Rev.  C.  F.  Dryden,  a  su- 
perannuated preacher  in  the  Southwest  Missouri  Conference, 
and  now  resident  at  Whitesboro,  Texas,  traveled  the  adjoin- 
ing Circuit.  He  speaks  of  the  varied  and  severe  privations, 
and  adds  that  they  were  borne  without  murmur  or  complaint 
by  the  young  missionary.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  judgment  of 
humility,  his  eye  was  on  a  reverse  side  of  the  picture,  as  it 
is  stated  by  Rev.  11.  S.  Watts,  to  whom  he  narrated  the 
toils  and  trials  in  his  early  ministry.  Like  McKendree,  who 
was  ])erplexed  in  determining  his  ministerial  vocation  by 
his  own  view  of  his  un worthiness  and  lack  of  (jualitication, 
the  young  i)rea(;her  of  Grundy  Mission,  amidst  rude  living 
and  hard  la])()rs,  was  constantly  wondering,  as  he  said, 
"how  the  people  could  put  up  with  his  ignorance  and 
thought  his  the  poorest  kind  of  preaching." 

The  reaper  received  wages — not  in  money,  nor  m  any 
form  of  worldlv  ao-orrandizement.  He  gathered  "fruit  unto 
eternal  life."  Mr.  Dryden  mentions  a  meeting,  which  he 
held,  at  which  Marvin  assisted.  It  was  a  Quarterly  meeting 
held  on  a  camp-ground.  It  was  attended  by  Caples  in  the 
place  of  the  Presiding  Elder,  Rev.  Wm.  Redman,  who  was 
l)rovidentially  detained  from  it.  Caples  i)reachcd  at  11 
o'clock,  and  on  in(iuiry  of  the  i)reaclier  in  charge,  whom 
he  should  call  u[)on  to  j)reach  the  afternoon  sermon,  Mar- 
vin was  i)ointed  out  to  him.  One  sketcher  has  depicted 
chiefly  the  appearance  of  his  person.  That  was,  indeed, 
worn  with  toil  and  i)rivation,  and  his  clothes  worn  out  by 
h)ng  service  and  hard  usage,  and  the  pipe  in  his  mouth  was 
then  used  medicinally  as  an  antidote  to  bronchitis,  or  if  as  a 
luxurv,  it  was  a  rare  and,  it  may  be,  a  solitary  one.  Another 
has  spoken  rather  of  the  wonderful  sermon,  which  made 


GRUNDY    MISSION.  ]  09 

Ciiples  wonder  and  esteem  his  own  sermon  less  highly.  Mr. 
Dr^'den  has  described  the  iiltar-scene  and  the  penitent  soul 
and  the  tinding  its  way  to  the  Cross  under  the  skillful  o-uid- 
ance  of  one  Avho  knew  the  wav  so  well  himself.  "Towards 
the  close  of  the  conference  year,"  he  writes,  "  he  attended 
my  camp-meeting  on  the  Chillicothe  Circuit,  in  the  Peery 
Settlement,  where  he  endeared  himself  to  the  l)rethren. 
Allow  me  to  narrate  one  incident.  Sister  Peery,  the  mother 
of  Thom[)son  PiH'ry,  who  was  long  a  faithful  minister  in 
Missouri,  but  now  resides  in  Texas,  Avas  a  penitent  at  the 
altar.  She  had  been  an  earnest  seeker  of  religion  for  twenty 
years.  Her  aironizing  cries  filled  the  heart  of  youno;  Marvin 
Ayith  deep  solicitude  in  her  behalf.  Meekly  he  made  his 
way  to  where  she  knelt  and  on  bended  knees  he  pointed  her 
to  Jesus.  She  heard  and  belieyed,  and  broke  forth  in  exul- 
tant joy  in  having  found  her  Lord.  Looking  up,  lo,  it  was 
the  boy-preacher,  clad  in  patched  clothing,  but  his  face  ra- 
diant with  sympathizing  joy,  Avho  had  been  the  honored  in- 
strument of  her  conversion.  She  died  a  few  j'ears  ago  in 
the  triumph  of  a  living  faith — a  jewel  in  his  croAvn,"  At  the 
session  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  held  at  Independence, 
in  the  fall  of  1859,  he  preached  a  sermon  on  the  work  of* 
the  Ministry,  and  in  concluding  remarks  on  its  spiritual 
fruits  and  heayenly  conipensations,  he  related  an  incident 
of  his  own  ministry  and  a  message  in  connection  with  it 
Avhich  had  recently  reached  him.  He  had  an  appointment 
eighteen  miles  distant.  It  Avas  in  December — a  day  of 
storm.  He  thought  no  one  would  attend  ;  but  he  Avas  there 
— it  Avas  his  a})pointment.  He  found  three  persons  in  the 
house — one  of  them,  a  lady,  not  a  member.  He  preached 
and  "opened  the  doors  of  the  church."  She  joined.  In  pri- 
vate conversation  he  spoke  of  it,  as  the  only  occasion  in  his 
ministry  Avhen  "he  had  swept  the  platter."  In  the  sermon 
he  said,  years  passed  away  and  he  had  during  the  past  year 
receiA'^ed  the  most  deliiilitful  message  that  ever  came  to  him 


110 


BISHOP    MARVIN. 


from  a  death-bed.  It  was  from  that  lady.  "  1  am  dying," 
she  said  ;  "  I  api  goinix  to  lu'avt'u.  1  attribute  my  conver- 
sion to  the  sermon  you  preacjied  on  that  stormy  December- 
day.  1  hope  you  Avill  live  long ;  but  when  you  come  to 
heaven,  I  shall  be  there  to  meet  you."  At  the  recital,  the 
whole  congregation  of  preachers  and  people  was  deejjly 
moved  ;  and  tears  of  joy  were  mingled  with  rejoicing  halle- 
lujahs, as  he  said  simply — "when  I  get  to  heaven,  the  first 
thing  I  shall  do  Avill  be  to  hunt  up  that  tirst  convert  of  my 
ministry,  on  Grundy  Mission." 


\ 


CHAPTER     VII. 


ADMITTED    INTO    FULL    CONNECTION. 

Tlie  first  Conl'ercnce  altenckcl  by  him,  ul  Jcti'crsou  City— Clothes — Home 
at  Conference — An  observer  of  the  Body  — A  sucrsfstive  iiicideut  on 
the  way  to  Conference — The  session  to  him  a  si)ii-itnal  feast — The 
siiiiiin^' — His  examination — Kecollectii)ns  of  Ki;v.  J.  JI.  Headlee — ■ 
Continued  on  trial— Advised  to  go  home — The  inciik'nt  related  by 
Rev.  S.  G.  Patterson — xVn  episode— Appointed  to  Oregon  Mission — 
Preaching  places— Incidents,  the  romance  of  his  career — His  pay — 
Hardships — Lexington  Conference — Cast  down — Incident  related  by 
Kev.  J.  C.  Beri-ymau— The  Conference  probation— The  Methodi>t  pas- 
torate— Examination  in  presence  of  the  Conference — His  class-mates 
— Tiie  dead— L.  S.  Jacoby— D.  W.  Pollock— Admitted  into  full  con- 
nection—Ordained  deacon — Dramatic  incidents — Trial  and  endurance 
— Launched  on  the  Itinerancy. 


d 


THE  Conference,  at  the  close  of  his  year  on  Grundy 
i^  Mission,  was  held  at  Jefferson  Citv,  commencino;  its 
session  August  31st,  1842,  Bishop  Roberts  presidina;.  It 
was  the  first  session  he  had  ever  attended.  In  several  re- 
spects, great  and  small,  the  occasion,  as  it  concerned  him, 
has  had  a  remtirkable  record— nottible  for  what  is  true  in  it 
and,  also,  for  Avhat  is  exaggerated  and  apocryphtd. 

A  ]\Iethodist  Conference,  it  is  usual,  is  a  well-dressed 
body  of  men.  If,  here  and  there,  within  the  bar  or  on  the 
streets,  an  exception  is  detected  by  a  close  observer,  it  means 
a  very  htird  circuit  that  year.  Enough  to  eat,  so  that  he 
may  sing  with  the  rest  the  opening  hymn,  "And  are  we  yet 
alive  ;  "  but  quarterage  too  scant  for  the  new  suit  of  clothes, 
like  the  rest.  The  new  suit — that  is  commonly  :i  part  of 
preparation  for  "going  to  Conference,"  like  nudving  up  the 


112  BISHOP    MAiiYIN. 

statistics  of  the  year's  work,  but  often  more  difficult  to  make 
out,  as  the  financial  statistics  show.     During  the  last  quar- 
ter the    (lark    and   stubborn   pro])h'ni    is   well   studied   and, 
somehow,    is   i>-enerallv  solved,   not  always.      The   earnest 
forecast  finds  oat  methods  of  wonderful  economy  and  per- 
forms miracles  of  financiering.    The  country  merchant  helps 
— sellinii-  at  cost.     Sometimes,  how  hard  lie  has  worked  and 
how  hardly  he  has  lived,  tiie   "friendly  sinners''   see,  and 
the  new  suit   is    a   token   of   their   admiration   and   respect. 
Our  preacher  must  make  a  good  ni)i)('ai-nnc('  at  Conference, 
is  the  talk  before  the  last  round  on  tlu>  circuit — started  by 
soine  "  ]\Iotlier  in  Israel"  or  insisted  on  \)X  the  young  peo- 
ple in  the  church.     At  the  last,  all  else  failing,  the  lack  is 
supplied  by  the  preachers  at  Conference  or  the  church  where 
it  is  held  ;  or,  before  Conference,  I)y  some  ])reacher  on  an 
adjoining  circuit,  ready  to  share  a  meagre  store,  especially 
with  the  brother  who  has  ti'a^elcd  tlie  "hard  woi'k'    of  the 
district.      That  brother,  in  this  histor}^  has  attended  the 
camp-meeting  held  toward  the  close  of  the  year.      He  has 
preached  with  tlie  zeal  of  a  seraph,  aiid  souls  were  converted 
as  he  prayed.     Coming  that  way  a  few  weeks  later,  gomg 
to  Conference,  a  preacher's  wife,  Sister  Dryden,  has  a  i)air 
of  pants  ready  for  him,  and  a  preacher,  George  Smith,  has 
l)ought  him  a  coat.     Thus  it  happened  that  Marvin  came  to 
Conference  with  a  new  suit  of  clothes. 

The  current  account  of  his  dress  has  clothed  him  in  rusty 
shoes,  patched  pants,  and  calico  coat,  faded  and  torn.  The 
new  suit  he  had  ;  but,  it  may  be,  he  did  not  AV(>ar  it.  Mrs. 
Dryden  guessed  at  the  fit  of  the  pants,  using  her  husband's 
pattern,  which  made  a  "bad  fit."  The  clothes,  for  some 
reason,  attracted  attention.  If  the  old,  hanging  on  his 
slender  frame  battered  b^-  tiu'  wi'ather  and  Avorn  by  la- 
bors, not  every  observer  would  see  in  it  insignia  of  honor 
that  miirht  i^race  the  ijlumage  of  an  aniicl  ;  some,  Ave  know, 
did  not  see  it.     Becoming  attire  for  a  minister  is  important, 


ADMITTKI)    INTO    FULL    COXXECTIOX.  11.} 

which  he  uiiifornily  observed  when  it  was  matter  of  choice 

and  taste.     But  on  hard  circuits  and  with  poor  pay  the  rule 

ill  preacher's   dress,  of  necessity,  is,  as  we  can,  not  as  we 

would. 

When  it  is  discretionary,  there  are  extremes — the  worst, 

an  excess  of  attention  to  attire,  rather  than  too  little.     Mv. 

Wesley,  who   was  neat  in   his  person,  has  put  under  the 

same  ban   a   "fine   sermon"   and  a  "fine  coat."      Doctor 

Lovick  Pierce,  in  a  sketch  of  Bishop  Andrew,  who,  ho  says, 

was  "  wholly  indifferent  to  what  many  regarded  as  a  duty 

due  to  clerical  dignity  in  dress,"  refers  at  the  same  time  to 

the  oiicninii"  history  of  his  life  as  making  manifest  the  wis- 

dom  of  the  sentiment : 

"I  would  be  measured  by  iny  soul — 
The  miud's  the  standard  of  the  man." 

The  old  philosopher,  Epictetus,  has  expressed  the  same  sen- 
timent :  "It  is  a  sign  of  a  nature  not  finely  tempered,  to  give 
ourselves  up  to  things  v/hich  relate  to  the  body  ;  the  forma- 
tion of  the  spirit  and  character  must  be  our  real  concern." 
Bishop  Marvin  has  put  a  similar  sentiment  in  satire  :  "  I  have 
had  in  my  eye  at  the  same  moment,  a  fop  and  a  peacock, 
displaying  their  fine  plumage,  as  nearly  as  I  could  judge, 
with  about  equal  satisfaction — and  certainly  the  bird  made 
the  better  displa}'.  Besides,  his  feathers  were  his  own."  In  a 
reference  to  the  chapter  on  dress,  which  was  in  the  disci- 
pline when  he  entered  the  ministry  and  long  afterwards,  he 
spoke  earnestly  and  soberly  :  "  Say  what  you  please,  in  os- 
tentatious dressing  ther.e  is  an  invasion  of  Christian  sim- 
l)licity  ;  say  Avhat  you  please,  the  severe  simplicity  of  the 
old  Methodist  dress  had  much  to  do  with  the  depth  and  in- 
tensity of  personal  religion.     I  cannot  doubt  it." 

In  general,  he  held  that  a  man's  character  may  l^c  de- 
termined by  his  dress.     In  illustration,  he  has  recorded  an 
incident,  occurring  Avhen  he  Avas  a  pastor  in  the  city  of  St. 
Louis  :  "A  young  man  came  to  me  with  a  recommendation 
8 


114  BTSIIOr    MAPvVIX. 

from  a  friend  and  a  rciiucst  to  assist  him  in  finding  employ- 
ment.    He  was  flashily  dressed.      I  took  him  down  on  Main 
Street  and   introduced  him  to  one  of  the  old  nicrcliants, 
showinir  the  letter  of  introduction.     He  told  him  he  had  no 
place  for  him.     Afterwards  he  told  me  Iw,  ncAcr  had  a  place 
for  such  men  ;  that  his   dress   indicated   him,  and  typed  a 
vain  and  chaffy  man.'       In  the  clerical  ofiice,  over  against 
that  type  and  anti-type  ni  dress  and  character,  he  sets  th(^ 
preacher  in  the  wildernes'S  who  had  his  raiment  of  camel's 
liaimnd  a  leathern  girdle  about  his  loins  :   "It  was  no  ele- 
^•ant  louuirer  about  Kinix's   ])al;u'es,   the  no])lcst  endeavor 
•of  whose  irenius  is  to  dress  Avell,  and  who   'can  irive  his 
wdiole  mind  to  the  fashion  of  a  neck-tie,'  but  a  prophet  and 
more  than  a  prophet.     The  man  whose  majestic  voice  had 
caused  a  moral  earthquake  in  Judea,  and  whose  magnetism 
had  drawn  the  populace  into  the  wilderness,  never  twirled 
Ml  dainty  walking-stick,  nor  sported  a  gold  chain.     The  stuff 
he  was  made  of  was  of  a  texture  too  divine  for  such  frivoli- 
ties." 

Nevertheless,  in  the  face  of  all  the  poetry  and  philoso- 
phy and  Christian  morals  to  the  contrary,  dress  claims  and 
obtains  recognition  of  its  certificate  to  respectability  and 
regard — not  only  in  worldly  society,  but  sometimes  in  the 
Conference  room  and  at  the  altars  of  the  church.  Rev.  Doc- 
tor Boyle  has  related  an  incident,  amusing  but  in  point,  of  one 
-of  his  meetings,  at  which  an  eccentric  preacher  attended, 
and  one  night  conducted  the  altar-work.  As  the  penitents 
came  forward,  "  a  good-looking  young  man,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  a  nicely  dressed  young  man  !  "  and  said  in  pious  remark, 
l3ut  with  less  gusto,  as  a  country  boy  came  uj)  the  aisle: 
•*' Well,  come  on,  y(mng  man:  thank  God!  He  is  no  re- 
specter of  persons."  The  Apostle,  St.  James,  has  treated 
the  same  thing  soberly  and  severely. 

He  had  a  good  home  at  Conference — at  the  hospitable 
mansion  and  generous  table  of  Brother  Thomas  Miller.    How 


AD-MITTKD    INTO    FILL    CONNECTION.  115 

it  happened  was  told  hy  "Uncle  I'onj,"  as  he  was  cnllcd,  to 
the  writer  of  this  when  he  was  [)ast()r  at  Jefferson,  ten  years 
later.  It  was  a  ])('(adiarily  in  "  Tncle  Tom,"  tliat  lie  had  a 
bic  heart  and  an  over-flowinu-  kindliness  of  siiirit.  As  the 
preaehers  oathered  in,  the  "bi<>-  preachers"  all  si)oken  for, 
he  was  on  the  look-ont  for  those  Avho  niiiiht  need  the  en- 
couragement of  kindness.  Ho  took  Marvin  to  his  home. 
The  recollection  of  ihe  conversation  is  more  than  twenty 
years  old,  l)nt  one  remark  is  distinctly  remembered.  It"\vas 
a  kindred  characteristic  in  him  that  he  could  not  al)idc  a 
mean  spirit  and  low  instincts — not  ev<Mi  in  Methodist  preach- 
ers, a  class  of  men  he  loved  above  all  men.  His  disgust  he 
Avas  accustomed  lo  express  in  the  provincialism  he  used, 
Avhen  he  said  on  the  contrary  of  Marvin  and  'Mlu^  big  soul  in 
him,"  with  evident  relish  and  the  satisfaction  of  a  discov- 
erer of  greatness  :  "  T  soon  found  he  was  none  of  your  long 
fetlock  preachers." 

He  has  made  references,  in  his  life  of  Caples,  to  his 
"first  Conference,"  which  contain  hints  of  his  feelings,  and 
of  his  eyes  tixed  on  others,  ^je>'  cont'd  to  the  e^'es  turned  on 
himself.  His  tirst  look  was  upon  the  i)residing  Bisho}),  the 
i)ortlv  Kobcrts — a  satisfied  gaze,  the  customary  aw'e  of  the 
ofhce  in  vounu"  r)reachers  subdued  by  the  genial  face  that 
met  his  eye,  a  picture  of  benignity.  Among  so  many  he 
felt  isolated.  He  saw  very  few  familiar  faces — there  were 
some.  "I  had  not  seen,"  he  wrote  of  his  first  year  in  the 
ministrv,  "  nmch  of  Methodist  preachers  beyond  the  neigh- 
l)orho()d  Avhere  I  was  born  ;  had  not  attended  a  session  of 
Conference  ;  nor  met  with  any  })reachers  during  Ihe  course 
of  this  year,  except  my  Presiding  Elder,  William  W.  Red- 
man, and  Bi'other  Dryden.  Every  new  preacher  I  met,  if 
he  was  a  n)an  of  mark,  impressed  me  deei)ly.  I  am  con- 
scious to  this  day  of  a  sort  of  romantic  interest  in  all  the 
})reachers  whom  I  met  this  year."  At  the  camp-meeting, 
in  the  Peery  Settlement,  he  had   met  Caples,  who  always 


11*3  BISHOP  :\rARVix. 

turned  towards  youno:  preachers  a  kindly  heart,  though, 
sometimes,  also,  he  tixed  on  them  a  huniorons  eye  and 
mirth-provoking  tonirue.  Tiiat  lirst  year  was  full  of  liard- 
ship,  but  it  was  satisfying  in  pleasant  and  profitable  exper- 
iences and  ol)scrvation  out  in  the  wide  world  and  the  larger 
world  of  Methodism,  to  which  it  had  introduced  him.  That 
camp-meeting,  particularly,  enlarged  his  vision  of  Meth- 
odism and  deepened  his  affection  foi"  its  people  and  preach- 
ers, "Then,"  he  wrote,  "I  became  accpiainted  with  those 
princes  of  Grand  River  Methodism,  the  Peerys,  Wynns  and 
others.  There  was  amonir  them  an  eleirant  sort  of  plainness 
that  realized  all  that  is  best  in  refined  manners  under  Christ- 
ian conditions,  1  began  to  get  a  better  insio;ht  into  life  and 
society,  JNIy  horizon  Avidened  perceptibly.  No  one  fact 
contributed  more  to  this  than  my  contact  with  Mr,  Caples," 
He  had  one  acquaintance  among  the  young  preachers  :  "At 
this  meeting  I  saw,  also,  for  the  first  time,  Daniel  A.  Leeper, 
He  Avas  about  my  own  ag(s  and  just'  beginning  to  preach. 
One  afternoon  he  preached  at  the  camp-mcetmg.  His  text 
was:  '  Behohl  I  stand  ;i^  the  door  and  knock,'  etc.  It  was 
properly  an  exhortation.  H(;  we[)t  and  all  the  people  wept. 
My  soul  clave  to  liim  from  that  hour." 

With  more  than  romantic  inter<\st  and  ready  affection, 
he  looked  on  that  body  of  preachers — with  the  eye  of  a 
critic,  t(;o.  lie  had  an  eve  for  "men  of  mark,"  sini:'lin<>: 
them  out  in  the  progi'css  of  the  Conference  ])roceedmgs  and 
in  the  })ul})it  discourses.  He  c-ould  <liscriminate  them.  Of 
Caples'  sermon  on  Sunday  at  11  o'clock,  at  the  camp-meet- 
ing, he  remembered  onl}'  that  it  was  very  long  and  that  it 
ma<2;netized  the  congre<>'ation,  and  this  othcn*  fact,  his  own 
<'riticism  on  the  sermon — made  at^he  time  by  the  preacher 
of  a  year  old — "  I  did  not  see  the  connection  of  the  thought  ; 
did  not  perceive  the  unity  of  it." 

Among  suggestive  incidents,  affording  sol)er  and  j)rofit- 
able  reflection,  was  one  happening  on  his  way  to  Conference. 


ADMITTED    INTO    FULL    CONNECTION.  117 

lie  fell  ill  -with  C:4)le.s  and  heard  him  preach  at  OKI  Fi-aiik- 
lin,  Avhere  the  company  of  preachers  hiid  over  ou  Sunday. 
He  remcm1)ered  an  incident  of  it  more  distinctly  than  the 
sermon — with  e^'e  and  ear  open  for  inlet  to  knowledge  and 
experience,  he  listened  to  tiie  conversation  of  two  elderly 
laymen  commentinjx  on  the  sermon,  "expressing  devout 
S-ratitude  to  the  2:rcat  Head  of  the  Church  for  raisino-  up 
such  a  voun<>-  man  for  His  service  in  iVIissouri.  It  was  to 
them  a  mark  of  the  favor  of  God."  The  remark,  fixing  Iiis 
attention  and  so  long  remembered,  was,  no  doubt,  well  di- 
gested and  put  to  use. 

The  Conference  session,  we  infer,  was  a  spiritual  feast 
— ospccially  the  singing.  It  is  well  known  how  the  rapture 
of  Ills  soul  usually  broke  forth  in  song  and  was  kindled  by 
it,  particularly  by  Conference  singing,  of  which  he  has  said  : 
"  Surely  there  is  no  better  music  this  side  of  the  River." 
Those  who  have  seen  and  heard  him  at  the  devotional  exer- 
cises of  the  Conference  will  not  criticise  as  extravagant  his 
description  :  "  When  I  Avas  a  boy  in  Conference,  Rev.  John 
F.  Young  used  to  lead  the  singing.  In  1842,  at  Jefferson 
"City,  I  heard  it  for  the  first  time.  Was  there  ever  such 
sin2:in2:?  It  was  reli«'ion  set  to  music  !  There  was  no  swal- 
lowing  of  the  voice  there  ;  no  letting  it  out  thin  through 
closed  teeth  ;  none  listening  Avhile  others  sang.  There  was 
u  contairion  of  sin2:ing  all  throuirh  the  house.  If  a  brother 
had  no  control  of  his  voice,  still,  he  Avas  not  afraid  to  make 
:i  noise,  for  his  discord  would  be  drowned.  It  was  no  mere 
medley  of  voices  neither.  I  was  music.  The  time  was 
perfect,  the  melody  good,  the  harmony  above  criticism,  and 
the  tone  and  emphasis  superb.  I  would  liaA'e  gone  a  hun- 
dred miles  to  Conference,  if  for  nothing  else  but  to  hear 
the  preachers  sing."  The  examination  on  the  Course  of 
Studv  for  the  first  year  awaited  him.  The  studies  at  ]\fr. 
Sherman's  house  in  the  sumjner  of  1841  served  him.  He 
had  no  headquarters  for  books  and  wardro])e,  but  it  may  be 


118  BISHOP    MARVIX. 

safely  asserted  he  found  time  and  ways  for  study  ;  and  on 
lono-  and  lonelv  rides  what  he  learned  was  inwardly  diges- 
ted.  He  was  ready  for  the  examination,  as  certified  by  a 
Conference  classmate,  Rev.  J.  II.  Ileadlee  : 

I  met  him  at  tlie  Conference  in  the  fall  of  1842  for  the  first  time.  It 
was  the  first  time  either  of  us  had  ever  attended  Conference.  There  were 
thirteen  others  in  the  class  with  us;  and  we  all  nxet  at  3  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  to  be  examined.  E.  M.  Marvin  seemed  not  to  bo  known  to  any 
of  the  class,  and  was  rather  timid  and  distant  in  his  manners.  I  remem- 
ber very  distinctly  that  he  took  a  seat  apart  from  the  rest  when  we  went 
into  the  room  to  be  examined,  and  al-o  tliat  I  was  in  doubt  whether  he 
was  one  of  the  class  at  all.  I  will  be  candid  enough  to  admit  tliat  my 
doubts  were  occasioned  principally  by  Ids  very  plain  and  uncouth  appear- 
ance. His  outfit  was  of  the  most  simple  and  connnon  material;  I  have 
always  remembered  every  part  that  was  visible  except  his  vest.  In  this 
garb  he  sat  alone  to  hear  the  questions  of  the  committee.  He  answered 
readily,  and,  I  believe,  in  every  instance  correctly.  In  fact,  he  made  a 
very  favorable  impression  on  all  present.  The  accomplished  and  lamented 
Pollock  was  present  and  one  of  the  class.  He  came  to  me  when  the  com- 
mittee dismissed  us  and  asked  me,  ''if  I  knew  u-ho  that  awkimnl  yoviifj  man 
icas  loho  sat  off  to  himself?  "  On  being  answered  in  the  negative,  he  said : 
'■'Well,  onetldmj  I  know;  he  has  got  sense  like  old  folks."  I  know  noth- 
ing of  his  labors  for  two  years,  as  he  was  away  in  the  northwest  and  I  was 
in  the  southeast  part  of  the  State,  excepting  that  I  heard  the  preachers 
say  that  he  attended  a  protracted  meeting  on  his  way  to  the  second  Con- 
ference, and  preached  with  so  much  power  and  effect  that  the  people  were 
delighted  with  him  and  presented  him  a  suit,  as  I  remember  it,  of  smooth 
grey  jeans,  which  gave  him  a  good  appearance.  After  the  second  year,  he 
began  to  be  known.  He  was  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  most  pronnsing 
young  preachers  in  the  State.  He  rose  rapidly  and  was  soon  much  sought 
after. 

At  this  Conference  he  was  continued  on  trial — on  thf 

part  of  some,  at  least,  hy  a  reluctant  vote,  if  not,  inaeed, 
uo-aiust  their  vote.  That,  made  known  to  him  shortly  after 
the  adjournment,  was  the  severest  trial  in  his  Conference 
probation.  He  had  crossed  the  river  over  into  Callaway 
County  and  struck  the  Booneslick  Road  with  his  face  home- 
ward on  a  visit,  after  a  year's  absence.  By  three  elders  and 
heading  preachers  of  the  Conference  he  was  advised  to  stav 
at  home.  One  of  them  was  Rev.  (Tcorge  Smith,  a  man  of 
sound  judgment,  liowever  mistaken  it  was  in  this  instance. 


ad:mitted  into  full  connectiox.  119 

Another  was  Jacob  Lannius,  avIioso  name  is  distiniruishctl  in 
the  annals  of  Missouri  Methodism  and  is  embalmed  in  the.- 
memory  of  the  Church.  The  oilier,  liev.  Samuel  G.  Pat- 
terson, has  filled  important  appointments  in  INIissouri,  and 
is  well  known  as  having  been  one  of  the  Superintendents  of 
Indian  ^Missions  at  an  eai'ly  date.  Ho  is  the  father  of  the- 
present  Superintendent  of  the  ]Mexican  Mission.  He  is  still 
livino-,  resident  at  Fulton,  Kv.  The  remarkable  scene  ia 
which  he  was  an  actor  shall  be  described  in  his  own  words  i 

I  Ihink  it  was  in  the  full  of  IS-tl  that  an  unpromising  yonth  purchased 
a  line  h  >rse  in  a  uei,irhI)orho()cl  where  I  was  acquainted,  with  t!ie  view,  as 
he  stated,  of  traveling  a  circuit.  He  was  admitted  into  the  Missouri  Con- 
fereuce  that  fall  and  appointed  to  a  frontier  mission.  At  the  close  of  the 
first  year,  he  c.ime  to  the  Conference,  held  at  Jefferson  City,  riding  the 
same  horse,  -which  -was  reduced  to  a  slcchton,  and  making  such  an  appear- 
ance himself  from  the  nnsightliness  of  his  apparel  and  his  general  awk- 
wardness, that  he  was  subject  of  remark  by  many  of  the  preachers  and 
even  of  ridicule  by  some.  Few  thought  he  would  be  continued  on  trial. 
His  examination,  however,  proving  to  be  much  better  than  his  pcr-^onal. 
appearance  indicated,  he  was  continued  on  trial,  and  received  his  second 
appointment.  After  the  adjournment  of  the  Conference,  three  of  its  mem- 
bers—Jacob  Lannius,  George  Smith  and  myself — were  traveling  tO'j;etIier 
on  horseback  down  the  Bounesliek  Road,  and  seeing  a  person  travejng- 
befm-e  them  alone,  they  mended  their  pace  to  overtake  him,  and  as  ther 
approached  him  found  it  to  be  the  young  preacher  referred  to.  The  syra- 
patliy  of  the  three  having  in-eviously  been  awakened  in  his  l)ehalf,  they  re- 
solved to  give  the  mistaken  youth  some  timely  advice.  Overtaking  him, 
they  entered  into  a  serious  conversation  with  him  in  regard  to  his  inexper- 
ience and  lack  of  qualification.  Finding  him  quite  reserved,  they  soon 
made  known  tlieir  deep  concern  for  his  future  welfare,  expressing  their 
surprise  tliat  some  one  had  not  already  done  him  the  kindne-s  and  ju>tice 
to  tell  him  of  Ids  mistake.  Having,  in  a  fatherly  way,  advised  him  to  de- 
sist from  attempting  to  preach  and  go  home  and  go  to  school,  and  feelin:: 
that  they  had  fully  discharg.Ml  their  duty,  they  resolved  to  riile  on.  From 
his  silence  and  seeming  indifference,  tlie  three  had  serious  fears  that  their 
valuable  counsel  was  not  very  highly  appreciated.  On  leaving  him  to  pur- 
sue his  journey  alone,  they  thoughtfully  suggested  that  he  should  l)ear  in 
mind  tliat  the  advice  given  was  from  men  of  experience, and  if  not  observed 
he  would  probably  di-^cover  his  error  at  a  time  when  it  would  be  a  source 
of  regret.     His  only  reply  was :  '•  Do  you  think  so?  " 

'Oliserable  comforters" — a  parallel  to  the  man  of  pa- 
tience and  his  friends,  excepting  that  this  modern  Job  was 


120  BISHOP   MARYIX. 

more  meek  ;  and  not  excepting  that  his  three  friends  were 
not  more  wise  nor  less  mistaken  than  Job's.  "  Do  you  think 
so?"  contained  an  asserted  individuality,  a  stub'oorn  con- 
viction of  duty  and  a  stout  purpose,  which  saved  Marvin  to 
Missouri  ]Methodisui,  and  a  Bisliop  to  the  Church.  By  for- 
mal request  of  the  Conference  he  preached  the  funeral  ser- 
mon of  Lannius.  Smith  lived  to  receive  an  appointment 
from  him,  as  Bishop.  This  history  closes  like  the  Book  of 
Job,  Mith  an  episode  which  Patterson  had  to  face  and  vrhich 
he  relates : 

Ten  or  twelve  j^ears  afterwards,  I  was  passing  through  Northeast  :\[is- 
sonri,  and  learning  that  there  was  a  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Danville,  and 
that  tiie  Presiding  Elder  would  preach  the  funeral  sermon  of  ,Dr.  B:)nd, 
who  had  been  a  member  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  and  had  terminated 
his  life  bj'^  tlie  accidenUd  discharge  of  a  gun,  I  resolved  to  remain  until 
Monday.  At  eleven  o'clock  on  Sunday  the  Presiding  Elder  appeari.d  be- 
fore a  very  large  and  intelligent  congregation  and  announced  his  text: 
"  In  the  daj'  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die."  There  was  noth- 
ing at  all  preposessing  in  the  person  of  the  speaker;  indeed,  at  first  sight 
one  Avould  be  unfavorably  impressed.  Very  soon,  however,  his  personal 
appearance  was  lost  sight  of  in  the  chasteuess  of  his  language,  his  sound 
theology,  h's  unanswerable  arguments,  his  depth  of  thought,  his  burning 
zeal,  and  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  his  flights,  which  riveted  the  attention 
of  tlie  large  audience  and  overwhelming  them  in  tears,  showing  conclu- 
sively that  he  was  a  master  workman.  At  the  close  of  the  services,  to  my 
surprise,  the  preacher  made  his  way  far  back  in  the  congregation,  having 
recognized  me  from  the  pclpit,  though  I  knew  him  not.  Grasping  my 
hand  with  both  of  his,  he  told  me,  to  my  utter  astonishment  and  confu- 
sion, that  his  name  was  Marvin.  Ho  c^rdiallj'  invited  me  to  room  wilh 
him,  which  I  did;  but  not  without  feeling  a  degree  of  embarrassment  not 
easily  concealed,  for  there  stood  before  me  a  mighty  man  of  God,  a  giant 
in  intellect,  wliom,  when  an  illiterate  striplins:,  three  short-sighted  minis- 
ters had  advised  to  go  home.  I  often  met  Brother  Marvin  afLerwards — 
both  before  and  after  he  was  a  Bi.shop — in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  family 
circle — walked  with  him,  talked  with  him,  ate  and  slept  with  him.  I  have 
heard  him  preach  under  various  circumstances,  heard  him  deliver  all  those 
niusterh'  lectures  in  St.  Louis  on  the  Papacy,  and  always  found  liim  to  be 
the  leading  spirit  in  every  community,  and  under  all  the  varied  circum- 
stances of  his  remarkable  life.  Taking  him  all  in  all  I  regard  Enoch  M. 
Marvin  as  having  had  few  superiors  in  the  Church. 

He  went  to  his  appointment.      As  in  the  first,  a  new 


ADMITTED    INTO    FULL    CONNECTION.  121 

mission  was  created  ;  ho  was  sent  to  it — the  Oregon  Mis- 
sion. It  was  situated  in  the  northwest  part  of  tlie  State,  in 
Holt  Counu3^  There  are  no  data  at  hand  of  the  appointments 
und  labors  of  this  mission,  except  two  brief  references  by 
himself.  They  were  suggested  by  peculiar  circumstances, 
such  as  attach  to  the  wonderful  itinerary  in  his  ministry  and 
the  romance  of  his  career,  connecting,  in  this  instance,  Ore- 
gon Circuit  with  an  E[)iscopal  tour.  On  January  21,  1869, 
at  Suisun,  California,  he  was  Nmti ng  a  letter  in  the  house  of 
C.  P.  Reeves,  whose  Avife  was  daughter  of  Rev.  Vr.  W.  Red- 
man, his  Presiding  Elder  during  the  first  four  years  of  his 
itinerancy.  In  the  letter  it  is  mentioned,  that  on  the  Sun- 
day before  he  received  into  the  Church  a  daughter  and 
«-rand-dau<rliter  of  Peter  Lon<r,  whose  house,  at  Nichols 
Grove,  Holt  County,  Avas  one  of  his  preaching  places  the 
second  year  of  his  ministry.  The  next  month,  as  noted  in 
his  diary  of  February  8th,  he  attended  a  morning  prayer- 
meeting  at  Castroville,  which  was  led  by  a  Brother  Martin, 
who  said  he  joined  the  Church  at  Jesse  Carrol's  when  he 
traveled  Oregon  Mission.  The  young  preacher  to  whom  he 
gave  his  hand  at  Carrol's  is  the  Bishop  whom  Martin  heard 
preach  that  night. 

Presumablv,  the  conditions  of  life  and  labors  were  sim- 
ilar to  those  of  Grundv  Mission.  Some  superiority  is  indi- 
cated by  the  financial  returns — the  pay  just  double,  but  only 
thirty  dollars.  There  are  indications  of  less  satisfaction 
otherwise.  There  was  "weariness  and  painfulness,"  and 
how  often  and  how  much  "perplexed,"  it  is  easy  to  conjec- 
ture. "Whatever  may  have  been  the  occasion  of  it,  it  appears 
that  he  came  to  the  Conference  that  year  cast  down — shall 
lie  be  destroyed?  At  Jefferson  City  he  had  a  stout  heart  : 
at  Lexington  his  spirit  is  faint.  Then  his  brethren  would 
discourage  him  :  now.  there  is  a  1-cind  hand  on  his  shoulder 
and  a  symi)athizing  voice  in  his  ear.  Rev.  Jerome  C.  Ber- 
ryman  relates  the  incident : 


122  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

My  first  distinct  recollection  of  E.  M.  Marvin  is  associated  with  the 
session  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  held  in  the  town  of  Lexington,  in  the 
fall  of  1843.  I  was  walking  alone  from  uiy  boarding  liouse  on  my  way  to 
the  Conference  room  one  morning,  and  on  the  street  came  np  with  a  slen- 
der, plainly  clad  young  man  going  in  the  same  direction,  whoiii  I  had  seen 
in  tlie  Conference  the  day  before,  and  recognized  as  one  of  the  young 
preachers.  He,  too,  was  alone,  and  bore  a  pensive,  not  to  say  sad,  ap- 
pearance. I  think  I  put  my  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  accosted  him  kindly; 
inquiring  how  he  had  got  along  through  the  past  year.  His  reply  was,  I 
think,  in  abont  the  following  words:  '-Very  jjoorly;  and  I  liave  about 
come  to  tlie  conclusion  to  give  it  up."  My  sympathy  was  at  once  engaged 
for  him,  and  I  spoke  with  him,  as  we  walked  on  together,  in  such  words 
of  comfort  and  encouragement  as  I  thought  suitable  to  his  case;  for  I  was 
sen-ibly  impressed  by  his  conversation  with  the  conviction  that  he  was 
a  very  conscientious  Christian,  and  withal,  a  young  man  of  good  promise 
for  usefulness  in  the  ministry.  I  have  heard  of  Ids  saying  that  conversa- 
tion gave  him  new  resolution  for  his  subsequent  course  of  action.  If  so, 
I  have  only  to  thauk  the  good  Spirit  wlio  enabled  me  to  "  speak  a  word  in 
season." 

The  Conference  probation  is  mutual:  "you  try  us;  we 
try  YOU."  There  is,  hence,  no  just  discredit  in  withdrawal, 
nor  in  discontinuance  any  wrong  done — "  otherwise  it  would 
be  no  trial  at  all."  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  free  choice 
and  individual  determination.  Of  the  body  of  the  Itinerant 
Ministry,  it  is  true,  amonff  other  forms  of  extraordinary  and 
severe  self-abnegation,  there  is  surreiider  of  personal  judg- 
ment and  choice  as  to  "times  and  places"  of  ministerial 
labor,  and  a  consequent  vow  of  reverent  obedience  to  the 
o'odlv  admonitions  of  those  to  whom  is  committed  "  charo-e 
and  government."  But,  pi-operh\  there  is  no  surrender  of 
personid  liberty.  The  relation  is  chosen  after  trial  and  may 
be  dissolved  at  discretion. 

If  this  rcirulation  appears  to  be  an  extraordinary  personal 
surrender  or  severe  self-sacritice,  it  is  relieved  of  its  harsh 
aspects  by  the  accompanying  safe-guards  against  oppression 
and  securities  to  rule,  both  just  and  kind. 

In  Methodist  economy,  it  is  true,  in  the  preacher  it  is  a 
capital  offence  not  to  go  to  an  appointment,  and  equally  for 
the  people  not  to  receive  the  preacher.     It  would  not  be  a 


ADMITTKO  INTO  FULL.    COXNECTIOX. 


12.' 


cou.si.>^ti'iit  udiuiiiistnitiou  to  dismiss  the  recusant  pro:ifher 
fi'oui  the  Conference,  and  not,  also,  to  strike  off  the  re- 
bellious society  from  the  list  of  separate  pastoral  charges. 
The  compact  is  mutual.  This  enactment  is  essentially  in- 
tcf^ral  and  fundamental  to  the  distinctive  mission  and  i)rov- 
idential  work  of  ISIethodism.  The  rigid  enforcement  is  a 
law  of  self-preservation.  The  Methodists  are  confessedly 
and  by  profession  "a  peculiar  people" — the  belonging  to 
them  assumed  and  continued  voluntarily,  with  the  privilege 
to  come  ill  and  the  right,  at  any  time,  to  go  out ;  but,  in  the 
meantime,  under  pledge  and  covenant  to  be  mindful  and 
observant  of  the  peculiarities.  lu  further  criticism,  and  in 
fact,  there  is  no  preacher  sent  whom  the  people  did  not 
make  and  recommend  for  the  traveling  connection — not  all 
by  one  society  ;  but,  if  all  the  itinerants  are  not  "suitalde," 
it  his  been  certitied,  nevertheless,  of  all  by  some  Quarterly 
Conference,  and  the  quarrel  lies  with  the  people  among 
themselves,  if  not  wholly,  yet  largely,  rather  than  with  the 
Conference  and  the  appointing  power.  It  is  to  be  added, 
that  in  pastoral  charges  not  a  few,  there  is  inade(iuacy  of 
ministerial  support,  not  as  of  poverty,  and  other  impracti- 
cable conditions  for  which  the  people  are  responsible — the 
tilings,  in  part,  referred  to  in  the  usual  last  remark  of  the 
Bishop  before  reading  out  the  list  of  appointments  :  "Tak- 
ing all  things  into  consideration,  Ave  have  done  the  .best  we 
could." 

So  that,  in  a  just  viev/  of  the  system,  the  government  is 
not  despotic  and  not  unreasonable.  As  to  the  pledge  and 
vow  of  the  preachers,  there  has  been  opportunity  for  good 
understanding— "they  try  us."  The  intelligent  choice  has 
been  deliberate.  It  is  always  open  to  review  and  recall. 
The  applicant  knocks  at  the  door  for  admission,  and  the 
door  is  always  left  wide  open  for  egress,  after  he  enters. 
The  fact  and  the  principle  it  contains  were  strikingly  illus- 
trated at  a  Conference  where  the  writer  attendctl.     After 


124  BISHOP  MARVIN 

the  tippointments  had  been  read  out,  the  body  was  detained 
1)V  request  of  k)cation  from  a  dissatisticd  preacher.  It  was 
promptly  granted,  and  the  vote  announced  by  the  Bishop, 
who  added  siu-niticantlv,  in  mikl  manner  but  with  stern  in- 
tciiTitv,  "The  door  is  still  o])en," 

Methodism,  as  it  is,  in  Republican  America,  has  stood  the 
strain  and  test  of  nearly  a  hundred  years,  and  is  still  owned 
of  God  and  intrenched  in  the  affections  of  its  adherents. 
It  has  been  true  and  faithful  in  its  mission  to  make  scrip- 
tural holiness  continental  ;ind  world-wide.  There  is  the 
right  of  revolution,  which  has  been  exercised;  liut  never 
without  comparative  abortion.  The  system,  as  at  the  first 
and  by  its  law  of  ])Ging  "a  child  of  Providence,"  adapting 
itself  to  chamj;e  of  times  and  undero-oin<»:  modifications  ;  but 
in  its  essential  principles  and  integral  structure,  permanent 
as  a  final  form  of  Christianity.  With  its  history  among 
men  and  the  tokens  of  divine  purpose,  it  is  a  good  persua- 
sion and  safe  prophecy,  that  it  is  not  destined  to  over-throw 
— not  by  the  permission  of  Providence  and  not,  either,  by 
the  decree  of  Methodists.  The  question  of  the  Conference 
Minutes — "who  are  admitted  into  full  con-nection?" — has 
had,  and  in  followinii'  o-enerations  contiimes  to  have,  r-bun- 
dant  answer  :  Preachers  raised  u[)  l)y  the  Lord  of  the  Har- 
vest and  thrust  forth  into  the  Vineyard,  with  heaW  and 
hand  for  the  toil,  and,  after  trial,  a  spirit  in  them  ii'  har- 
nionv  and  in  love  with  the  economy  of  their  labors. 

"We  try  them'' — in  this,  the  Conference  is  exer'-ising 
its  function  as  guardian  of  an  economy  which  is  strar-oe  m 
the  world  and  peculiar  among  the  churches.  It  is  a  court  of 
review  to  the  findings  of  the  Quarterly  Conference  and  sends 
back  to  it  the  unsuitable  men.  It  does  not  unfrock;  the 
ministry  of  those  sent  back  ;  l)ut  of  those  it  retains,  it  sub- 
jects the  professed  call  to  preach  to  a  severe  ordeal  in  test 
of  grace  and  gifts  and  usefulness.  •  It  scents  out  "  the  hire- 
linii',  whose  own  the  sheep  are  not  and  who  careth  not  for 


ADMITTED  INTO  lULL  CONNECTIOX. 


125 


the  sheep."     It  (liscrimiiiates  carefully  (luulificatiou  to  be 
"the  messenirei's,  watehineu,  and  stewards  of  the  Lord." 
Espeeially,  it  guards  eloscly  the  integrity  and  efficieney  of 
the  Itinerancy.     There  is  in  its  work  a  function  to  teach  as 
well  as  to  exhort,  to  rule  as  well  as  to  preach  ;  and  for 
which,  not  the  useful  exhorter,  nor  always  the  good  preacher, 
lias  adajitation.     An  imperious  demand  of  a  high  mission, 
like  that  which  sent  the  first  preachers  from  Jerusalem  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  a  remorseless  su])ordination  of  men 
to  the  cause — for  this,  there  is  required  peculiar  personal  fit- 
ness in  natural  traits  and  endowments  of  grace,  in  prudence 
andpietv.     In  the  itinerant  service  there  can  he  no  idler, 
no  trillcr,  no  innovator,  none  too  proud  or  self-will(Hl  to 
obey,  or  not  meek  enough  to  endure  fancied  or  real  injury. 
Toils  and  trials  over-master  ordinary  courage  and  consecra- 
tion.    In  the  entire  view,  there  can  be  no  endurance,  not 
luivino"  "faith  in  God  ;"  nor  power  without  unbroken  and 
close  communion  with  God  and  "  the  unction  of  the  Holy 
One,"  realized  in  going  on  and  attaining  to  perfection  in 
the  life  of  faith  ;  nor  the  achievements  of  a  master- work- 
man, without  a  single  eye  and  absorbing  concern  like  the 
Master's — "  mv  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me 
and  to  finish  His  work."     In  theory,  a  Methodist  Confer- 
ence is  a  body  of  picked  men  for  a  peculiar  service.     In 
"Notes  from  the  Saddle-bags  of  a  Superannuated  Preacher," 
by  Jesse  Peck,  it  is  said  of  Methodist  economy,  and  particu- 
larly  of  the  Itinerancy — "  it  i-^  a  special  system  for  special 
men."     It  is  projected  on  the  plan  of  apostolical  labors  and 
requires  to  work  it  the  apostolic  spirit  and  power.     In  the 
lowest  order  of  office,  the  helpers  to  the  Apostles,  the  selec- 
tion was  made  of  men  "of  honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  wisdom,"  and  in  ])rimitive  practice  under  apos- 
tolic direction,  the  deacons  were  first  "proved." 

The  occasion  under  notice  in  these  jiages,  involving  mo- 
mentous import  to  the   preacher  and  vital  concern  to  the 


126  BISTIOP  MAKVIX. 

Church,  it  is  required  by  the  ritual,  shall  l)c  preceded  by 
"solemn  fasting  and  prayer."'  it  is  well  known  how  earn- 
estly, in  his  Episcopal  administration,  Bishop  Marvin  em- 
phasized that  direction  of  the  ritual  and  observed  it  himself 
wliLMi  he  conducted  the  examination  of  candidates  ;  as,  also, 
he  did,  no  doubt,  when  a  candidate  himself.  It  was  uni- 
forndy  and  rigidly  observed  at  that  day.  In  prayer  there 
was  inquest  for  "understanding  of  the  will  of  the  Lord," 
and  "  obtaining  help  from  on  high"  for  an  all-comprising 
consecration.  In  fasting  there  is  sober  reflection.  He  un- 
derstood himself.  The  roughest  asi)ects  of  the  Methodist 
Itinerancy  he  had  seen,  and  had  viewed  the  system  in  the 
cold  light  of  sober  experience.  Ho  was  ready  to  accept  it 
and  foi-  a  final  commitment.  It  may  ])e  safely  assumed  he 
passed  a  satisfactory  examination  on  the  course  of  study. 
He  was,  no  doubt,  favorably  represented  l)y  his  Presiding 
Elder,  who,  from  the  first,  prophesied  that  he  Avould  be 
some  day  "a  bright  star  in  the  galaxy  of  Methodist  preach- 
ers." In  fact,  on  vote  of  the  Conference,  he  was  "ap- 
proved" and  admitted  into  full  connection.  On  Sunday 
morning  of  the  session  he  was  ordained  Deacon  by  Bishop 
Andrew. 

He  was  admitted  on  trial  in  a  large  class,  numbering 
fifteen:  L.  S.  Jacoby,  Thomas  Glanville,  John  II.  Headlee, 
Benjamin  F.  Love,  Walter  Prescott,  Manoah  Richardson, 
Enoch  M.  Marvin,  David  W.  Pollock,  John  A.  Tutt, 
Wm.  M.  Rush,  Richard  P.  Holt,  Joseph  Williams,  Jacob 
Sigler,  Joseph  Dines,  John  Read.  All  appeared  and  were 
accepted  for  admission  in  full  connection,  except  John  Read, 
who  was  discontinued,  and  Benjamin  F.  Love,  who  Avas  con- 
tinued on  trial  and  admitted  to  full  membership  at  the  next 
session  of  the  Conference.  Only  four  are  now  living:  John 
H.  Headlee,  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  and  Joseph  Dines, 
now  a  Local  preacher,  living  in  its  bounds  ;  William  M. 
Rush,  still  on  the  effective  list  of  the  Missouri  Conference, 


ADMITTED  INTO  FULL  CONNECTION.  127 

tind  E.  p.  Holt,  ou  its  superannuated  list.  The  dead,  for 
the  tnost  part,  stood  tiiMu  to  the  Itinerant  ranks  and  died  at 
their  post.  Prominent  among  them  was  L,  S.  Jaeol)}',  a 
native  of  Germany.  He  labored  faithfully  and  etlieiently 
for  many  years  in  the  German  Missions  in  Missouri  and  the 
West,  and  was  the  founder  of  Mcithodist  Missions  in  his  na- 
tive land.  In  the  evening  of  his  days  and  under  the  l)urden 
of  years,  he  returned  to  America  and  resided  at  St.  Louis, 
where  he  died  a  few  years  ago.  Bishop  Marvin  visited  him 
in  his  last  illness  and  has  expressed  the  most  profound  ven- 
eration for  his  eminent  Christian  character  and  apostolic 
career. 

If,  as  is  customary,  the  candidates  came  forward  and 
stood  before  the  altar  in  the  order  of  the  call  of  their  names, 
Marvin  and  Pollock  stood  side  by  side.  Both  were  of  slen- 
der frame  and  delicate  constitution,  and  they  were  kindred 
spirits.  Their  intimate  association  commenced,  probably, 
in  their  fourth  year  in  the  Conference,  when  they  labored 
together  in  the  City  of  St.  Louis,  ]Mar\in  as  junior  preacher 
with  Rev.  Wesley  Browning  at  "Old  Fourth  Street"  sta- 
tion, and  Pollock  at  the  Ivlound  charge.  The  tenderest 
endearment  existed  between  them.  Their  talents  were  of 
entirely  different  order,  but  they  were  kindred  in  the  spirit 
of  their  ministrv.  Pollock  had  the  spirit  of  a  seraph.  Zeal 
flamed  in  his  face  and  leaped  from  his  lips  in  rapid  utterance 
and  fervent  words  which  were  the  breath  of  love.  He  was 
called  the  Summertield  of  the  INIissouri  pulpit.  Rev.  F.  A. 
Morris,  Avho  was  a  c()-lal)orer  for  two  years  in  St.  Louis, 
having  followed  him  in  the  IVIound  charge,  has  written  of 
him  in  the  following  appreciative  words:  "  I  knew  D.  W. 
Pollock.  You  cannot  speak  too  well  of  him.  He  belonged 
to  that  small  but  peculiar  class  of  men,  who  esteem  others 
better  than  themselves.  Of  literary  taste  and  culture,  in- 
telligent, eloquent,  clothed  with  humility,  filled  with  the 
Spirit,  he  excelled  in  all  the  work  of  a  Methodist  preacher. 


128  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

Keiidy  for  any  work  and  equal  to  anv  worl^,  a.dmircd  l;y  all 
and  loved  hy  all,  he  was  the  most  promisin^u'  young  man  at 
that  time  in  the  St.  Louis  Conference.       Having  preached 
four  years  in   succession  in  St.  Louis — two  at  the  IMound 
and  two  at  Wesley  Chapel — he  could  stay  no  longer  in  the 
citv,  and  he  was  appointed  Presiding  Elder  to  Cape  Girar- 
deau District.     The  next  year,  in  1849,  he  was  sent  a  mis- 
sionary to  California."     There,  at  the  organization  of  the 
Pacific  Conference,  April  lath,   1852,  among  the   eighteen 
on  the  Conference  roll,  and  next  after  the  namo  of  Dr. 
Jesse  Boring,  the  Superintendent  of  the  California  ^Mission, 
and  in  company  with  the  name   of  Simmons,  appears  the 
name  of  Pollock.      Dr.  O.  P.  Fitzgerald,  in   the   editorial 
columns  of  the  Spectator,  sketching  that  first  Conference, 
writes:  "  In  the  list  of  appointments  we  read,  '  David  W. 
Pollock,  superannuated.'     This  Avas  the  last  of  the  gifted, 
scholarlv,  svv^eet-spirited  Pollock,   in   connection  with   the 
Paciiic   Conference.      lie   went   back  to  Alabama  to   die. 
Slender,  of  medium  height,  with  a  noble,  intellectual  head, 
a  pale  face  saddened  by  suffering,  yet  patient  and  coura- 
o;cous  in  expression,  he  won  at  once  the  admiration  and  af- 
fection of  ail  who  knew  him.    Such  he  has  been  described  to 
the  writer,  who  never  saw  him.     His  name  is  as  ointment 
poured  forth,  wherever  he  was  known  in  California.      His 
place  in  the  history  of  Southern  jMothodism  on  the  Paciiic 
Coast  is  unique.     Ho  is  remembered  with  a  tender  interest 
as  the  brilliant  young  preacher  who  was  the  first  to  leave  us 
and  the  first  to  die." 

Cavil  or  wonder  at  the  early  setting  of  a  bright  light  and 
the  differing  orbits  of  these  classmates  has  answer  only  in 
the  Master's  headship  and  His  word  of  prerogative,  "  What' 
is  that  to  thee?  "  Both  were  shining  lights  in  the  Church 
—Pollock's  career  brief  and  brilliant,  like  the  sunburst  of 
an  April  day.  IMarvin  had. then  appeared  above  the  horizon 
— his  light,  the  advancing  splendor  of  a  summer  sky,  from 


AD-MITTKO  INTO  FULL  CONNECTION.  12b 

steady  dawn  to  ])lazin£^  noon.  Companions  in  love  and  la- 
bors, they  are  rejoined  in  the  Master's  visible  presence  and 
toii-cther  have  entered  into  the  iov  of  their  Lord.  In  their 
Avidcly-separatcd  graves  sleeps  sacred  dust,  which  the  Mas- 
ter's eye  guards  "  till  lie  sliall  bid  it  rise." 

Bishop  Marvin  has  nuido  reference  to  the  Bishop's 
charije  to  the  candidates  for  full  menibcrship,  suirGfosted  bv 
a  visit  at  Lexington  after  he  was  himself  a  Bishop:  "His 
address  to  the  class  impressed  me  in  a  most  solemn  manner. 
Several  points  in  it  I  still  remember.  I  can  never  forget 
them.  One  sentence  was  this  :  '  AVhen  the  people  are  per- 
ishing for  bread,  do  not  mock  them  by  scattering  flowers 
Dcfore  them.'  "  The  ordination  service  has  points  of  dram- 
atic interest.  The  same  hands  were  laid  on  his  head, 
twenty-three  years  afterwards,  at  the  ordination  of  Bishops. 
The  younii:  Deacon  of  the  Lexin2:ton  Conference  became  the 
intended  biographer  of  Bishop  Andrew,  by  selection  of  his' 
family.  He  had  goric  from  Missouri  to  Alabama  for  the 
purpose  and  obtained  the  papers  and  the  traditions  of  his 
life  in  the  possession  of  his  children.  This  literary  work 
would  have  followed  his  "  To  the  East  b\^  the  Way  of  the 
West."  Whilst  writing  the  last  chapters  of  that  book,  he 
directed,  at  the  hands  of  his  daus^hter,  Marcia,  the  arrano^e- 
ment  and  classification  of  papers  for  commencement  of  the 
work.  It  would  have  employed  his  pen  during  time  in 
which  his  own  biogra})hy  is  being  written. 

At  his  last  presence  at  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  he 
concluded  the  charo-e  to  candidates  for  admission  into  full 
connection,  with  gesture  of  ujdifted  hand  and  intense  burst 
of  sons:,  iu  the  words  of  the  hvnm  : 

"  'Tis  done,  the  great  transaction's  done." 
The  sentiment  was  an  echo  from  his  own  heart  when  he 
stood  before  Bishop  Andrew  at  Lexington.  In  that  inter- 
view with  Mr.  Berry  man,  there  was  a  sign  of  faltering; 
there  was  none  ever  afterwards.  There  was  a  word  of  hesi- 
9 


130  BIS  nor  marvin, 

tation  then,  but  never  another.  That  day  of  clouds  was  not 
a  had  omen.  The  recollections  of  (irundy  and  Oregon 
Missions  M^ere  upon  him,  in  monition  of  the  leave-all  devo- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Itinerancy.  God  had  him  in  hand. 
His  experience  is  not  unknown  to  Methodist  preachers.  It 
was  a  school  of  humility  :  it  was  tuition  in  personal  insuffi- 
ciency. In  the  S under  1/  Magazine  McLeod  has  an  eloquent 
passage,  too  lengthy  to  be  quoted,  descriptive  of  "  out-and- 
out  consecration,"  using  the  simile  of  the  launch  of  a  ship. 
There  has  been  upon  it,  reducing  it  to  shape  and  realizing 
the  model,  the  edge  of  tlie  axe  and  the  blow  of  the  hammer. 
It  is  held  on  the  ways  by  a  single  fastening.  In  a  supreme 
moment  that  gives  way.  The  ship  is  launched.  When  the 
young  candidate  recalled  that  word  of  hesitation,  "  the  last 
prop  "  was  struck  away.  He  was  launched  on  the  Itine- 
rancy for  a  life  voyage.  In  its  log-book  there  is  no  note  of 
an  ebbing  tide  or  lull  of  wind.  With  broad  canvas  and 
full  sails,  it  was  a  grand  voyage  and  a  majestic  entry  into 
port. 


0-4^  /o%^  ■^h° 


4^ 


C  II  A  r  T  E  R     VIII. 


THE    METHODIST   PREACHER. 

Liberty  Circuit — The  itinerant  spirit — His  horse — An  Indian  pony  and  his 
trlcl\ — The  regulation  coat — Rules  of  a  pi'eacher — Punctuality — The 
bri)ken  bridge  and  swollen  stream— "A  shade  late" — Only  four 
instances  of  faiiuie— The  exact  time — 'Taint,  yet  pursuing'' — 
Judged  by  the  eleventh  rule,  "to  save  souls"  —  The  Metlio- 
dist  pulpit  —  His  industry — Methods  and  motives  of  work — En- 
terprise—The Texas  preacher— "Regions  beyond,''  a  thrilling  incident 
— Tiie  Quarterly  Conference  Record  of  Liberty  Circuit— In  the  judicial 
seat— The  forged  church-letter— The  disciplinarian— "  Sense  and 
jrrace"— Poor  pay — The  unparalleled  stipend — "How  did  he  get 
alon'j,?"— Incidents— The  itinerant  training  school— Self-educated 
and  well-educated— A  faithful  Sou  of  the  Church— A  true  itinerant — ' 
A  Methodist  Preacher. 


W 


■HE  tlnrd  appointment  of  Bishop  Marvin  was  to  Liberty 
Circuit.  The  next  year  he  was  junior  pi-eacher  with 
Rev.  Wesley  Browning  at  Fourth  Street  Station, 'St.  Louis. 
At  its  close  he  was  graduated  in  the  Conference  and  ordained 
Elder.  The  history  of  these  two  years  inducted  him  into 
the  full  ministry  in  the  Church  of  God  and  consummated 
the  complete  investiture  of  a  Methodist  Preacher. 

The  Liberty  Circuit  was  a  pastoral  charge  in  the  Rich- 
mond District,  lying  on  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri 
River  and  within  the  territory  known  as  the  Platte  Pur- 
chase. It  was  in  a  more  populous  region  of  country  than 
that  of  his  two  former  appointments  to  missions.  He  is 
receding  from  the  extreme  frontier  work.  The  appoint- 
ment is  a  circuit,  the  lirst  he  has  had,  indicating  in  Mctiio- 
dist  usus  loquendl  a  strong(5r  church  and  better  couditious 


132  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

of  work  and  support.  The  comparative  improvement,  liow- 
ever,  was  very  limited.  For  the  most  part,  the  preaching- 
places  were  still  pi'ivate  houses,  and  his  homes  the  cabins  of 
a  new  country,  with  rude  accommodations  of  bed  and  board 
in-doors,  and  outside  h)ng  and  dreary  rides  between  the 
settlements,  sometimes  perilous  in  the  inclement  season  and 
at  the  fords  of  swollen  streams.  The  memory  of  such  dis- 
comforts and  hardships  was  not  unpleasant  as  he  looked 
back  upon  them  from  distant  years  and  eminent  heights, 
and  at  the  time  he  did  not  complain  of  them,  not  even  of 
life  on  Grundy  Mission,  as  Mr.  Dryden  reports.  They  were, 
however,  real  and  severe,  and,  in  this  biography,  the  begin- 
ning of  a  history  of  toil  and  privation,  which  in  the  same 
and  other  and  severer  forms  were  life-long.  His  pleasant 
memory  of  them  Avas  not  a  ministry  to  vanity.  It  contained 
a  principle  which  put,  at  the  first,  and  which  keeps,  the  Itin- 
erancy in  motion,  and  which  was  the  j^rompting  and,  at  the 
same  time,  the  joy  of  the  ]Methodist  preacher  of  the  olden 
time,  out  in  the  wilderness,  like  the  Master,  for  care  of  the 
flock — "rejoicing  to  be  counted  worthy  not  only  to  1)elieve 
on  His  name,  but  to  suffer  for  His  sake."  The  generation 
of  Methodists  and  preachers  in  the  West,  to  which  Bishop 
Marvin  liclonged,  will  remember  how  the  Old  Preachers  ex- 
ulted in  that  high  privilege  and  with  what  frequency  and 
emphasis  in  pulpit  utterance  they  shouted  forth  in  defiance 
to  peril  and  })rivation  :  "  Lo  !  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
to  the  end  of  the  world." 

He  did  not  chafe,  much  less  whine  over  hardships.  He 
had  a  soul  equal  to  suffering  for  the  Master,  and  had,  be- 
sides, native  fortitude  and  especially  a  quick  cyv,  for  the 
lights  which  relieve  a  dark  picture.  On  a  foregoing  page 
there  is  description  of  the  conditions  of  a  hard  circuit-life 
from  his  own  pen,  in  which  the  picture  is  not  completed  till 
he  has  }uit  on  the  canvas  the  cordial  welcome  which  made 
the  open  cabin  to  him  a  home,  and  how  he  saw  and  relished 


TJIK    .MKTllODlST    J'UEACIIKR.  13S 

the  roiil  kindness  which  was  wrapped  up  in  the  coarse  enter- 
tainment. He  did  not  coniphiin  for  himself ;  but,  it  is 
known,  he  was  oflcu  sensitive  and  S(')rr3' — for  his  horse,  as 
Mrs.  Marvin  rehites,  Avithout  shelter  in  cold  and  storm, 
sometimes  hitched  to  the  side  of  the  cabin  and  diii'inir  the 
frosty  night  restless  and  neighing  for  his  master.  How 
could  he  sleep — the  master  of  that  day,  with  the  old  time 
loves  and  companionships  I)et\veen  the  Methodist  preacher 
and  his  horse. 

In  the  form(>r  times,  the  horse  was  an  Institution  of 
Methodism,  and,  for  a  long  ti\iie,  the  uui\ersal  locomotive 
of  the  Itinerancy.  Bishops  traversed  the  continent  in  the 
saddle,  and  the  preachers  rode  the  circuit,  often  with  no 
road  except  the  bridle-path.  To  the  preacher,  his  horse 
was  identitied  with  the  "go"  of  his  commission,  was  prized 
like  an  officer  of  the  church,  and  was  loved  like  a  familiar 
companion  and  a  good  friend.  Everv  farm-boy  held  him  in 
respect  as  a  sacred  animal  and  treated  him  as  the  aristocracy 
of  the  l)arn-yard — the  best  bed  and  the  best  of  the  larder  for 
the  preacher,  the  rule  at  the  house,  and  at  the  stable,  the  best 
stall  and  the  best  of  loft  and  crib  for  the  preacher's  horse. 
The  boys  knew,  too,  that  it  was  no  use  to  attempt  to  evade 
or  neglect  the  rule,  for  the  preacher  Avould  be  around  to  see 
about  it  before  he  seated  hinisc'lf  at  tal)le  or  went  to  bed. 
The  times  are  changed;  IJishops  are  dismounted,  the  Itin- 
erancy ixoes  bv  rail,  the  valise  supplants  the  saddle-bajis, 
pasture  for  preachers'  horses  has  dropped  out  of  the  accom- 
modations at  Conference  ;  but  enough  of  the  peculi-ir  insti- 
tution is  extant  to  perpetuate  the  ancient  fact — the  Methodist 
jn-eacher  on  horsel)ack.  For  this  attitude  of  the  preacher, 
Bishop  Marvin,  in  his  world-wide  travel,  discovered  high 
f^an(;tion  and  sanctity.  When  he  was  in  Egypt,  at  Cairo,  he 
visited  the  Coptic  Convent,  and,  among  other  things,  savs : 
"  Here  we  were  shown  the  figures  of  several  of  the  Apostles 
carved  in  wood,  in  relief,  on  the  wall.      They  were  quite 


134  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

like  Methodist  preachers  in  one  respect,  being  on  horseback 
— a  decidedly  apostolic  conception." 

On  Lil)erty,  the  preacher  was  a  circuit-rider.  The  nar- 
rative dii;:ressed  at  the  point  of  his  svnipathv  for  his  horse 
— a  sentiment  common  to  Methodist  preachers,  and  like  that 
of  Gen.  Jackson,  who,  in  his  hist  Will  and  Testament,  be- 
queathed a  life  estate  in  a  ten  acre  pasture  to  his  old  war- 
horse  ;  and,  in  the  church  militant,  like  that  of  one  of  the 
early  Methodist  Bishops,  who  pensioned  his  superannuated 
itinerant-steed.  The  larije  brown  and  black  was  worn  down 
at  the  Jefferson  City  Conference  ;  ^the  next  3'ear,  on  Oregon 
Mission,  must  have  finished  his  course.  On  Liberty  Circuit 
he  rode  an  Indian  pony,  to  which  Mrs.  M.  says  he  had  a 
special  attachment.  It  was  an  eccentric  pony,  as  he  learned 
by  an  experience  more  amusing  to  the  reader  than  it  was  to 
himself,  at  the  time.  One  of  his  ways  was  to  leai)  every 
ditch  he  came  to,  and  at  the  first  ditch  his  new  rider,  with- 
out notice  of  his  eccentricity  and  taken  unawares,  was  pitched 
over  the  pony's  head  and  landed  on  the  other  side  on  his 
own  all- fours. 

In  some  respects  the  make-up  of  a  ^Methodist  preacher 
formerly  was  shaped  l)y  the  rules  of  a  preacher — the  twelve 
rules,  as  they  were  found  in  the  old  Disci[)line.  If  some 
shall  l)e  considered  minor  characteristics,  they  were  all, 
nevertheless,  adopted  with  exact  and  scrupuh)us  nnifoi-mily. 
Usage  enacted  a  thirteenth  rule.  The  purse  allowing  it, 
in  the  spirit  of  the  chapter  on  Dress  or  under  the  sway 
of  fashion,  there  was  sameness  of  attire,  like  a  regulation 
uniform — the  straight-breasted  and  cut-away  coat  and  qua- 
ker  hat.  That  might  vary,  but:  the  directions  concerning 
habits  of  life  and  the  spirit  and  maimer  of  ministerial  work 
were  indispensable  and  imperative,  like  the  manual  of  the 
drill  and  the  order  of  march  and  like  the  oath  of  enlist- 
ment, bound  on  their  conscience.  When  admitted  into  full 
connection    it   was  })ropoundcd  and  pledged:  "Have  you 


THE    METHODIST    rREACIIER. 


135 


considered  the  rules  of  a  preacher,  especially  the  first, 
tenth  and  twelfth?  AVill  you  keep  them  for  conscience 
sake?" 

Bishop  Marvin  was  trained  under  this  regimen.     It  con- 
tinued in  vogue  and  in  vigor  during  the  whole  of  the  form- 
ative period   in  his   ministerial  life.      Ju  what  was  l)oth  of 
frreatcr    and   minor   importance,  it   imbued   his  spirit,  fash- 
ioned  his  opinions  and  tastes  and  l)ecarae  fixed  in  his  habits. 
There  is  one  exception — in  the  matter  of  dress.    In  the  fir.st 
3'cars  of  his  ministry  he  could  not  choose,  and  dressed  as 
he  could,  in  the  garb  and  style  in  which  he  has  been  exhibi- 
ted  freely   and  frccjuently  in  pen-pictures.      He  had  not 
adopted    the    regulation    suit    after   he    became    a    station- 
preacher   and    could    afford    it,    as   one   of    the   engravings 
shows.     At  last,  however,  the  old  ideas  recurred  and  fash- 
ioned the  cut  of  his  coat  as  it  appears  in  the  full  length 
picture.     The   sentiment  or  i)rejudice,  if  any  shall  call  it 
such,  upon  which  the  old  practice  in  regard  to  dress  both 
among  the  preachers   and  membership  was  founded,  was 
adopted  by  him  heartily  and  clung  to  him  strongly.     In  his 
day  the  chapter  on  Dress  had  become  a  dead  letter  ;  but  ho 
deplored  its  being  stricken  from  the  Discipline — he  wished 
it  to  stand  as  a  land-nnirk  of  primitive  INIethodism.     That 
and  other  sumptuary  regulations  he  regarded  as  incidents 
to  the  character  of  Methodists,  as  a  "peculiar  people"  by 
profession,  and  serving  as  an  index  of  vigorous  piety  and  ii 
broad  line    of  demarcation    between  the  Church  and  the 
M'orld.     lie  has  spoken  on  this  subject  soberly  and  earn- 
estly,  and   illustrated   it  by  an  incident  in   his  pastorate, 
-which  will  be  remembered  b}^  many  and  touch  many  hearts  : 

Mr.  ^Yeslt'y  discriminated  sharply  between  the  Church  and  the  world 
by  the  discipline  that  he  established.  There  is  no  way  by  which  the 
Church  mure  readily  becomes  lost  and  blended  Avith  the  wc^rld  than  by 
participation  in  its  diver.--ions  and  amusements,  and  the  Discipline  requires 
abstinence  from  them  as  an  evidt'uce  of  the  desire  of  salvation  ;.nd  of 
continuance  in  the  Societies.    T..ere  is,  also,  a  sumptuary  law  on  druiikvu- 


136  BISHOF  MARVIN. 

BOSS  or  drinkiug  spirituous  li(iuors,  except  in  cases  of  uecessity.  Mr. 
Wesley  knew  ■svlicre  the  s'ocial  tendency  -would  be  the  strongest,  where 
the  social  impulses  would  be  most  urgent,  through  wliicli,  1)y  the  subtlety 
of  Satan,  souls  could  be  most  easily  beguiled  back  into  the  world.  There 
were,  likewise,  rigid  rules  with  respect  to  dress  and  adorning  of  the  per- 
son. I  remember  distinctly  the  old  Methodist  style  and  costume.  I  have 
heard  a  great  deal  said  about  this,  much  criticism  and  much  fault-find: m;:. 
I  have  but  one  general  remark  to  make  and  that  is  tliis:  You  can  deter- 
mine a  man's  cliaracter,  in  many  cases,  by  liis  dress.  Mark  this:  in  pro- 
portion as  this  discipline  has  been  relaxed  and  tlie  amenities  of  world'y 
society  have  b;'en  allowed  to  interfere  with  and  obliterate  the  lines  of  dis- 
crimination which  the  Discipline  has  drawn,  in  that  proportion  ha<  piety  in 
the  Church  waned.  I  remember  wlien  I  lirst  had  charue  of  tlie  Old  Cen- 
tenary Church  tiicrc  were  three  old  Metholist  bonnets  in  that  congregation, 
worn  by  three  venerable  women  who  feared  God  and  wrought  righteous- 
ness. One  of  them  was  Mother  Burd,  another  was  Mother  Childs,  the 
third  was  Mother  Weaver.  There  was  a  fourth,  not  quite  so  severely 
plain  but  coming  well  within  the  Methodist  pattern.  It  was  worn  by 
Mother  Gay.  One  of  those  Christian  matrons,  Mother  Burd,  I  s;iw  in  her 
last  moments.  I  had  enjoyed  her  hospitality  down  on  Second  Street  at 
the  old  mansion  when  I  was  a  l)oy,  and  on  Sixth  Street  at  the  residence  of 
her  s<in.  She  died  fidl  of  peace  and  full  of  joy.  They  are  all  in  heaven. 
Throrgh  a  long  and  blameless  life  they  went  to  heaven  under  old  ^lethod- 
ist  bonnet-;,  which  sheltered  them  to  the  very  borders  of  the  promised 
land.  I  would  love  to  see  the  old  Methodist  bonnets  again  myself,  be- 
cause it  does  indicate  to  me  a  simplicity  of  personal  character  which  is  an 
essential  element  of  all  true  and  deep  piety. 

Okl-fo2:yism  !  it  will  be  siiid.  AVell,  he  was  what  he 
was.  The  Methodist  bonnet  is  extinct.  The  hist  in  the 
family  of  the  writer  Avas  his  grandmother's,  which  Bishop 
AI.  saw  at  Old  Fom-th  Street  in  1844,  and  he  lived  to  see 
the  hist  disappear  from  the  congregation  at  Centenary.  He 
thus  wrote  in  his  later  years  and  when  he  was  Bishop — the 
sentiment  lironght  down  l)y  him  from  the  former  times, 
when  Methodist  people  and  the  Methodist  preachers  were 
known  by  their  dress. 

Nine  of  the  twelve  rules  of  a  preacher  have  been  eliini- 
uated  from  the  Book  of  Discipline,  but  none  of  them  ever 
dropped  out  of  his  conscientious  observance.  It  had  be- 
?,ome  hal)itu:d  ;  it  Avas  agreeable  to  his  judgment  and  tem- 
per;  above  all,  it  was  matter  of  honor  and  conscience — his 


THE    METHODIST   PREACHER. 


137 


word  had  once  been  nlcMlorcd  to  it.  In  that  dav,  and  still 
we  suppose,  the  pledge  was  regarded  as  a  contract,  condi- 
tioning nieniber^liip  in  the  Conference,  and  its  performance 
was  considered  bindini::,  not  nierelv  as  of  conventional  pro- 
pricty,  but  of  moral  obligation.  Incidents  abound  in  his 
history  illustrating  his  scrupulous  and  exact  fidelitj"  to  the 
rules.  This  in  much  accounts  for,  as  it  shaped,  the  habits 
of  life,  of  study  and  labor,  which  made  him  the  conspicuous 
worker  for  Christ  and  the  grand  ^lethodist  preacher  that  he 
was. 

Among  the  rules  it  is  part  of  one  of  the  three  which  are 
noted  for  special  observance:  "Be  punctual.  Do  every- 
thing exactly  at  the  time" — from  Grundy  Mission  to  the 
last  Conference  over  which  he  presided,  it  is  known  that  he 
kept  it.  In  appointments  of  all  kinds  he  was  punctual  to 
meet  them  and  at  the  appointed  time.  It  was  a  cardinal 
point  with  him  especially  never  to  disappoint  a  congregation 
nor  to  keep  it  waiting.  Mrs.  M.  testities  that  ho  never  al- 
lowed the  weather  or  fatigue  or  ordinary  ailment  to  detain 
or  delay  him.  That  record  was  commenced  on  Grundy 
Mission  with  the  ride  of  eighteen  miles  facino-  a  snow-storm, 
heretofore  mentioned,  to  meet  a  congregation  of  three  per- 
sons, two  of  them  the  residents  of  the  house.  The  conver- 
sion of  the  third  recompensed  his  pains.  In  other  rides  the 
frost-bite  attested  his  determined  faithfulness.  He  accepted 
Mr.  Wesley's  stringent  commentary  on  the  rule:  "Never 
disappoint  a  ct)ngregatioa  ;  rather  break  a  limb  than  break 
your  word." 

Mrs.  M.  relates  that  when  on  the  AYeston  Circuit  a  bro- 
ken bridge  laid  between  him  and  his  appointment.  The 
planks  at  one  abutment  were  gone.  At  some  risk  to  him- 
self he  walked  the  beam,  and  at  the  risk  of  his  horse's  neck, 
at  least,  he  made  him  leap  on  to  the  bridge.  She  also  veri- 
fies the  incident  of  extreme  peril  to  his  own  life  in  crossing 
a  swollen  stream  between  Danville   and  Warrenton  on  the 


138  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

way  to  one  of  his  Quarterly  Meetings  on  the  St.  Charles 
District.  It  was  in  the  winter,  and  if  the  deep  fording  had 
been  safe,  it  would  not  be  pleasant.  His  horse  was  not  used 
to  swim,  and  for  a  time  both  horse  and  rider  were  in  peril. 
His  Siiddle-bags  were  lost  and  recovered  three  months  after- 
wards hi  a  pile  of  drift-wood.  Enveloped  in  his  great  coat 
and  his  limbs  encumbered  with  leggings,  he  was  wholly  de- 
pendent ui)on  his  horse  for  his  life.  They  were  carried 
down  by  the  torrent  a  considerable  distance,  and  the  horse 
seemed  to  flounder  hopelessly.  At  last,  in  his  brave  strug- 
gle, he  suddenly  got  the  idea  and  motion  of  swinnning,  and 
took  his  master  ashore. 

For  this   connection  of  remark,   there  are   ])efore   the 
writer  full  notes,  collated  from  his  Diary  and  other  narra- 
tives of  visitation  of  the  churches  and  pulpit  labors  dur- 
ing  about   four  3'ears,  and    extending  from  the    Missouri 
River  to  the  Gulf  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacitic,    The 
record  shows  that  he  never  wilfully  neglected  an  appoint- 
ment and  did  not  spare  any  pains  nor  himself  to  meet  it. 
If  he  was  hindered,  it  made   him   miserable.     In  point  of 
fact,   often  >vith  many  hundreds  of   miles  to  travel,  with 
railroad  connections  to   make,  at  the  mercy  of  slow  coaches 
and  flood  and  storm,  plains  to  l)e  traversed  and  mountains 
and  rivers  to  be  crossed  ;  yet,  in  all  the  demands  and  vicis- 
situdes of  travel,  the  notes  show  only  four  instances  -of  fail- 
ure to  meet  appointments  and  at  the  exact  time.     Why  he 
was  thus  punctual  has  already  been  stated.     He  would,  in- 
deed, have  as  soon  thought  of  breakiuii'  his  m-ck  as  inten- 
tionally  or  inexcusably  breaking  his  word.    lie  h;id  no  mind 
"to    mend   the  rules" — not  even  at  the  bank  of   a   swollen 
stream,  nor  to  suit  the  complexion  of  the  sky  or  the  guage 
of  the  thermometer,  nor  to  accommodate  an  ache.     He  did 
not  mind  himself,  but  the  rule — not  himself  enough,  i)er- 
haps,  as  the  following  entry  of  his  Episcopal  tour  of  Oregon 
in  1869  shows  • 


THE    METHODIST   PHEAr'HER.  I'Ji) 

I  have  boon  in  a  very  low  stale  of  liealth  ever  piiice  the  inuhlle  of 
June.  All  iiLtack  of  "bilious  reiiiilti  iit "  on  tliu  Uuipqua  prosLratcil  mo 
for  more  tliau  a  week.  My  appoiutinents  were  coming  on  in  the  Willam- 
ette Valley  and  I  could  nut  bear  the  thought  of  nus.sinji  any  of  theui.  So 
I  iravt;  myself  no  time  for  recuperation,  but  the  verj'  tirst  da_v  that  I  isat  up 
all  (lay  I  took  sta<j:e  at  two  o'clock  a.m., "and  rode  seventy  miles  to  Bro. 
Elton's  camp  meetiiii;.  I  was  too  weak  to  bear  the  excitement  of  public 
occasions.  But  I  maintained  a  feeble  eflbrt  to  discharge  my  duties  at 
camp-meetings  and  through  the  comraenceineut  exercises  of  the  College 
for  five  weeks. 

The  eleventh  rule  of  a  Preacher  is  one  of  those  sti'ieken 
from  the  Discipline  by  the  revi.sion  made  by  the  General 
Conference  in  1870.     It  was  this  : 

11.  You  have  notliing  to  do  but  to  save  soids;  therefore,  spend  and 
be  spent  ill  this  work;  and  go  alwa\'s,  not  only  to  tliose  that  want  you, 
but  to  those  that  want  you  most.  Obseive!  It  is  not  your  business  only 
to  preach  so  many  times,  and  to  take  care  of  this  or  tint  society;  but  to 
save  as  many  as  you  can;  to  l)ring  as  many  sinners  as  you  can  to  repent- 
ance, and  witli  all  yonr  power  to  build  them  up  in  that  holiness  without 
which  they  cannot  see  the  Lord.  Ai--'  remember!  a  Methodist  preacher 
is  to  m'ud  every  point,  great  and  small,  in  the  Methodist  Discipline! 
Therefore,  you  will  need  to  exercise  all  the  sense  and  grace  you  have. 

Why  this  rule  was  stricken  out,  or  the  question  of  its 
restoration,  it  is  not  the  province  of  these  pages  to  consider 
or  discuss — omitted,  perhaps,  as  superfluous,  because  its 
sentiment  and  directions  are  inherent  to  the  true  ministry  of 
the  Gospel  in  general  and,  in  iiarticuhir,  attach  to  the  very 
irenius  and  mission  of  jNIethodism,  belonging  rather  to  its 
Constitution  than  its  Statute  Book.  Commentarv  on  the 
rule  is  not  needed  to  explain  its  terms  or  point  its  emphasis. 
Its  manual  tiiid  its  inspiration  differentiate  the  ^Methodist 
preacher.  Entering  into  the  spirit  and  labors  of  Bishop 
Marvin's  ministry,  they  not  only  created  its  separate  inci- 
dents, but  defined  its  wliole  meaning — the  object,  the  spirit 
and  the  manner  of  his  life-work.  To  save  souls — this  the 
aim,  direct  and  exclusive,  "the  nothing  else  to  do;"  and 
thtit,  not  only  in  pulpit  discourse  and  altar-work,  but  in  the 
visits  from  house  to  house,  in  the  road-side  call,  in  the  "•  as 


140  BISnOl'  MARVIX. 

ye  go,  preacli"   history  of  his  travels.      His  iiionoy,  as  it 
could  be  saved  and  was  saved  on  jjurpose  and  on  i)riiici[)le, 
went  into  the  Missionary  treasury  or  was  hiid  on  the  aUar 
of  the  House  of  Prayer  at  its  dedication  or  dispersed  among 
the  poor,  and  especially  for  the  comfort  of  the  Lord's  poor, 
lest  they  doubt  and  be  discouraged.     His  time — the  never- 
unemploA'^ed  life  and  premature  death,  were  the  paraphrase 
of  "  spend  and  be  S[)cnt  in  the  work."     If  he  wrote  a  book 
— the  lirst  he  wrote  was  the  "Work  of  Christ;"   or  wrote 
the  biography  of  his  friend,  "  it  has  been  written  with  prayer 
and  an  earnest  desire  to  glorify  God,"  and  will  find  ample 
reward  for  the  labor  of  preparing  it,  "if  it  shall  lead  any    ^ 
soul  to  Christ ;"  and  his  Volume  of  Sermons,  to  speak  for 
him  when,  living  or  dead,  his  lips  might  be  mute — inscribed 
to  his  wife,  because  of  her  cheerful  self-denying  devotion  to 
his  work  as  a  Methodist  pi-eacher ;  and,  as  an  instrument  in 
the  Master's  work,  dedicated  to  Christ:    "Son  of  God,  I 
commit  it  to  Thee  ! "     The  last  book  he  wrote  is  travel  to 
see  and  to  tell  of  heathendom,  taking  leave  of  its  shores 
with  a  heart  laro-e  enouirh  to  take  it  in,  and  voice  to  rallv  the 
church  to  the  standard  he  raises  for  its  rescue — ''  ]>ut,  amidst 
all,  my  heart  3'earns  for  China.     There  is  our  opportunity. 
God  himself  has  set  before  us  the  great  and  effectual  door 
there.     By  his  help  and  grace  we  will  go  in  and  p()ssess  the 
land."     The  book  has  not  preface,  but  appendix — his  funeral 
seriiion,  of  which  the  subject  is  the  Chosen  Vessel ;  the  treat- 
ment, a  ministry  to  men  to  open  their  eyes  and  turn  Ihem 
from  darkness  to  light  and  the  power  of  Satan  ur.lo  (Jod  ; 
the  testimony,  "by  his  preaching  sinners  Avere  convicted, 
mourners    comforted,  believers    edified,   and   much  people 
added  t(»  the  Lord." 

From  first  to  last  it  was  the  same  spirit  of  faith,  "we 
believe  and,  therefore,  speak" — attaching  to  ail  the  posi- 
tions he  filled  in  the  church,  and  at  last  iired,  if  possil)le, 
with  an  intenser  2"low  and  looking  out  on  wider  lields.      Of 


THE    JIETIIODIST  PREACHER. 


141 


liiin,  also,  true,  as  the  hiogi-aplicr  of  Enoch  George  rehites 
it  of  him  iiiid  the  early  Bishops,  tliat  in  their  Conference 
presidency  and  travel  through  the  work  it  was  the  constant 
and  ahsorhing  inquiry  :  "Are  there  revivals?"  and  that,  in 
the  papers,  the  first  column  read  was  revival  notices.  All 
other  rules  were  subsidiary  to  the  eleventh — the  first,  "Be 
diligent,"  having  many  suffixed  statements,  l)ut  the  chief, 
in  the  words  of  an  old  Bishop,  "Be  diligent  in  saving 
souls."  The  sentiment  is  taken  from  Wesley's  saying,  sub- 
ordinating even  "gjuning  knowledge"  to  "saving  souls."  As 
tersely  by  Bishop  Marvin,  it  was  said  :  "  Preaching  is  noth- 
ing—^^•orse  than  nothing — it  is  a  mockery,  if  it  does  not 
bring  men  to  the  Cross."  His  own  preaching  was  expressed 
in  the  spirit  and  tenor  of  the  old  Methodist  pulpit,  as 
described  by  him  :  "  The  preacher  was  a  man  Avho  had  felt 
himself  ready  to  fall  into  hell,  but  had  cried  to  God,  and 
through  the  amazing  mercy  of  the  Cross  had  found  deliver- 
ance and  peace.  He  saw  his  fellow-men  ready  to  drop  into 
•the  bottomless  pit  and  Avas  in  an  agony  of  fear  on  their  ac- 
count. Head  and  eve  and  voice  and  gesture  were  vital 
with  the  message."  And  thus  he  wrote  of  Wesley,  the 
first  convert  of  his  own  revival :  "He  delivered  the  truth  as 
he  had  l)oth  learned  it  out  of  the  Scriptures  and  realized  it 
in  his  own  life.  He  was  a  Avitness.  He  had  found  the 
Lord.  He  felt  it  and  knew  it.  He  proclaimed  it  to  others." 
It  is  what  is  in  the  old  couplet,  which  was  on  the  lips  of  the 
early  preachers  of  America  : 

"To  taste  his  love  our  only  joy, 
To  (eZMIiat  love  our  best  employ." 

The  passion  for  souls  was  vital  in  him  and  throbbed  as 
life-blood,  and  like  it  his  zeal  for  the  Lord's  house,  self- 
coiisuming.  It  was  stronger  than  his  frail  frame  and  supe- 
rior to  all  rivalries.  It  made  him  self-forgetful  and  seif- 
neo-lectful — of  strength  or  ease  or  worldly  advantages.  It 
discriminated  him  from  others  who  are  off  in  the  Village 


142  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

aftor  broad.  Like  the  Master,  in  the  midst  of  fields  white 
to  the  harvest,  not  careful  for  meat  or  drink.  The  statement 
is  scarcelv  fiirurative,  as  certified  bv  Rev.  AMlliani  Holmes, 
of  the  Southwest  Missouri  Conference  and  an  old  and  inti- 
mate fi-iend  and  co-hiborer  of  IVishop  Marvir. — forgetful  of 
meat  and  drink  for  his  family,  dearer  to  him  than  himself, 
as  ]Mr.  11.  relates  it : 

Brother  ^Iivrvin's  devotion  to  the  Clmrcli  and  liis  work  was  extraor- 
dinary. In  tlie  jud.mnent  of  even  ,c;ood  men  wilh  convictions  less  stronp: 
than  liija,  it  secnicd  like  enthusiasm.  I  recollect  that  Brother  Gist  of 
Weston,  who  was  a  great  admirer  of  Brother  M..  told  me  -when  he  was  on 
that  Circuit  he  had  several  times  remonstrated  against  the  neglect  of  his 
family  when  he  was  off  at  his  country  appointments.  He  wonld  often,  in 
his  love  of  souls,  labor  at  revival-meetings  for  days  and  weeks  beyond  the 
time  llxed  by  himself  to  be  at  home.  In  consequence,  frequently  his  fam- 
ily would  be  without  bread  and  meat.  When  he  did  return,  his  whole 
soul  would  go  out  in  sympathy  for  the  privations  endured  by  tliem,  which 
he  had  himself  occasioned.  But  these  throes  were  transient.  Like  Wes- 
ley, he  was  a  man  of  "  one  work,"  and  nobly  he  did  it. 

The  incident  is  peculiar  and  should  not  be  misinterpreted 
in  its  meaning  or  applictition.  In  thtit  first  year  of  his  mar-  • 
ried  life  nor  at  any  period  of  it  was  he  wanting  in  thoughtful 
and  o-enerous  care  of  his  ftirailv.  In  that  insttmce  it  was 
not  an  intentional  or  conscious  neglect.  If  the  incident  is 
extraordin.'iry,  this  is  the  biography  of  an  unconnnon  man. 
In  him  it  stands  for  zeal  for  souls,  wdiich  in  the  stress  of  its 
urgency  and  the  ardoi-  of  its  work  absorbed  and  preoccupied 
his  cares,  to  the  Exclusion  for  a  season  of  what  was  so  near 
to  him  and  cherished  as  his  household. 

It  Avtis,  probably,  when  he  was  on  Liberty  Circuit  that 
an  incident,  to  be  presently  narrated,  occurred,  which  illus- 
trates him  as  an  exponent  of  the  aggressive  character  of 
Methodism — "  go  always,  not  only  to  those  that  Avant  you, 
but  to  those  thtit  want  you  most."  That  is  the  uttefi'- 
ance  of  its  missionary  spirit,  and  is  the  chart  of  a  plan  of 
labors  which  maps  a  continent  into  circuits.  It  organizes 
the  Lord's  word  of  confirmation  to  the  truth  and  divinity  of 


THE   METHODIST    l-UEACHER.  143 

Ilis  mission,  "  the  poor  have  llie  Go.spcl  proachod  unto 
them."  It  makes  it  the  church  of  the  people  in  tlie  crowd- 
ed poi)uhition  of  an  old  country  ;  and  in  a  new,  the  pioneer 
of  the  churches,  followiiiij  the  fresh  track  of  the  emiii'rant, 
and  the  Hrst  herald-voice  in  the  wilderness.  It  has  been 
ulrcady  said  what — "  to  save  souls  " — is  the  animating:  si)i- 
rit  in  these  wheels  ;  and  there  is  in  the  o-rand  niov(Mnent 
this  wheel  within  wheels — "  to  save  «.s"  many  as  you  can,  to 
l)ring  as  many  sinners  as  you  can  to  repentance." 

For  i^erfunctory  performance  there  is  in  the  rule  no  pro- 
vision nor  toleration — there  was  none  in  Bishop  Marvin's 
spirit  and  views,  with  a  Gospel  for  "  every  creature  "  writ- 
ten in  his  connnission  and  on  his  conscience,  and  a  heart  of 
love  and  couraixe,  and  of  h{)[)e  to  enterprise  it.  He  could 
not  abide  a  dull  spirit  or  lang-uid  motion  in  those  put  in 
trust  with  the  Gospel  for  mankind — not  in  himself  or 
others.  Ho  used  often  to  relate  with  mingled  merriment 
and  disgust  an  incident  happening  during  one  of  his  Epis- 
copal tours  in  Texas,  To  his  inquiry  concerning  the  Cir- 
cuit Preacher,  how  he  was  doing,  it  was  the  reply  of  an 
excellent  and  sensible  lavman,  "  Well,  he  is  o-oin'  around." 
His  severest  satire  castigated  the  sober  complacency  of  just 
"  doin'  the  duties."  In  the  same  pillory  he  puts,  as  he  calletl 
it,  the  ■'  red-tape"  administration  of  a  Presiding  Elder  and 
"  the  horse-mill  round"  of  quarterly  visitation,  ceaseless 
but  unvarying. 

For  all  forms  and  directions  of  enterprise  and  work  for 
the  Master  and  mankind,  he  had  an  open  eye  and  a  ready 
arm — the  Mather  of  his  generation,  with  a  siythe  always 
in  his  hand  and  graspiui;  manv  scvthes.  His  industry  was 
amazing,  like  the  steady  going  of  the  sun,  and  like  its 
course  his  activity,  going  on  the  line  of  a  circle,  without  a 
terminus,  only  when  his  course  Avas  finished,  as  the  sun  itself 
will  stop  when  "  the  heavens  are  no  more."  Strong  ex- 
pression at  this  point,  it  is  certain,  will  not  be  at  fault.  The 


144  BISHOP  MAH^TX. 

dcirroe  of  diliircnce  and  the  gravity  of  his  work  were  in  his  life 
and  hd)ors,  :is  in  the  rule — "  ne\'oi-  l)e  uneni[)loyed  ;  never 
be  tritiiiiirlv  employed. "  It  tilled  the  hours  Ix'tweeii  stated 
services  and  transcended  roii-ular  work.  Hence  his  volu- 
niinous  use  of  the  i)eriodical  press,  instructing  and  inspiring 
the  zeal  of  the  Church.  Hence  his  l)()()k-inakinu-,  "  to  do 
o'ood  " — the  first  lie  wrote  during  the  war,  thoui>-ht  out  on 
the  march  and  written,  partly,  in  camp  ;  and  his  sermons 
published  as  well  as  preached.  Hence  his  addresses  in  aid 
of  charities  and  at  college  connnoncements  and  church 
dedications,  and  all  the  manifold  and  varied  activities  of  his 
busy  life,  in  readiness  for  every  good  word  and  work. 

Time  for  what  he  acc()m[)lished  Avas  not  so  much 
economized  as  redeemed.  He  indulged  his  social  impulses 
freely,  and  was  much  out  among  men  and  in  the  society  of 
his  friends.  The  nature  and  demands  of  his  official  position, 
in  mature  years,  and  his  unbarred  accessibility  to  all  comers 
did  not  permit  to  him  the  aid  of  system,  nor  allow  consecu- 
tive time  in  lar<rc  sections.  He  redeemed  time  for  work  by 
levy  upon  hours  of  sleep  and  taxation  of  strength,  and 
especially  by  skill  in  use  of  fractions  of  time.  Much  labor 
was  done  as  his  books  were  Avritten,  one,  as  he  states,  in 
"  snatches  of  time,''  and  another,  prepared  in  "  odd  hours." 
Then,  with  his  marvelous  disposition  and'  capacity  for 
work,  a  day  was  enouiih  for  much  and,  to  him,  more  time 
than  to  others. 

His  diligence  and  its  aohievoments  arc  to  be  accounted 
for  more  by  the  motives  than  the  methods  of  work.  When 
the  whole  Church  was  looking  upon  his  career  Avith  surprise 
and  admiration,  in  tlie  judgment  of  humility  ho  wrote: 
"•  The  time  is  short.  I  have  done  but  little  work  for  the 
Master,  and  what  I  have  done  has  l)een  but  poorly  done." 
That  was  said  on  the^eveof  travel  and  labor  in  heathendom. 
He  had  been  a^Iissionar}'  Bishop  before  he  went  to  China — 
on  the  Kio  Grande  and  in  the  Mountains  of  I\Iontana,  and 


THE    METHODIST  PREACHER.  145 

on  the  Slopes  of  the  Pacific  before  the  great  railway  brought 

it  into  near  neighl)orhoo(l.     On  his  return  from  the  Pacific 

Coast,  to  remark  on  the  privations  and  hardships  of  his  long 

and   laborious  tour,  made  by  his  friend  W.  T.  Crouch,  of 

Arkansas,  he  replied,  "  Others  have  done  it  for  money;  I 

certainly  could  do  it  for  Christ."  The  genius  of  Methodism 

and  the  charity  of  the  Gos[)el,  which 

"  Took  every  creature  in,  of  every  kind," 

was  strong  in  him — at  the  last  and  from  the  beginning.     On 

one  of  his  iirst  circuits,  the  ministerial  economy  to  which 

he  bclono-ed  and  the  siiirit  that  was  in  him  are  strikingly 

illustrated  by  the  incident  referred  to  above.     It  is  related 

by  Mr.  D.  K.  Pittman,  of  St.  Charles  County,  who  w^as  an 

old  and  cherished  friend  of  Bishop  Marvin  : 

When  Bishop  Marvin  was  stationed  at  Centenary  Church,  I  happened 
into  his   study    and    found    him    reading    the    St.   Louis  Advocate.     He 
said  he  had  just  been  readinj?  the  obituary  of  a  very  dear  ohl  brotlier  with 
whom  he  had  become  actiuaiuted  while  on  one  of  his  early  appointments 
in  the  northwest  part  of  the   State.     He  stated  that  he  had  received  a 
request  from  this  old  gentleman  to  come  and  preach  to  the  people  in  his 
"settlement,  '  which  was  forty  miles  from  the  nearest  point  on  his  circuit. 
Of  course  he  agreed  to  preach  to  them,  and  sent  an  appointment  some 
weeks  ah"ad.     Before  the  appointed  time  heavy  snows  had  fallen,  and 
almost  the   whole  distance   was  a  prairie  without  a  broken  track;  but  he 
was   placed  by  a  friend  upon  a  dividing  ridge  which  led   directly  to  the 
place      Tliere  were  many  ridges  diverging  from  It,  and  no  designation  of 
which  was  the  main  divide.     On  either  side  in  the  valleys  the  drifted  snow 
was  two  or  three  feet  deep,  and  that  with  a  hard  crust.     There  was  not  a 
house  on  the  way.  most  of  it  out  of  sisiht  of  timber,  even.  He  pressed  for- 
ward, as  he  thought,  on  his  m  lin  divide  until  in  the  afternoon,  when   he 
found  he  had  lost  the  way.     Tlie  ridge  he  was  on  gave  out;  he  found  him- 
self in  a  valley,  and  had  no  idea  when  or  where  he  had  left  the  divide.     It 
was  too  late  in  the  day  to  think  of  retracing  his  steps.     The  way  before 
him  seemed  impassable,  and  the  probability  of  reaching  any  residence  was 
extremely  doubtful  and  gloomy.  With  all  the  horrors  of  perishinu:  present 
to  hisim:igination,  he  determined,  as  he,  no  doub%  often  had  occasion  to 
do,  to  trust  in  the  Lord  and  press  forward.     Sometimes  his  horse  could 
press  his  way  through  the  drift,  but  sometimes  he  would  have  to  dismount 
and  break  the  crust  in  the  deepest  places.     After  great  effort  by  man  and 
horse,  about  the  close  of   the  day  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  timber  and 
found   a  residence,  where  he   spent  the  night,  seven  miles  short  of  his 
10 


146  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

appointment.  Tlio  next  morninsj;  he  continued  his  journey.  Just  before 
reachiiiLi;  the  phice  for  preachinji;,  he  met  a  man  and  made  inquiry.  The 
gentU-niau  told  him  he  was  tlie  man  he  was  seel^ini;.  Brother  M.  told 
liis  name.  The  old  g:entleman  burst  into  tears,  and  e.Kclaimed,  '•  Brotlier 
jVIarvin!  is  it  possible?  How  did  you  gft  here?"  He  stated  that  the 
^appointment  had  reached  him  and  he  had  lo.)ked  forward  to  it  with 
pleasure,  but  after  the  fall  of  snow  he  thoui^ht  it  impossible  for  the 
preadicr  to  come.  Stating  he  had  never  seen  a  minister  since  he  had 
settled  there,  he  added,  "  Come  to  the  house.  I  m  so  glad  to  see  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel.  I'll  send  out  for  the  neighbors  and  we  will  have 
preaching."  In  due  time  a  little  congregation  was  collected,  and  they  had 
a  pleasant  t'me.  He  preaclied  several  times  before  he  left,  and  my  recol- 
lection is  that  lie  kept  up  an  appointment  at  that  place.  Brother  M. 
formed  a  very  hiiili  esteem  for  the  cliaracter  and  piety  of  this  gentleman; 
and  said  he  had  hardly  ever,  before  or  since,  preached  to  a  i)eople  with 
more  pleasure,  and  felt  compensated  for  all  it  cost  him  to  get  tl.ere.  Re- 
ferring to  the  obituary,  he  said,  "  He  died  just  as  he  would  have  expected 
him  to  die." 

After  the  lapse  of  thirty-four  years  we  are  enal)led  to 
produce  the  Qutirterly  Conference  Record  during  his  year  on 
Liberty  Circuit.  The  retider  is  indebted  to  Rev.  J.  F. 
Shores,  the  present  pastor,  for  a  full  abstract  of  this  old 
;and  curious  record.  Rev.  W.  W.  Redman  was  the  Presid- 
ino-  Elder.  It  is  notable  for  its  exhibit  of  slim  p;iy  and  its 
proceedings  as  an  Appelate  Court  in  five  cases  of  adminis- 
tration of  discipline. 

It  is  indicated  by  the  number  of  church  trials  in  the 
record,  perhaps,  that  the  early  Methodism  was  less  tolerant 
than  now  of  wrong  doing  in  the  membership.  What  chiefly 
distinguished  the  former  administration  does  not  appear  in 
the  record— the  net  of  discipline  finely  woven  on  "points 
:great  and  small,"  to  detect  unrepentant  sin  in  l)clievers 
in  the  forms  of  worldly  conformity  and  lack,  as  supposed, 
of  spirituality.  Some  were  impaled  on  the  chapter  on  dress, 
martyrs  to  a  feather  or  an  ear-ring.  That  spectacle  fright- 
ened away  the  worldly-minded,  who  kept  out  because  it  was 
notoriously  the  esttiblished  sentiment  that  they  would  not 
he  kept  in.  Some  members  left  the  church,  esctiping  by 
fli<dit.     A  lady  is  still  living  in  Virginia,  who,  as  late  in  life 


THE    METHODIST    TREACHER.  147 

as  when  she  was  a  widow,  was  refused  the  sacrament  l)e- 
causo  the  hand  put  forth  to  take  it  wore  a  ring — even  a 
wedding-ring.  The  Fathers  were,  also,  rigid  AVesleyans 
in  turning  out  non-attendants  at  chiss-nieeting ;  or  if  they 
faik'd  to  do  it,  might  be  put  on  trial  at  Conference  them- 
selves, as  was  John  Emory  for  not  dealing  with  a  I'ocal 
preacher,  whose  offence  was,  that  he  had  not  attended  his 
class  but  once  or  twice  in  sixteen  months. 

Bishop  Marvin  is  to  be  interpreted  somewhat  in  the  light 
of  the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  old  regime,  which  were 
modified  and  moderated  but  still  not  extinct  in  his  times — 
the  courage  to  confront  offenders,  like  the  local  preachers 
on  Liberty,  in  prominent  and  powerful  position,  and  the 
severe  tidelity  which  did  not  overlook  "  small  points"  and 
was  prompt  and  unsparing  with  grave  offenses.  The  notice 
of  a  worldly  spirit  and  conformity  survived  in  the  moral 
discipline  of  his  pastorate,  after  the  legal  discipline  was 
abolished  by  repeal  of  sumptuary  laAvs  and  regulations. 
The  old  and  staunch  cry — the  purity  of  the  Church — was 
constantly  on  his  lips  and  burdened  his  pen.  He  contended 
earnestly  for  the  class-room  by  the  constraint  of  argument 
and  entreaty,  when  the  compulsion  of  law  and  penalty  had 
been  withdrawn.  In  pulpit  and  press,  sermons  and  para- 
graphs were  in  full  cry,  with  thundering  philippic  and  reso- 
nant warning,  against  worldly  anmsements  and  the  spirit 
and  fashion  of  the  world.  The  following  is  a  sample  para- 
graph : 

I  dwell  on  this  subject  because  it  is  vital.  We  are  in  greater  danger 
here,  as  I  have  no  doubt,  than  at  any  other  point.  The  problem  of  per- 
sonal salvation  lies  in  great  part  in  the  fact  of  self-denial.  It  will  do  us 
no  good  to  be  worldly  people  in  the  Church.  If  we  are  deterniiaed  to  be 
worldly  people  at  all  hazards,  it  is  far  better  to  sail  under  the  world's 
colors  at  once.  If  we  are  of  the  world  in  heart  and  practice,  to  belong  to 
the  Church  is  only  an  affectation— a  hypocrisy.  If  the  devil  is  our  master, 
let  us  openly  confess  him  '•  If  tlie  Lord  be  God,  .serve  Him.  but  if  Baal, 
serve  him."  Let  us  not  mingle  the  stench  of  the  world  with  the  incense 
that  goes  up  from  the  altars  of  God.  If  we  offer  a  vain  oblation,  the 
stench  of  a  carnal  devotion,  let  us  lay  it  boldly  on  the  altars  of  Baal. 


148  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

On  such  principles,  he  changed  his  opinion  eoncerning' 
Agricultui-al  Fairs,  which  at  first  he  favored,  on  the  ground 
of  improvement  of  valuable  farm  products  and  stock  which 
was  right  and  good  in  itself,  but  condemned  and  stigmatized 
them  as  "schools  of  vice,"  when  they  became  persistently 
perverted,  the  ampitheatre  converted  into  a  race  course  and 
outrivalin<r  the  ai>ricultural  hall  and  cattle  ijen.  He  cvi- 
dently  intended  some  sanction  to  the  opinions  of  his  friend 
and  contemporary,  Mr.  Caples,  of  which  he  wrote  :  • 

It  will  appear  from  what  has  been  written,  that  he  had  strict  views  of 
the  Christian  life.  This  is  true.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  he  was  an 
ascetic.  Very  far  from  it.  He  concurred  most  heartily  in  Mr.  Wesley's 
condemnaliou  of  "  such  diversions  as  cannot  be  used  in  the  Name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  Especially  did  he  condemn  all  that  class  of  amusements, 
which  tend  to  immorality.  Among  them  he  placed  tiie  dance,  the  theatre, 
the  circus  and  card-playing.  He  was  also  opposed  to  the  habit  of  playing 
chess,  bacisgaminon,  and  the  like,  as  a  useless  frittering  away  of  time. 
Such  recreation  as  involved  healthy  exercise  and  did  not  lead  to  gambling 
he  did  not  condemn,  unless  it  was  carried  to  an  extent  thut  involved  too 
much  time  and  was  an  actual  dissipation.  He  saw  the  necessity  of  keeping 
the  Christian  life  free  from  worldly  tendencies.  Whatever  subordinated 
the  Spirit  to  the  flesh  and  made  carnal  things  a  capital  oliject  of  pursuit, 
was  to  be  condemned.  He  knew  that  if  young  people  began  to  run 
eagerly  after  mere  pleasures  the  spiritual  life  would  wane.  The  heart 
filled  up  with  such  vain  desires  has  little  room  for  Christ.  Sobriety  is  a 
prime  element  of  the  Christian  character. 

The  offences  dealt  with  by  the  young  disciplinarian  of 
Liberty  Circuit  were,  however,  overt  acts  of  criminality, 
which,  it  is  needless  to  say,  he  could  not  abide — neither,  on 
''the  docket  of  the  Liberty  Circuit,  the  "incorrect statements" 
nor  irregular  membership.  The  forgery  of  a  church-letter 
was  a  singular  foi-ni  of  depravity,  which  could  have  had  no 
other  than  a  sinister  and  seltish  motive,  the  profit  of  posi- 
tion or  the  gain  of  merchandise  or  other  form  of  personal 
aggrandizement,  according  to  the  Lord's  own  characteriza- 
tion of  entering  otherwise  than  by  the  "door."  This  was 
a  i)lain  case.  The  accused  recjuested  "  Bro.  Marvin  to  more 
fullv  explain."     All  that  is  told  of  the  explanation  is  in  the 


THE    METHODIST   rUEACHER.  149 

''unanimous  vote' ' — ])Y  it,  what  he  thouijfht  and,  with  the  rest, 
decided,  to  eject  the  accused.  The  wliole  record  is  before 
the  reader  for  such  judsxment  as  he  may  form  of  the  "sense" 
and  "irnice"  in  the  administration  and  in  the  administrator. 
The  Book  of  Disci^dine  is  little  more  than  a  horn-l)ook  of 
Methodist  law.  It  recniires  no  little  sense  to  administer  it 
— especially  it  was  difHcult  at  that  day  before  Baker  and 
McTyeire  supplemented  Iledding  in  their  larger  constitu- 
tional commentaries  and  codification  of  decisions,  with 
manual  of  proceedings  and  laws  of  evidence.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising that  there  was  one  case  of  "illegality"  and  it  is  to 
the  credit  of  the  young  practitioner  that  four  out  of  five  of 
his  indictments  "  stuck."  In  the  Methodist  judiciary  there 
is  good  protection  for  good  members  and  good  prosecution 
for  the  bad.  In  general,  ^Methodist  preachers  are  good  ec- 
clesiastical lawyers  and  if  they  mistake,  Methodist  Bishops, 
collectively  as  a  court  of  errors  for  review  and  final  deci- 
sion, or  separately  on  their  districts,  are  good  supreme 
judges. 

There  was,  in  the  discipline  on  Liberty,  certainly  good 
sense  in  purging  the  church,  and  no  doubt  need  of  grace 
and  nerve  as  well.  With  two  Quarterly  Conferences  turned 
into  courts  for  original  trial  or  appeal,  and,  in  the  intervals, 
church  trials  going  on  on  the  Circuit,  some  nervous  people 
might  have  supposed  the  Church  was  going  to  pieces.  But 
the  3^oung  preacher's  view  was  the  sensible  one.  Purifica- 
tion is  not  an  element  of  weakness,  but  sign  and  prophecy 
of  growth  and  power.  Mr.  "Wesley  struck  off  from  the 
class-rolls  the  names  of  delinquents  by  the  score  M'ith  a 
single  stroke  of  his  pen  ;  but  his  followers  multiplied.  Of 
a  similar  result  this  old  record  is  in  evidence.  It  shows,  at 
the  last  Conference,  two  things  :  on  the  passage  of  character 
a  clean  official  roll,  and  in  the  place  of  the  slandei'er  and 
the  forijer.  Garner  for  a  useful  itinerant  ministry  and  B. 
R.    Baxter   for   his    service  in    Missouri  and   at  this  date 


150  BISHOP    MARVIX. 

pioneering  ]\Icthodism  in  Oregon.      It  was  wholesome  dis- 
cipline, fruitful  of  comfort  and  strength. 

It  is  not,  however,  to  be  understood  that  he  thought,  to 
use  his  own  language,  "that  the  administration  of  discipline 
consisted  only  in  expelling  members;"  nor  that  with  his 
strict  views  of  Christian  ethics  and  jealousy  of  the  honor 
and  purity  of  the  Church,  the  administration  in  his  hands 
was  rash  or  harsh.  "In  cases  of  infamous  crime,"'  he 
writes,  "  no  doubt,  the  extreme  penalty  ought  to  be  inflic- 
ted." lie  was  scarcely  less  tolerant  of  deliberate  Avrong- 
doing  under  cover  of  hypocritical  pretence  of  piety  and 
pursued  with  malicious  cunning.  Detecting  that,  if  he  saw 
its  head  he  could  not  restrain  a  direct  and  deadly  blow. 
Besides,  in  general,  it  must  be  well  understood,  he  consid- 
ered "that  incorrigible  offenders  are  to  be  expelled  in  due 
time — that  the  Church  is  not  to  be  trifled  with.'  That, 
however,  is  the  "last  resort."  It  must  be  preceded  by 
"every  effort  in  each  case  to  bring  the  delinquent  to  repen- 
tance and  confession."  If  successful,  two  objects  would 
be  secured,  "the  Chui'ch  would  be  purilicd  and  a  soul 
saved.  The  grand  object  of  the  Church  is  to  save  men, 
whether  by  o-ettinii;  sinners  converted  at  first  or  saAins;  them 
from  apostasy  afterwards..  This  last  is  not  to  1)e  accom- 
plished by  a  hasty,  harsh  exi^ulsion  on  the  one  hand,  nor  by 
a  lo()se,  careless  administration  on  the  other." 

The  above  extracts  taken  from  his  published  writings, 
and  corresponding  with  his  views  Avidely  expressed  in  his- 
private  intercourse  and  embodied  uniformly,  as  we  believe, 
in  his  administration,  shows  that  it  was  both  prudent  and 
kind.  It  was  with  "grace.".  lie  feared  orod.  xl"  loved 
man.  He  reverenced  the  Church.  He  ha  I  natural  cou 'age 
and  grace  super-added,  in  fearing  God  hv  feared  not  u^e 
face  of  a  man  or  the  clamor  of  a  multitude.  He  knew  anu 
respected  the  jurisdiction  of  justice  and  juc  gment,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  his  heart  was  pitiful,  gentle  as  a  child's  ;  and 


THE    METHODIST    PREACHER.  l')l 

ingenuous  confession  and  genuine  contrition  were  sacred 
and  touching:  in  his  as  in  an  anirers  siu:ht— botli  firm  and 
mild,  to  hold  and  wield  in  a  single  and  bj  the  same  hand  the 
sceptre  of  love  and  the  rod  of  authority. 

Among  other  siiifiiitic^ant  and  interestinir  items   in  this 
curious    old  document  is  the  pay  of  the  preacher.      The 
book-keeping  appears  in  full  and  very  exactly  on  the  pao-e 
of  the  record.     The  figures  stand  out  boldly  and  account  ia 
taken  of  the  fractions,  the  fragments  of  cents,  that  "  noth- 
ing be  lost"  to  the  credit  of  the  marvelous  transaction  of 
feeding  and  clothing  the  preacher  for  a  year  on  thirty-three 
dollars  and  twenty-three  cents  and  three-quarters  of  a  cent. 
It  must  be  conceded,  however,  that  the  preacher  was  in  the- 
case  the  miracle-worker — the  miracle,  how,  out  of  loavea 
and  fishes  so  few  and  so  small,  to  get  subsistence  during  a 
twelvemonth.     The  circuit  was  "the  lad"  in  the  crowd,  and 
the  quarterage  the  little  basket  on  his  arm.     The  Lillii^utian 
pay  is  indicated  in  the  vulgar  name  for  the  twelve  and  a  half 
and  six  and  a  quarter  cents  coinage  of  that  time — l)its  and 
pica^^unes.     He  was  paid  in  as  well  as  with  them.     This  old 
and  familiar  acquaintance  with  small  change  and  its  coinage 
stuck  to  his  speech  through  life,  used,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, often  to  speak  of  two  and  four  and  six-bits  instead 
of  the  present  decimal  fractions  of  the  dollar. 

For  the  exact  and  full  history  of  this  remarkable  ledger, 
the  reader  must  look  at  the  quarterly  statement  as  well  as. 
final  footing.  He  received  the  previous  year,  at  Oregoa 
Mission,  thirty  dollars,  (do  not  mistake  and  call  it  three 
hundred,  says  our  informant,  jNIr.  Sandy  Pratt,  who  had 
written  the  amount  in  figures,)  and  he  could  not  have  been 
in  funds  when  he  arrived  on  Liberty  Circuit.  If  so,  to  s^et 
along  from  the  time  of  the  Annual  Conference,  which  met 
the  fourth  of  October,  to  the  time  of  second  Quarterly  Con- 
ference, January  the  twenty-seventh,  the  stupendous  stipend 
of  the    preacher   was  ninety-two    and  one-half  cents.     On 


152  BISHOP    MARVIX. 

that,  what  of  an  overcoat  for  winter  or  any  coat,  or  arctic 
shoes  or  even  brogans,  or  postage,  at  that  day  costing  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  to  the  letter  Avithin  the  limits  of  the  State 
and  twenty-tive  cents  to  destinations  l)eyond  it,  or  books  or 
the  Church  paper  or  anything,  except  wliat  might  come  in 
price  within  the  fractions  of  ninety-two  and  a  half  cents  ! 
The   writer   has    mistaken   the   reckoning ;  there  were  re- 
funded   to    him   eighty-seven   and    a    half  cents  spent   for 
traveling  expenses  in  coming  to  the  circuit,  making  the  sum 
total  one  dollar  and  eighty  cents,  which  is  an  average  for  the 
time  of  about  one  cent  and  a  half  a  day.     The  finances 
come  up  at  the  remaining  quarterly  meetings  and  raise  the 
averao-e  per  diem  for  the  year  to  nine  cents  one  mill  and 
about  forty-one  thousandths  of  a  mill.     Still,  Liberty  has 
done  better  than  Oregon,  and   that  than  Grundy   Mission, 
where  he  received  fifteen  dollars — the  whole  amount  for  three 
years,  seventy-eight  dollars  twenty-three  cents  and  three- 
fourths  of  a  cent.     The  figures  appear  in  many  forl)idding 
attitudes,  which  the  reader,  if  he  has  inclination,  may  pose — 
we  note  this,  it  is  only  in  all  three  dollars  and   a  fraction 
more  than  one-half  of  the  cost  of  horse  and  accoutrements 
when  he  started  to  his  first  circuit.     They  were  bought  on 
credit  and  fifteen  dollars  a  year  on  interest  account  to  be 

paid. 

Most  Methodist  Preachers  who  read  this  page  have  had 
a  similar  history  on  first  circuits — not  needing  the  Recording 
Steward's  book  to  furnish  the  record  of  it,  written  not  with 
pen  and  ink,  but  on  the  page  of  memory  by  sharp  priva- 
tions. The  writer  has  heard  many  small  amounts  of  annual 
receipts  named,  but  none,  within  his  recollection,  so  small 
as  his  on  Grundy,  and  the  challenge  is  a  safe  one,  whether 
the  total  for  the  three  first  years  has  a  parallel  for  meagre 
pa/  in  the  financial  record  of  the  Continent,  among 
preachers  '/.  uig  or  dead.  The  married  preachers  in  that 
day  received  niL^e  in  amount,  l)ut  relatively  to  the  needs  of 


THE    METHODIST   PREACHER.  1.53 

u  family  not  more.  Some  cliari;cs  paid  better  than  others  ; 
but  then,  slim  su})port  was  the  general  fact.  The  present 
statistics  show  advancement,  but  what  has  been  proverbial  is 
not  obsolete— the  INIethodist  preach(>r  and  poor  pay.  It  is 
thus  apparent  that  poverty  is  a  badge  of  their  profession — ■ 
self-enforced  by  the  first  Methodist  preacher,  and,  even  till 
now,  most  of  his  followers  may  sing  the  Wesleyan  Psalmody  : 

"No  foot  of  land  do  I  possess, 
No  cottage  in  this  wilderness, 
A  poor,  wayfaring  man." 

It  is  among  the  questions  which  will  be  raised  by  the 
general  reader,  how  did  he  get  along  on  that  pittance?  Con- 
cerning the  early  preachers  who  were  mainly  bachelors  and 
pertinent  to  3'oung  preachers  on  hard  circuits,  Bishop 
McTyeire,  in  his  ugual  practical  view  and  terse  speech, 
replies  that  if  they  got  but  little,  "  the  preachers  needed  but 
little.  This  was  well — providential  at  the  beginning." 
Fortunately,  there  Avere  no  board  bills.  The  lar<>e  circuits, 
hundreds  of  miles  on  the  round  and  week-day  appointments, 
nearly  as  many,  sometimes,  as  days  in  the  month,  there 
could  be  no  settled  home.  The  preacher  was  a  wayfarer — 
only  a  transient  sojourner  at  any  house  a  few  times  in  the 
year.  The  people  vied  with  each  other  and  were  glad  to 
have  the  preacher  home  to  dinner  and  to  stay  all  night.  But 
clothinir  for  four  seasons — it  is  evident  the  cash  Avas  not 
equal  to  tailor's  bills.  As  it  appeal's  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  there  were  homes  like  the  house  of  John's  mother, 
and  saints  among  the  women,  Avho  companied  and  were 
helpers — on  occasion,  with  the  needle.  Old  clothes  lasted 
lono-.  Rev.  M.  R.  Jones,  who  has  followed  him  in  most  of 
his  ministerial  work  in  the  Missouri  Conference,  and  is  now 
the  incumbent  of  his  old  and  only  Presiding  Elder's  Dis- 
trict, relates  this  : 

When  I  was  stationed  at  Richmond,  Missouri,  in  1875,  the  Bishop  was 
to  preach  at  Carrolton  on  Sunday,  and  tlie  next  to  dedicate  a  church  at 


lo4  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

Noiborne,  in  the  same  county.  Tlie  Carrolton  brethren  expected  to  hold 
the  Bishop  through  the  week.  I  met  liim  on  Saturday  at  his  appoint- 
ment and  asked  liim  to  c;ive  me  part  of  the  interveniuji  week  in  Richmond, 
He  licsitated.  Saiil  I,  Bisliop,  tliere  are  some  old  sisters  (nuiuiug  them) 
who  used  to  mend  your  clothes,  and  nurse  you  while  sick,  when  you  was- 
a  boy  preacher,  that  want  to  see  you,  and  hear  you  preach  au;aiu.  Need  I 
say  that  Richmond  station  had  three  excellent  sermons  that  week! 

New  clothes  sometinnes  ciiine  out  of  the  looms  and  the 
hearts  of  the  women — in  instances  not  so  much  from  their 
pity  as  piety,  responsive  to  the  piety  of  the  preacher. 
The  first  present  of  a  suit  was  prompted,  wo  have  seen,  by 
his  preaching  and  altar-work  at  the  Peery  Camp-ground. 
An  unctions  prayer  made  another  suit.  Mr.  Shores  says 
this  incident  is  well  authenticated  : 

I  have  heard  the  following  from  the  lips  of  three  or  four  of  the  old 
citizens  of  this  tow'n.  The  year  before  Marvin  was  sent  to  this  work, 
while  George  Smith  was  preacher  in  charge,  young  Marvin  came  to 
Liberty.  It  was  his  lirst  visit  to  this  town.  He  entered  the  place  of 
worship  very  shabbily  dressed— overcoat  very  plain  and  of  very  coarse 
material,  pants  worn  through  at  the  knees.  He  took  his  seat  where  the 
preacher  usually  sat  in  a  careless  and  indifferent  way,  and  looked  so  little 
like  a  preacher  that  some  of  the  members  of  the  cluuch  became  restless 
and  uneasy,  and  discussed  the  propriety  of  inviting  the  stranger  to  a  seat 
farther  back  in  tlie  congregation.  Secinu,  however,  that  Bro.  Sm'th  was 
not  disturbed  by  his  presence,  they  dropped  tlie  question.  At  the  close  of 
the  sermon,  he  was  called  on  by  Bro,  Smith  to  lead  in  prayer.  He  prayed 
with  such  unction  and  power  that  some  of  the  congregation  seemed  to 
think  that  tiie  roof  of  the  house  was  about  to  be  lifted  off.  (This  may 
serve  to  explain  the  fact  that  his  pants  were  worn  through  at  the  knees.) 
At  the  close  of  the  service,  the  sisters  gathered  around  him  and  ail  invited 
him  to  their  homes.  The  sequel  was,  he  left  Liberty  wearing  a  new  suit 
of  clothes. 

The  little  cash  received  was  made  to  go  far.  The  memo- 
ries of  his  itinerancy  from  (jrundy  to  Liberty  may  have 
been  at  the  bottom  of  the  remark  he  made  to  Rev.  Thomas 
M.  Beckham,  of  the  Virginia  Conference,  who  was  his  room- 
mate at  the  North  Carolina  Conference,  in  1874:  "Young 
preachers  should  early  learn  the  art  of  spending  moncij. 
]Manv  scjuander  the  dimes  and  half  dimes  and  then  wonder 
that  a  small  salary  brings  so  few  comforts." 


TIIK    METHODIST    PllEACHER.  155 

It  must  be  answered  to  the  question,  many  could  not  get 
alonf  and  iro  tlirouiili.  In  the  earlier  years  niaiTvinu-  and 
locating  went  toucthcr,  and  it  has  continued  largely  and 
still  ffoes  on.  After  all  the  work  of  the  stewards  and 
■\)iet  V  and  charity  of  the  women  and  all  the  shifts  of  economy 
by  the  preacher,  there  are  actual  and  severe  hardships — 
apostolic  "  cold  and  hunger  and  nakedness."  It  is  too 
much  for  the  nerve  or  piety  or  patience  of  some — this 
"  poor  and  having  nothing."  Even  Bishop  George  medi- 
tated flight  from  his  first  circuit,  where  he  found  the  senti- 
ment, of  which  he  says,  "  for  in  those  days  and  among  this 
people  it  was  an  honor  to  preach  for  nothing  and  find  your- 
self." He  staid  because  he  had  no  money  to  carry  him 
home:  "  My  clothes  were  almost  worn  out  and  my  money 
was  expended  ;  so  that  I  could  not  go  home  with  any  credit." 
Marvin  staid  because  he  would  not  leave.  From  his  remark 
to  Mr.  Berryman,  at  Lexington,  he  appears,  it  may  be, 
under  the  strain,  bent  but  not  broken.  From  Oregon  Mis- 
sion he  goes  on  to  Liberty  Circuit. 

AnothcT  answer  is  in  the  man,  and  in  the  system  to 
which  he  belonged.  Daniel  Asbury,  his  colleague,  saved 
Georo-e.  Learnino;  that  he  was  making  arranirements  for  a 
school  to  get  money  to  return  home,  he  anathematized  the 
whole  proceeding  as  a  device  of  Satan.  The  effect  of  the 
interposition  was:  "  I  saw  the  snare  into  which  I  had  well 
nigh  fallen,  and  abhorred  the  idea  of  relincjuishing  my  post 
dishonoraldy.  When  a  man  is  charged  with  a  duty  involving 
high  and  holy  responsibilities  he  should  '  stand  fast,'  though 
he  even  suffer  and  die  in  the  discharge  of  it."  Marvin  had 
a  serviceable  friend  in  Dryden,  on  the  adjoining  circuit,  and 
Berryman's  kind  hand  on  his  shoulder,  at  Lexington, 
steadied  him.  lie  was  fortunate  in  his  Presiding  Elder. 
Andrew,  of  Salt-Ketcher  Circuit,  had  his  Lovick  Pierce  ; 
and  Marvin,  of  Grundy,  his  Rodman — i  wise  man  and  a  man 
of  heart,  who  was  a  constant  and  faithful  patron,  visiting 


15G  BISHOP    ]MARVIX. 

liiiii  oil  his  circuits  mid  taking  liiiii  with  him  to  the  St.  Louis 
District. 

There  was  stay  to  his  steadiness  in  his  personal  and 
Methodist  virtue.  If  the  autlior  or  reader  may  be  disposed 
to  criticise  tlie  early  Methodists,  he  stoutl}'^  contends  that 
they  were  not  "  stingy,"  and  in  his  generosity  finds  apology 
for  them  in  want  of  al)ility  under  the  conditions  of  a  new 
countrjs  where  with  homes  to  l)e  l)uilt  and  farms  to  be 
opened  "  no  ni;ui  had  a  dollar  for  which  there  was  not  im- 
mediate and  pressing  use  in  his  own  affairs."  When  he  had 
spent  the  last  "hit"  or  thought  of  his  scant  and  coarse 
wardrobe,  he  was  humble  enough  to  think  of  the  other  side 
of  the  case,  the  apprentice  work  as  well  as  the  slim  wages, 
as  he  told  his  friend,  Rev.  H.  S.  Watts,  "all  the  time 
wondering  how  the  people  could  bear  with  his  ignorance  and 
inexperience."  A  similar  sentiment  came  near  keeping 
McKendree  out  of  the  itinerancy  ;  it  helped  to  keep  Marvin 
in.  He  was  a  thorough  AVesleyan.  Methodism  commanded 
and  enthused  him.  He  saw  the  high  benevolence  in  wdiich 
its  itinerant  system  originated,  to  give  the  Gospel  to  the 
Avorld  and  to  the  poor — to  those  who  ask  not  as  well  as 
those  who  ask  for  it,  and  to  those  who  can  and  cannot  pay 
for  it.  In  such  a  system  service  can  have  no  stipulations  or 
guarantees  of  contract,  and  in  the  general  fact  poverty  is 
incident  to  it.  lie  was  completely  adjusted  to  it,  in  spirit 
and  practice.  His  own  temper  is  shown  in  wdiat  he  said  of 
the  ffrit  and  Methodist  i!:race  of  an  itinerant  who,  rather  than 
forsake  the  field,  went  with  his  Avife  and  children  into  a  poor 
hovel  :  "  Tie  did  not  understand  that  he  w^as  called  to  preach 
on  condition  of  the  Church  doing  its  dutv  1)V  him."  In 
vi(!W  of  the  peculiar  structure  and  aims  of  the  system,  in 
the  extract  given  below  he  has  expressed  strong  sentiments 
concerning  the  self-denial  of  the  Itinerancy  as  a  law  of  life 
to  Methodism, — in  which  it  was  born  and  by  which  it  must 
be  nurtured.     By  some  they  may  be  regarded,  in  Avhole  or 


THE    MKTIIODIST    I'UEACHER.  157 

part,  as  a  gush  of  cutliusiasm.  The  passage  occurs  in  an 
ackh'css  on  the  Kevival  history  of  Methodism.  It  breathes 
the  Wesleyan  spirit.  It  is  co[)ie(I  from  the  example  of 
Wesley — in  sanctitieation  to  charity  to  the  poor  and  to  the 
ministries  of  Methodism,  his  self-enforced  poverty  a  passion, 
a  principle  and  a  plan  of  life.  At  least,  it  shows  the  temper 
of  Marvin — the  fact  and  heroism  of  his  itinerant  spirit : 

The  avci-ap;e  itinerant  preaclicr,  if  lie  is  faithful  to  his  vows,  can  never 
accumulate  prt)i)erty.  He  is  doomed  to  poverty.  lie  is  a  piltii'im  and  a 
stranger  in  the  world.  He  can  have  no  home  to  enrich  and  beautify,  so 
that  he  may  say,  "  here  is  my  rest."  He  must  break  up  and  go  whenever, 
wherever  he  may  be  seut.  He  follows  a  Master  who,  thou^ii  foxes  have 
holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  nests  for  themselves,  had  not  where  to  lay 
bis  head.  Two  of  the  deepest  instincts  of  our  nature  must  be  violated — 
the  love  of  money  and  the  love  of  home.  The  faithful  itinerant  may  get  a 
comfortable  subsistence  or  he  may  be  reduced  to  the  most  humiliating 
straits — it  is  reasonably  certain  he  will  get  nothing  to  hoard. 

I  say  it  solemnly,  I  say  it  with  deliberation,  this  is  best. 

If  it  were  otherwise,  rnercen  ,ry  men  would  seek  a  place  among  xis, 
and  what  a  curse  tiiat  would  be!  If  it  were  otherwise,  some  of  us  would 
become  mercenary,  and  that  would  be  an  immeasurable  calamity.  A 
"worldly  spirit  is  absolutely  incompatible  with  the  Christian  ministry.  Mr. 
Wesley,  if  he  had  amassed  wealth,  could  never  have  done  the  work  he  did 
in  the  world.  His  spirit  would  have  become  dilute  and  feeble.  His  work 
required  that  he  should  couceutraie  himself  upon  it.  No  divided  energies 
could  be  adequate  to  that  task. 

The  disposition  to  hiy  up  treasure  upon  the  earth  is  very  strong,  and 
justifies  itself  by  many  plausibilities.  It  is  very  skillful  in  giving  itself 
harmless  and  even  commendable  names.  Covetousness  names  itself  fru- 
'  gality.  Wicked  hoardiuguumes  itself  aproper  care  and  thought, ul  provision 
for  children.  Preachers  are  but  men,  and  in  circumstances  favorable  to 
accumulation  and  worldliness,  many  would  become  corrupt.  Three 
removes,  it  has  been  said,  are  equal  to  a  fire.  If  so,  a  good  many  of  us 
preachers  have  been  burnt  out  several  times. 

You  say  this  operates  great  hardship  on  the  preachers  and  their  fami- 
lies. Be  It  so.  No  great  work  has  ever  yet  been  done  in  the  world  without 
hardship.  When  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  shall  be  lost  in  the  conferences 
our  work  will  be  done,  and  nothing  will  be  left  of  Methodism  but  the 
name. 

The  stronjr  doctrine  in  the  above  extract  is  to  be  taken, 

and    may   be  di<2:ested  when  taken,  in  connection  with  the 

divine  ordination,  which  is  a  law  to  the  people,  and,  also,  a 


158  BISHOP   MARVIX. 

contract  with  the  preacher — "  they  which  preach  the  Gospel 
shoukl  live  of  the  Gospel."  The  contract  engages  the 
Word,  which  js  an  ininiutahle  thing.  The  reputed  author  of 
*' Post  Oak  Circuit"  and  an  authority  on  Gospel-finance, 
after  he  had  been  all  througli  the  connection  in  his  General 
Superintendency,  "found  confirmation,"  he  says,  ''to  an 
opinion  long  since  formed,  that  if  a  man  will  take  care  of 
his  Lord's  interests,  looking  neither  to  tlu^  right  hand  nor  the 
left,  his  Lord  will  take  care  of  him."  So  the  Lord  of  the 
servants  said,  "  he  that  reapeth  receiveth  wages."  The 
Itinerancy  has  survived  for  more  than  a  century  on  that 
word  and  fetill  lives  on  it.  It  does  not  leave  the  sheep, 
because  it  is  not  an  hireling,  and  the  chief  and  good  Shep- 
herd sees  to  it  that  the  feeders  of  his  iiock  are  themselves 
fed.  God  undertakes  the  stewardship  for  his  preachers. 
If  the  stewards  of  the  Church  are  slow  and  the  people 
negligent,  at  the  opportune  moment  coming  from  unlooked- 
for  sources,  there  is  a  raven  with  bread  in  his  beak.  The 
preachers  have  great  facility  and  boldness  in  this  faith ; 
often  on  their  lips,  it  is  a  miracle  how  I  have  gotten  along, 
but  the  miracle,  if  necessary,  is  performed — there  is  manna 
every  day,  though  it  falls  in  the  night.  Trust  in  God  is 
their  unfailinij:  "  basket  and  store."  During  a  long  life, 
they  begin  each  ecclesiastical  year  with  what  Bishop  Marvin 
wrote  in  his  Diary  on  the  first  day  of  the  calendar  year, 
1809  :  "  I  praise  God  for  a  new  year,  and  trust  Ilim  for  the 
future." 

The  history  of  his  year,  in  1844-45,  in  the  City  of  St. 
Louis,  and  his  graduation  in  the  course  of  study  and  in  the 
orders  of  the  ministry,  belong  to  the  next  chapter.  What 
is  to  be  noted  in  this  chapter  is  the  fact  that  he  was  a  repre- 
sentative and  product  of  the  plan  of  ]\Iinisterial  Education 
peculiar  to  Methodism.  It  is  based  on  the  Wesleyan 
aphorism,  "  gaining  knowledge  is  a  good  thing,  saving  souls 
is  better ;  "  and  constructed  on  the  theory  of  expediency, 


THE    METHODIST    PREACHER.  1")9 

that  it  is  sufficient  for  teaching  by  its  rule  of  "  study  and 
preach  what  you  k'arn,"  and  the;  best  for  adaptation  by  the 
reciprocal  sympathies  of  contact  Avith  the  masses  ;  and  in 
the  curriculum,  the  study  of  men  the  text-book  of  efficiency 
— in  this  concurrent  trainino;  intended  to  make  both  the  zeal- 
ous  evangelist  an^l  the  sound  theologian.  It  is  claimed  for  its 
methods  that  they  do  make,  exceptionally,  the  wise  ruler, 
the  acceptable  pastor,  and  the  effective  preacher.  The  sys- 
tem is  explained  and  defended  in  the  following  extract  from 
the  yien  of  the  Methodist  Bishop  who  presides  over  the 
Board  of  Trust  of  the  Vander])ilt  University,  with  both  its 
Academy  and  its  Theological'Seminary  : 

Wesleyan  Methodism  holds  the  true  theory  on  mhiisterial  educatioti. 
It  has  iit'vcr  made  the  chissics  or  graduation  in  a  theological  school  the 
sine  qua  iion  for  any  grade  of  the  ministry.  I  am  confident  even  to  bold- 
ness on  this  subject.  I  would  be  willing  to  go  before  a  jury  of  unpreju- 
cliced  and  intelligent  men,  selected  by  the  advocates  of  the  opposite 
theory,  and  undertake  to  prove  that  it  is^ impracticable,  unreasonable,  un- 
philosophical  and  nnscriptural.  The  Gospel  will  never  be  preached,  nor 
the  world  converted,  if  we  wait  fastidiously  for  such  thorough  preparation 
<)f  all  the  instruments.  Many  men  are  truly  called  to  preach  who  must  be 
classed  as  inieducated,  and  circumstances  prevent  their  rising  out  of  that 
class.  And  yet  their  ministry  has  been  owned  of  God.  It  has  found  a 
large  proportion  of  the  world  well  adapted  to  be  operated  on  by  its  instru- 
mentality. The  seal  of  the  Master  is  set  too  plainly  on  such  a  ministry 
for  us  to  doubt  its  right.  Methodism  owes  too  much  to  it  to  allow  it  to  be 
questioned.  As  a  Church  we  have  openly  espoused  it,  used  it,  vindicated 
it. 

Methodism  is  not  opposed  to  the  education  of  the  minis- 
try ;  on  the  contrary,  it  prizes  and  patronizes  it.  But  it  pre- 
fers an  uneducated  ministry  to  an  unpreached  Gospel.  Its 
method  is  illustrated  by  contrast,  and  its  Christian  wisdom 
and  denominational  value  have  recognition  from  within  the 
lines  of  other  churches,  where  the  educational  test  and  the 
exclusively  Seminary-supply  of  preachers  obtain,  as  in  the 
following  extract  from  the  colunnis  of  the  iV^.  Y.  Indepen- 
dent : 

The  truth  is,  that  neither  Congregationaiista  nor  Presbyterians  do 
what  they  ought  and  can  in  church  extension.     Both  are  working  largely 


160  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

in  a  false  way.  Tli.  y  app'  ul  too  exclusively  to  a  '•  Presbyterian  element" 
or  "  a  Congreijational  element  "  in  the  pupulation,  instead  of  jioinu;  every- 
where, like  their  Baptist  and  Methodist  bretliren,  preaching  the  Word. 
And  the  difficnlty  is  not  far  to  seek.  They  a;e  always  complaining  tliat 
the  laborers  arc  few.  The  complaint  is  never  heard  amo:ig  Metiiodists. 
They  always  have  a  man  to  put  i.i  every  fijld,  and  they  find  men  who  are 
reasonably  well  adapted  to  the  people  with  whom  they  are  to  deal.  Con" 
gregationali>ts  and  Presbyterians,  on  the  other  l;and,  have  rules  as  siiff 
as  cast-iron.  Every  preacher  must  have  been  a  studious  recluse  for  ten 
years.  The  young  preacher  doesn't  feel  at  home  unless  he  can  get  into  a 
box  and  read  an  essay  to  a  class  of  people  who  have  been  used  to  such 
performances  in  Connecticut.  If  the  settlers  do  not  like  that  kind  of 
minislration,  he  complains  that  there  is  no  New  England  element  in  the 
place,  and  that  none  but  Methodists  can  flourish  there.  Fancy  Paul  dis- 
couraged because  he  could  not  find  a  Tarsus  element  in  Corinth!  or 
Timothy  allowing  a  church  of  believers  to  languish  for  lack  of  elders, 
raised,  if  necessary,  on  the  spot — good  Methotlist  local  preachers,  Avhom 
he  could  lind  and  train  and  ordain  in  every  place!  Unless  the  policy  for 
which  the  Cumberland  Presbytery  was  exscinded,  but  which  has  given  it 
a  hundred  thousand  members,  and  made  it  the  only  Presbyterian  body  in 
the  country  which  can  reach  the  masses  as  a  rival  for  iMethodism — unless 
this  policy  of  preaching  the  Word  everywhere,  to  the  lowest  and  poorest, 
by  the  best  men  attainable,  if  not  the  best  men  desirable,  be  adopted  by 
Coiigregationalistsand  Presbyterians,  they  will  deserve  to  be  pushed  to  the 
wall  by  their  more  Christian  neighbors.  We  were  grieved  to  hear  good 
men  a'  the  Council  bewailing  the  lack  of  ministers,  and  saying  that  the 
half  million  called  for  would  have  to  lie  idh;  in  the  treasury  unless  more 
educated  young  men  could  be  induced  to  enter  thi;  ministry.  If  our  col- 
lege-bred young  men  are  insufficient,  shall  the  gospel  go  unpreached?  If 
these  hold  their  peace,  may  not  the  very  stones  cry  out?  Who  will 
forbid? 

The  Methodist  method  of  train iiii;;,  likewise,  superin- 
duces a  coiiventioiiul  niaimerisni.  (ioiiig  along  with  the 
spirit  and  plan  of  itinertincy  that  makes  Methodism  the 
Church  of  the  people,  it  captivates  the  popuhir  heart  — 
so  it  appeared  to  a  wise  man  of  the  world,  and  was  re- 
marked of  it  by  Horace  Greeley,  who  w^as  the  Philosopher 
of  American  journalism  : 

The  growth  and  strength  of  Methodism  in  America  are  of  interest 
outside  of  all  sectional  considerations,  as  one  of  the  waves  which  mark 
the  progress  of  the  great  current  of  universal  civilization  and  human 
progress.  There  is  something  in  the  creed  and  history  of  this  church,  but 
still  more  in  their  manner  of    teaching,  wliich  appeals   directly  to  the 


THE    METHODIST   PREACHER.  IGl 

feelings  of  the  lower  and  middle  classes.  Tlie  primary  fact  that  they  took 
their  rise  in  a  vigorous  and  rigliteous  protest  against  the  effeteiiess  and 
inertia  of  an  aristocratic  establishment,  appeals  to  the  drop  of  demo- 
cratic hlood  in  every  man  who  thinl<s  that  social  fate  has  wronged  hira; 
the  enforced  poverty  of  their  ministers,  tlie  system  of  itinerancy,  their 
favorite  mode  of  passionate  address,  in  which  the  priest  forces  the  sinner, 
as  it  were,  into  actual  personal  contact  with  his  Malcer,  all  make  this  sect 
the  exponent  and  receptacle  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  and  for 
this  cause  render  it  wortliy  the  attention  and  scrutiny  of  the  unbiased 
thinker. 

The  pulpit  of  Bishop  Marvin,  in  its  evangelical  tone  and 
impassioned  manner  and  alike  eminent  in  its  endowments  of 
intellectual  and  theological  culture,  was  the  product  of  the 
school  of  the  itinerancy.  Under  a  system  which  at  the  same 
time  required  no  certificate  from  the  Academy  or  Divinity- 
School  to  enter  the  Conference  and  enjoined  by  rule  and 
by  exacting  admonition  the  most  diligent  study  afterwards, 
he  was  self-educated,  and,  in  a  true  sense,  well-educated. 
It  is  known  that  he  has  served  during  twenty  years  as  a 
standing  advertisement  of  that  school — the  "  colleire  on 
horseback"  Caples  called  it  in  his  celebrated  speech  at  the 
Missouri  Conference  held  in  18G0,  at  St.  Charles,  and  which 
is  reported  in  his  Life  by  Bishop  jNlarvin 

This  chapter  has  been  prolonged  to  exhibit,  in  a  com- 
bined view,  the  portrait  of  Marvin,  the  Methodist  preacher. 
At  last  a  father  and  leader,  from  first  to  last  he  was  a  true 
son  of  the  Church — an  exponent  and  defender  of  Methodist 
principles :  personally,  not  an  innovator,  obedient  and  loyal, 
"  not  to  mend  the  rules,  but  to  keep  them,  not  for  wrath, 
but  conscience  sake,"  and  because  he  approved,  admired  and 
gloried  in  them  :  ofiicially,  in  the  preacher's  desk,  his  pulpit 
a  rampart  of  the  Methodist  Creed  ;  in  the  judicial  chair, 
with  jealous  eye  and  strong  hand,  the  fearless  and  faithful 
guardian  of  the  order  and  integrity  of  Methodist  Discipline  ; 
in  the  pastor's  seat,  the  vigilant  sentinel  over  the  purity  of 
the  Church,  which  is  the  power  and  the  badge  of  primitive 

Methodism,  "  sound  in  doctrine  and  hol}^  in  life." 
11 


102  BI8IIOP    MAKVIN. 

Ill  Ills  jiddrcss  ;it  the  Centcimiul  cclc])r;iti()ii  of  North 
Carolina  jVIiithodisin,  its  peroration  began  with  a  look  at  the 
original  i)aintini»"  of  the  death-bed  of  \\'e.sh'v  h(^  had  seen 
at  Randolph  jNlMcon  Colleij^e.  Before  it,  in  a  hiii'h  sentiment 
of  veneration,  lu;  liad  stood,  and  in  his  sensibility  ]nini>led 
with  "  the  iiroup  of  reverend  men  and  \v('ei)ing  women  " 
pietnrc(l  al)out  the  bed  of  the  founibn"  of  Methodism.  His 
pen-portrait  he  had  drawn  in  the  address,  as  the  Agent  of 
the  Great  Revival  which  has  made  the  earth  glad  and  made 
many  a  high-day  in  heaven,  and  the  father  of  a  generation 
of  faithful  men,  like-minded,  who  continue  to  this  hour. 
The  closing  word  faces  a  company  of  his  followers  after  a 
hundred  years,  in  pulpit  and  pews  ;  some  at  the  very  mo- 
ment of  his  utterance,  as  Blake,  on  the  S[)()t,  beloved  and 
saintl}",  staniia^  ap.irt  f ro  n  tlie  toiling  company,  o)i  tlie 
bank  of  the  river,  with  visions  of  beckoning  angels  and 
just  ready  to  tak3  win^  and  jahi  their  flight — "  reidy  to 
preach  and  ready  to  die  " — and  tliis  the  sublime  sentiment 
of  their  calling  and  his  own,  in  the  succession  of  Wesley, 
Coke  and  Asbury.  "  Blessed  l)e  God  that  y(m  and  I  have 
been  admitted  to  this  com[)any  at  a  time  Avheu  in  the  midst 
of  centennial  rejoicings  we  enter  into  the  abundant  labors 
of  these  glorified  men.  AVhen  we  transmit  the  inheritance 
to  our  successors  may  they  not  find  it  all  gone  to  barrenness 
and  weeds  under  our  thi-iftless  hands.  God  forl)id  !  May 
we  so  live  that  the  tears  of  our  survivors  shall  be  made 
iridescent  with  the  glory  of  our  departure  !  May  we  leave 
the  great  revival  in  full  vigor  when  We  go  to  join  the  multi- 
tude of  Methodists  on  Mount  Zion,  in  the  general  assembly 
and  church  of   the  Firstborn  !" 

lie  was  a  true  itinerant — "  a  son  in  the  Gospel,"  never 
objecting,  and  with  a  glad  mind  and  will  accepting  appointed 
*'  times  and  places  of  labor."  When  he  made  appoint- 
ments he  never  sent  a  preacher  to  a  harder  circuit  than  he 
had  traveled,  nor  assigned  harder  labors  than  he  imposed  on 


THE    METHODIST    rilEACHEK.  103 

himself,  leaving  the  President's  chair  of  the  Conference  to 
travel  circuits  and  go  the  round  of  districts,  as  in  Calif ornia  ; 
as  Bishop,  as  when  preacher  in  charge,  the  pastor  of  the 
people  as  well  as  of  the  preachers,  going  from  house  to 
house,  as  at  Lexington,  Virginia,  the  city  of  colleges,  and 
among  the  miners'  huts  of  Montana  ;  and  in  the  travel  of 
the  general  superintendency,  it  was  through  the  connection. 
At  last  a  line  of  travel  girded  the  earth — all  about  the 
Master's  business,  to  go  and  to  preach :  the  itinerant 
preacher,  sometimes  sick,  oftener  weary,  but  though  "faint 
yet  pursuing,"  and  always  ready  and  always  willing  and 
loving  to  preach,  and  according  to  his  measure  and  more, 
in  fact,  than  any  man  in  his  generation,  "  preaching  every- 
where :"  all,  the  actuation  of  the  liord's  command  and  a 
Methodist  Preacher's  experience — saved  from  wrath  him- 
self and  seeing  it  impending  over  the  heads  of  his  fellow 
men — standini>-  on  the  Rock  of  Ao-es  and  from  that  heio-ht 
takins:  in  the  Avhole  world  and  looking  throuirh  the  eves  of 
Jesus,  who  loved  and  died  to  save  it.  To  show  the  way  of 
salvation  was  his  loved  employ — 

-     **  Which  might  fill  an  angel's  heart, 
And  filled  the  Saviour's  hands;" 

and  the  manner  of  it  Christ-like,  "  to  seek  and  to  save." 

His  supreme  earthh"  ambition  was  in  the  fields  of  seed- 
•sovvinir  and  for  sowin<>;  beside  all  waters,  and  his  briohtest 
hope  the  return  "  with  rejoicing  bringing  his  sheaves  with 
him" — so,  he  wrote  as  he  did  of  his  tirst  convert  on  Grun- 
dy Mission  and  said  to  his  old  friend,  D.  K.  Pitman,  who 
bore  to  him  the  tender  of  the  [)residency  of  a  college : 
"  Tell  the  brethren  that  I  would  not  give  up  my  pastoral 
work  for  all  the  presidencies  in  the  land."  He  would  not 
have  laid  aside  the  plain  coat  of  a  Methodist  Preacher  for 
the  silk  robe  and  rich  see  of  an  unpreaching  })relate,  and 
would  not  and  could  not  be  other  than  an  itinerant  Bishop. 
He  carried  the  life  and  labors  of  a  Methodist  Preacher  into 


1G4 


BISHOP    MARVIN. 


every  high  position  and  every  hiuh  office  ho  filled.  He 
loved  and  cherished  the  very  name,  not  in  vain  glory, 
but  as  it  was  an  index  of  the  miJssionary  spirit  of  the  Church 
and  the  charity  of  the  Gospel,  so  defined  and  hallowed  by 
the  heroism  of  Methodist  history — in  ^Marvin  the  itinerancy 
was  a  rival  to  the  loves  of  his  household  ;  as  in  Dr.  Newton, 
a  life-long  British  itinerant,  it  enraptured  his  hope  and  his 
heart  in  its  last  pulse  ;  "Glory  to  God  !  I  am  an  old  Metho- 
dist Preacher." 


4:^3^"^ 


C  II  xV  P  T  E  11     IX. 


GRADUATED    IN    THE    MINISTRY. 

Fourth  Street  Station,  St.  Louis— The  assistant  preacher— Trial  sermon 
— Dawnius-  reputation — His  work — Incidents  and  anecdotes— Supple- 
mentary ministerial  training— Study  of  men— Student  of  nature— His 
theory— Sayings — Experiences- Incidents — Boolis- Collateral  studies 
— "We  tell  one  another"— The  Conference  curriculum— Bible-student 
—Habit  and  manner  of  study— His  examination- Ordained  elder— Offi- 
cial honors — Incidents — His  life  a  copy  of  the  ritual— Ordination  vows 
— The  sworn  officer- Bishop  Marvin's  portrait  of  a  Methodist  preacher. 

THE  Missouri  Conference  met  in  the  City  of  St.  Louis, 
September  25th,  1844,  Bishop  Morris  presiding.  Rev. 
Wesley  Browning  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  Fourth 
Street  Church.  An  assistant  preacher  was  neededo  This 
church,  with  the  exception  of  the  African  charge,  was  the 
only  Methodist  church  in  the  city  up  to  the  year  1842,  when 
two  additional  societies  were  organized,  the  Centenary  and 
the  Mound  churches — swarmed  from  the  "Old  Hive,"  as 
it  was  spoken  of  in  that  day.  In  the  following  year  another 
charge  was  formed,  St.  Louis  South,  subsequently  called 
Wesley  Chapel,  and  now  Chouteau  Avenue  Church.  These 
colonizations  reduced  the  membership  greatly  at  the  old 
church  ;  but  under  the  labois  of  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Boyle, 
who  had  been  transferred  from  the  Pittsbur£r  Conference 
and  appointed  to  the  charge  in  1842  and  serving  it  two 
years,  it  had  prospered  greatly.  There  had  been  hirge  ac- 
cession to  the  membership  and  the  congregation,  the  fruits 
of  his  eminent  pulpit  ability  and  extraordinary  skill  and  ti- 


1()G  .  BISHOP    .AIAnVIN. 

delitv  as  a  pastor,  as  well  ;is  of  rcniiirkablc  inn'ival  mcct*m<'"s 
during  his  term.  The  pastoral  work,  hence,  became  very 
Liborious — such  as  it  liad  been  when,  in  is,')!),  it  retjuired 
Sihis  Comfort  and  W.  M.  Daily,  and,  in  1841,  the  hitter  and 
George  C.  Light.  It  was  a  common  saying  among  the 
members,  of  the  one  3^ear,  they  had  "daily  comfort"  and 
of  the  next,  "  daily  light."  In  1S44  their  supply  avus 
Browning  and  iNIarvin,  in  the  tra(htions  of  the  church  in 
that  year  distinguished  as — the  men  of  prayer. 

At  this  session  INIarvin "preached  his  first  sermon  at  Con- 
ference. It  Avas  followed  by  his  appointment  to  the  Station 
as  junior  preacher.  How  both  occurrences  hap[)ened  it  is 
easy  to  conjecture.  Once  he  undertook,  from  the  character 
of  the  man,  to  make  up  the  history  of  his  eai'ly  training 
after  "  the  manner  of  the  rationalists,  "  as  ho  said.  By  the 
same  method  w^e  may  know  how  he  2:ot  to  St.  Louis,  Avliere 
the  Conference  was  held  and  at  which  he  preached.  The 
people  had  the  opportunity  and  wanted  a  voice  in  the  se- 
lection of  the  assistant  preacher — Browning  they  knew. 
That  sermon,  wc  may  be  sure,  was  a  trial  sermon.  Only 
the  report  of  a  single  remark  h:is  reached  these  pages. 
The  tenor  of  the  sermon  seems  to  ha\'c  been  like  that  of  the 
first  sermon  he  ever  preached,  at  Old  Bethlehem  ;  of  which 
a  hearer  still  living  says,  ho  dwelt  much  en  the  "  lost  soul :  " 
in  the  St.  Louis  sermon,  in  allusion  to  its  condition  in  a  fu- 
ture state,  saying — "All  I  know  about  it  is  that  the  Bible 
calls  it  hclJ.  "  The  reporter  of  the  remark  remembers,  also, 
that  his  manner  was  very  earnest  in  voice  and  gesture.  It 
is  to  be  inferred  that  the  jurors  were  satisfied  with  the  ser- 
mon and  took  him  for  their  young  preacher;  encouraged, 
perhaps,  also  by  his  dawning  re[)utation  as  a  preacher  and 
the  emphatic  pro|)liccy  of  a  distinguished  outcome  for  him, 
made  by  his  Presiding  Elder  in  open  Conference.  His  im- 
mediate successor  on  Liberty  Circuit  says:  "I  found  his 
praise  in  all  the  churches  and  thoughtful  ones  already  pre- 


finADrATKI)    IN    TIIK    AIINISTItV.  1G7 

<.li(;ted  for  him  an  unusual  future  ;  "  and  his  latest  successor 
rci)orts  that  the  few  survivors  from  among  the  old  member- 
ship unitedly  testify,  that  "  the  i)e()i)l(^  universally  loved  to 
liear  him  jjreach  and  ivgarded  him  as  '  a  very  i)romising 
3^oung  man,"  "  In  representing  him,  after  the  old  style, 
on  the  passage  of  character,  the  very  words  of  lledmau  are 
preserved,  recollected  by  INIr.  Holmes,  who  saw  Marvin  for 
the  first  lime  at  this  Conference.  His  attention  was  arres- 
ted bv  his  person  and  ])Osture — "an  angular,  loose  built 
form,  with  long,  tanglfd  hair,  standing  ui)  and  eagerly 
listeninir  to  an  animated  address  bv  J.  M.  Jameson,  '  Who 
hi  the  world  is  that?'  was  asked  of  Caples,  and  answered 
iu  his  characteristic  way  :  '  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam. ' 
Presently  his  name  was^  called,  and  another  report  of  him 
was  given  by  his  Presiding  Elder:  '  liishop,  he  is  a  green- 
looking  bov,  hut  I  tell  you  he  can  preach:  and  if  he  lives 
he  will  be  a  .star. '  " 

His  biographer,  then  in  his  seventeenth  year  and  a  mem- 
l)er  at  Old  Eourth  Street,  will  be  allowed  to  claim  Marvin 
as  having  l)een  his  preacher ;  but  only  for  a  few  weeks,  hav- 
ins:  ^eft  home  for  several  yeava  absence  at  scho(d.  He  has 
no  important  personal  recollections  of  him  at  that  date,  and 
there  are  few  incidents  collected  in  his  notes.  The  refer- 
ence to  his  work  made  by  himself  in  the  obituary  notice  of 
"(he  old  Methodist  l)onnet, "  on  a  foregoing  page,  shows 
that  he  was  a  helper  in  jjastoral  visiting — in  that  instance  at 
the  house  of  a  "  Mother  in  Israel,'"  such  as  to  young  preach- 
ers is  often  a  refuge  as  well  as  resort,  to  obtain  as  to  impart 
comfort. 

There  is  this  testimony  from  a  member  of  the  church  of 
that  day.  Rev.  John  Hogan  :  "I  heard  him  preach  often — 
always  with  attention  and  interest — I  hope  always  with  a 
blessing  to  mvself .  The  first  sermon  I  heard  from  him  was 
on  the  text,  '  lilessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord,'  etc. 
The  occasion  was  the  death  of  a  lovely  Christian  woman. 


1(58  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

That  sennou  was  iiulioative  of  his  future  greatness."  He 
is  best  remembered  in  connection  with  the  protracted  nieet- 
ino-s  and  in  the  altar-work — the  earnest  and  pungent  exhor-  . 
tation  and  especially  his  prayers.  In  prayer,  it  is  known, 
how  his  colleague  has  "power  with  (iod  and  with  man" — 
then,  as  when  ho  closed  the  funeral  service  over  the  remains 
of  his  Bishop,  who  had  l)een  his  helper,  with  that  remarka- 
ble prayer,  as  it  has  been  spokcMi  of.  They  were  compan- 
ions in  prayer  then,  in  the  haliit  and  power  of  it — thc^ 
younger  keeping  pace  with  the  older  footsteps  in  approach 
to  the  Holy  Presence.  It  is  traditional  that  it  was  remarked,/ 
his  very  face  did  shine,  and  members  used  to  come  near  to 
the  altar  and  look  up  in  prayer  to  see  the  halo  upon  his 
countenance.  So  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Avis,  one  of  the  few  sur- 
vivors of  the  old  members  of  that  year,  relates  it,  giving 
instances. 

This  Conference  year  is  important  in  this  history,  as  the 
last  of  his  four  years'  course  of  training  for  graduation  in 
the  Ministry.  The  three  preceding  years,  on  Circuit  work, 
served  special  uses,  such  as  have  been  heretofore  indicated. 
The  itinerant  spirit  was  nurtured.  It  purilied  and  tempered 
the  metal  that  was  in  him .  The  ready  and  effective  preacher 
was  blocked  out.  In  all  these  respects,  besides  the  testi- 
monies to  the  nature  and  value  of  such  training  already  ad- 
duced, there  is  a  remarkable  one  from  the  Life  of  the  cele- 
brated Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  who  was  a  jNfarvin  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  The  following  extract  from  his  jour- 
nal reads  like  an  entry  in  a  Methodist  preacher's  diary  : 

The  winter  was  hard,  aiul  the  farm  houses  iu  which  I  preached  dur- 
ing llie  week  were  very  uucouifortable  phices  for  spealsiiig.  The  attention 
of  tlie  common  i)eople  was  awal<e  for  a  considerable  distance  around,  but 
lliey  were  generally  very  ignorant  of  the  doctrines  of  religion,  and  my 
preaching  was  more  of  the  didactic  than  the  hortatory  kind.  I  had  no 
books  with  me  but  my  small  pocket  Bible,  and  found  very  little  in  the 
houses  where  I  stopped.  I  was  therefore  thrown  back  entirely  on  my  own 
thoughts.  I  studied  every  sermon  on  horseback  and  in  bed  before  T  went 
to  sleep,  and  some  of  the  best  sermons  that  I  ever  prepared  were  digested 
in  this  way  and  at  this  time. 


GRADUATED    IN    TIIK    MINISTRY.  109 

Rev.  Dr.  Ilall,  in  his  sermon  on  the  occasion  of  the  death 
of  Dr.  Alexander,  in  comment  on  his  career,  remarks  that 
*' one  of  the  chief  external  means  by  which  he  attained  to 
his  pre-eminent  excellencies  as  a  preacher  was  his  spending 
several  years  after  licensure  and  ordination,  and  during  his 
l)rei)aration  for  the  ministry,  in  itinerant  missionary  service, 
preaching  in  the  humblest  and  most  destitute  places,  often 
in  the  o[)en  air,  and  adapting  his  language  and  manner  to 
minds  that  needed  the  plainest  kind  of  instructions."  This 
is  the  iSIethodist  system  of  training.  It  will  be  a  sorry  day 
for  jSIcthodism  if  it  shall  ever  become  obsolete  or  materially 
modified.  It  is  a  strikino;  testimonv  to  its  value  that  Dr. 
Hall  would  have  it  incorporated  into  the  Presbyterian  sa'S- 
tem,  and  says  that  it  would  be  a  good  day  for  their  ministry 
and  Church  when  the  performance  of  a  term  of  such  itinerant 
service  shall  be  exacted  as  part  of  the  trial  of  every  pro- 
bationer before  ordination.  It  made  the  Alexander  of  the 
Presbyterians.  The  village  preaching  made  the  best  British 
pulpit.  Bishop  iSIarvin  was  instructed  in  that  school,  also, 
in  practical  adaptation — that  education  of  the  Circuit  need- 
ing, however,  to  be  supplemented  bv  the  intercourse  and 
experiences  of  his  year  of  city  life.  Both  familiarized  him, 
in  knowledge  and  sympathy,  with  all  walks  and  all  conditions 
of  society.  Among  the  books  for  a  preacher  to  study, 
Bisho})  Marvin  specifies — "  men."  He  became,  thus,  a  man 
of  common  sense  and  a  man  of  the  people. 

Before  takinn;  him  from  his  tirst  countrv  work,  it  mav 
be,  properly,  noted  that  he  was  a  student  of  nature.  Born 
and  reared  in  the  country,  it  was  his  tirst  text-book.  In  his 
traveled  life,  than  his,  perhaps,  no  human  eye  has  rested  on  a 
broader  or  richer  landscape  of  nature.  In  the  divisions  and 
descriptions  of  physical  geography  there  are  none  upon 
which  his  feet  have  not  stood  or  eye  looked — all  conti- 
nents, the  great  oceans  and  principal  gulfs  and  seas,  the 
vegetation  of  all  climates,  the  minerals  of  all  mountains,  the 


170  lusirop  :\iARVix. 

scenery  of  the  earth  or  tlie  ftice  of  the  sky  in  ahnost  all  lat- 
itudes and  in  all  longitudes.  None  have  ])een  more  ardent 
lovers  of  nature  and  fe\v  closer  observers,  Avith  constant  eye 
and  telescopic  rtingc  and  niicroscoi)ic  gaze.  Here  is  hit> 
diary  for  a  t\v<dvenionth,  almost  every  page  of  which  bears 
the  stain  and  outline  of  the  flowers  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and 
its  mountain  ranges.  Every  letter  the  writer  Received  from 
liim  in  liis  Western  tours  contained  enclosure  of  the  herbage 
of  the  plains  and  surrounding  mountains  of  the  Mississip[)i 
basin.  He  suspended  the  notes  of  Episcopal  labors  to  note 
the  flow  of  a  river  in  Texas,  or  photograph  the  face  of  the 
ocean  on  the  Pacific,  or  bound  the  plain  of  Deseret,  or  paint 
the  heavens  in  a  storm  on  the  Mexican  Gulf.  He  excused 
himself  from  a  room-full  of  company  for  his  Louisiana 
friends,  to  give  to  them,  in  the  columns  of  their  Church, 
paper,  the  grand  landscape  picture  it  is  of  Shasta.  Of  soils 
and  their  i)roductions,  corn-fields  and  rice-fields  ;  the  wheat 
of  California  and  the  stranirc  whcat-berrv  of  Montana  and 
the  rank  growth  at  Genneseret,  in  Palestine  ;  the  grasses  of 
the  Western  plains  and  of  the  Texan-range  ;  the  coffee-bush 
of  Ceylon  and  the  tea-[)lant  of  China — wherever  he  went  he 
never  tired  of  noliciniz"  or  writinir  about  the  fields  of  nature 
and  the  farms  of  the  people. 

How  this  study  of  nature  entered  into  the  make-up  of 
the  man  and  the  measure  of  his  ])()\vers,  lias  explanation  in 
what  was  with  him  a  favorite  theory,  strongly  and  frequently 
asserted.  He  has  put  a  succinct  statement  of  it  in  these 
words:  "Man  seems  to  have  been  made  for  nature,  or 
rather,  nature  for  man.  The  subjective  and  the  objective 
answer  to  each  other.  Not  more  exact  is  the  correspondence 
between  the  seal  and  its  own  impress."  His  mear.ing  was 
expressed  and  enlarged  when  retiring  from  the  survey  of  a. 
grand  landscape,  he  said  :  "I  took  it  with  me.  It  has  gone 
into  consciousness  to  live  there  forever."  With  him  it  was 
not  a  transient  view  and  not  an  evanescent  impi'cssion.     In 


GRADUATED    l.N    THK    MIMSTKY.  171 

his  vocabulaiy — as  an  observer,  tlic  uudcrstiuulinii:  is  "bring- 
ing the  facts  of  inaiiiiiiat(!  nature  into  consr-iousness,"  and 
extensive  observation  is  a  deposit  tiiere  of  "a  hirge  accuinn- 
hitiou  of  the  objective  ;"  they  have  there  "a  sort  of  second 
existence  ;"  the  impressions  are  transmutations  of  the  ma- 
terial "  becoming  part  and  parcel  of  youi'self  ;  "  it  is,  tiiere- 
fore,  in  consciousness  not  a  dead,  but  living  thing, 
"vitalized  in  tliought  and  taking  fire  with  intelligence  and 
fused  into  sensibility."  Such  expressions  explain  his  theory 
and  indicate  how  the  study  of  nature,  to  an  uncommon  ex- 
t»*nt,  shaped  him  in  his  mental  and  spiritual  constitution, 
and  furnished  him  for  his  work.  How  it  cultured  the  emo- 
tions and  not  so  much  elevated  as  created  tin;  imagination, 
are  intnnated  in  his  own  Avords  :  "All  beautiful  thinirs  in 
the  mind  are  vital  with  esthetic  feeling  ;"  the  dead  things, 
coming  to  life  there,  not  onlv  "  form  the  texture  of  thoui>ht, 
iheT/  become  iJiought : ' '  as  though  a  mountain  should  be 
transmuted  into  sublime  imagination  and  the  odor  of  a  iiower 
into  a  fragrant  sensibility  and  all  beautiful  and  grand 
things  in  external  nature,  not  only  the  pattern  but  trans- 
formed into  personal  conceptions  of  order  and  beauty  and 
sublimity. 

What  is,  hence,  common  to  all  experience  was  height- 
ened in  his.  Uncommonly,  the  Book  of  Nature,  to  his  study, 
was  a  word  of  divine  revelation ;  and,  as  an  mterpreter  of 
God,  its  study  brought  the  infinite  Presence  into  every 
chamber  of  consciousness  and  filled  his  conceptions  with 
the  glory  and  jiower  of  the  xVlmighty.  It  was  a  customary 
experience — what  he  wrote  of  a  sojourn,  in  1^70,  among 
the  mountains  of  Virginia,  "I  had  nmch  connnunion  with 
God  throuirh  His  works."'  On  the  coast  of  the  other  o-reat 
ocean  the  description  of  a  huge  pile  of  nmral  grandeurs  and 
its  crowning  summit  begins  and  ends  :  "O,  the  mountains  ! 
the  mountains  !  I  had  a  full  view,  though  a  distant  one,  Qf 
the  monarch  of  them  all — Shasta.  *  *  * 


172  BISHOP    MARVrX. 

This  imposing  scene  has  helped  me,  I  trust,  to  a  more  ade- 
quate y^'e?/;/^,  if  not  to  a  juster  conception  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  I^ord's  House."  In  liis  walks  through  the  hiboratory 
of  nature  and  his  observation  of  all  its  forms  and  processes 
in  animal,  vcgeta1)le,  and  mineral  life,  he  found  and  fash- 
ioned instruments  of  pastoral  instruction  and  pulpit  power  : 
to  embellish  a  discourse  and  to  illustrate  the  Cfospel ;  as  in 
the  whole  of  that  in  his  volume  of  Sermons,  entitled  "  The 
Corn  of  Wheat ;  "  and  as  when  he  i)reached  on  the  parable 
of  the  Sower,  concerning  the  seed  which  "  brought  forth  no 
fruit  to  perfection,"  the  simile  from  the  "  nu])bin  "  of  corn, 
which  is  not  cribbed,  sent  men  home  panic-stricken  with  con- 
viction that  the  seed  had  been  sown  "  among  thorns." 

The  year  in  St.  Louis  was  favorable  to  the  study  of 
books,  and  preparation  for  examination  in  the  course  of 
studv  at  the  end  of  the  year.  According  to  the  recollection 
of  the  writer,  his  home  Avas  in  the  family  of  Rev.  Dr.  Boyle, 
who  had  a  large  and  varied  library,  literary  and  theologi- 
cal, to  which,  doubtless,  he  had  access.  From  his  thirst 
for  knowledge,  shown  from  his  childhood,  it  is  easily  con- 
jectured, he  improved  this  opportunity  diligently  and  with 
advantage.  He  was,  more  than  is,  perhaps,  commonly 
supposed,  book-learned.  During  the  course  of  the  lirst 
lialf  of  his  ministerial  life  he  had  collected  a  respectable 
library,  not  remarkably  large  but  select,  containing  the 
classics  of  English  literature  and  standard  works  in  various 
departments  of  learning.  This  librarj^  was  destroved  by 
fire  occurring  in  the  Pastor's  office  at  Centenary  Church, 
when  he  was  stationed  there.  His  library,  therefore,  was 
not  extensive  at  the  time  of  his  death.  The  few  books  are, 
in  like  manner,  a  choice  selection — books  which  contain  radi- 
cal knowledge  and  are  seed-plats  of  thought. 

His  ac()uirements  in  learning  were  varied,  and,  though 
not  in  all,  yet  in  some,  were  thorough  and  profound.  He 
had  knowleds^e  of  Latin,  and  of  (ireek  sufficient  for  critical 


GRADUATED    IN    THE    MINISTRY.  ITo 

study  of  the  New  Testament  in  its  oi-iiJi:in:il  language.  It 
was  picked  u[),  l)ut  Mliere  and  when  tlie  writer  does  not 
know,  except  that  it  was  before  he  came  to  St.  Louis  in  1855 
— prol)al)ly,  during  his  tirst  ministry  there,  in  1<S44:,  in  the 
family  of  Dr.  Boyle  and  by  bis  aid  or  that  of  Pollock,  then 
in  the  city — both  classical  scholars.  Among  books  in  his 
library  formerly,  was,  it  is  recollected,  text  books  of  the 
sciences  and  of  the  religion  of  the  sciences,  such  us  Dick's 
works,  and,  perhaps,  Chalmer's  Astronomical  Discourses, 
which  Avere,  in  his  time,  much  circulated.  His  sermons  and 
other  Avritings  show  familiarity  with  heathen  mythology, 
with  history,  ancient  and  modern ;  with  the  history  and 
principles  of  art,  in  music,  architecture,  painting,  and 
sculpture — in  the  sciences  and  arts  and  general  knowledge, 
his  learning,  not  adequate  for  the  Professor's  chair,  but  suf- 
ficient for  the  uses  of  the  pulpit  and  for  the  intercourse  of 
refined  society  as  a  cultured  gentleman. 

Among  such  studies  and  more  directly  collateral  to  min- 
isterial education  was  Metaphysics.  In  this  he  excelled  and 
was,  no  doubt,  capable  of  distinguished  authorship.  The 
first  chapters  of  his  "  Work  of  Christ"  are  in  proof.  His 
literary  addresses  invariably  took  that  tenor  of  discourse ; 
and  the  address,  in  1870,  at  "Washington,  now  Washington- 
Lee  College,  it  is  reported  reliably,  as  it  appeared  in  print, 
commanded  the  hiu'li  commendation  of  Gen.  Leo  and  the 
faculty,  and  was  i)ronounced  above  anything  heard  in  the 
later  history  of  that  literary  centre.  The  reader  may  find 
the  body  of  the  address  in  his  volume  of  Sermons,  under 
the  title,  "What  is  ]Man?"  Another  sermon  in  the  volume, 
entitled  "The  fountain  of  the  Water  of  Life,"  is  of  similar 
cast.  In  general,  his  writings  and  preaching  showed,  often- 
times, the  skill  of  the  metaphj'sician  in  the  portrayal  of 
character  by  severe  analysis  of  motive  and  clear  discrimina- 
tions in  Christian  casuistry. 

After  he  became  Bishop,  such  was  the  engrossment  of 


174  BISHOP   MAUVIX. 

his  time  Avith  llic  (Iciiiaiids  of  his  office  and  in  the  fiokls  of 
extraordinary  Ei)iscoi)al  visitation  and  laboi-s,  tliat  lie  Avas 
not  often  seen  Avith  a  liook  in  his  hand — then,  his  i)rinci[)al 
literary  occupation  heing  book-writiiii::  rather  llian  ])0()k- 
roadin_2:.  But  in  all  the  years-  previously  he  Avas  a  student 
of  books.  Some  testiinoni(vs  to  his  studious  hahits  in  earlier 
years  huA^e  been  mentioned.  They  Avere  known  to  all  Avho 
Avcre  in  intimate  relations  to  him,  jNIrs.  ]VI.,  in  the  first 
year  of  married  life,  found  a  book  the  rival  to  a  bride,  "  I 
recollect,"  she  says,  "his  habit  of  constant  study  and  medi- 
tation from  the  earliest  date  of  our  married  life,  both  at 
liome  and,  Avhen  I  traveled  Avith  him,  at  the  cabins  of  the 
people  and  even  on  the  road  in  the  buiruy.  He  Avas  often 
so  al)sorbed  in  readins;  or  tliou2;ht,  that  durinii;  a  Avhole  day 
of  travel  he  Avould  scarcely  speak  and  in  drivini^  Avould  run 
the  bugiry  against  the  stumps.  On  a  playful  remark  once, 
that  there  Avas  not  a  stump  in  the  road  he  Avoukl  not  strike, 
he  replied,  'my  thoughts  are  on  higher  things  than  stumps,'  " 
The  pleasant  si)irit  and  the  pun  Avere,  no  doubt,  sufficient 
propitiation  to  a  Avife  and  Avoman  naturally  patient.  "  He 
read  books  through  and  carefully,"  she  adds,  "redeeming 
time  and  using  leisure  hours  for  reading.  He  Avas  jjleased 
Avith  his  station-Avork  in  St.  Louis,  mentioning  particularly 
the  advantage  for  study,  and  the  incentive  to  it,  as  he  had 
to  preach  constantly  to  the  same  congregation.  During  one 
summer,  Avhile  he  Avas  pastor  at  Centenary,  he  had  vacation 
in  the  month  of  August,  except  filling  the  pulpit  on  Sundays, 
The  Aveek-days  he  spent  Avith  the  family,  in  Warren  County. 
He  needed  rest,  being  delicate  ;  but,  after  a  day's  rest,  he 
Avould  betake  himself  to  his  books,  Avhich  Avere  solid  read- 
ing, instead  of  visiting  the  neighbors  or  allowing  himself 
other  recreation."  At  that  date,  the  callers  at  the  Pastor's 
study  at  CentenarA'  Avill  remember  how  commonly  the  hand 
laid  doAvn  a  book  on  the  table,  Avhich  Avas,  nevertheless,  ex- 
tended to  them  in  cordial  Av^elcome. 


GUADUATED    IN    TUK    MIMSTIIY.  175 

Rov.  Dr.  B.  T.  K:ivan:iugli,  now  of  Texas,  avIio  v/as  a 
resident  in  St.  Louis  at  that,  time  aii<l  a  near  friend  then 
and  during- and  after  the  war  in  intimate  rehitions  to  liitn, 
makes  the  following  interesting  mention  of  his  student-life  : 

I  made  a  visit  to  Missouri  luid  Kentucky  in  the  suuiincr  of  LS';."),  and 
■on  my  return  to  Marshall  I  l)oarded  for  three  months  or  more  i.i  t  eianiily 
•of  Bishop  Marvin,  and  therel)y  became  more  intimately  acquainted  with 
the  liahits  and  lioniedife  of  this  renuirl^able   man.      Tiie  lirsi.  tliini;  that 
struck  me,  as  a  leading  feature  in  his  character,  was  his  indefati liable  de- 
A'otion  to  study.     He  ever  had  some  important  subject  undir  investigation, 
and  read  his  books  as  if  under  a  state  of  mental  exciteuienr.     His  counie- 
iianoe  and  manner  indicated  intense  interest  in  what  he  was  reading.     So 
far  from  assuming  an  easy  posture,  he  sat  perfectly  erect,  book  elevated 
and  directly  before  his  eye— for  he  had  but  one— and  seemed  never  to 
-evince  indifference  or  fatigne.     He  was  for  the  time  wdiolly  absoi'lted  in 
the  sul)iect  before  liim.     This  intense  style  of  study  occupied  all  the  time 
he  could  command  and  direct  into  this  channel.     When  I  perceived  this, 
it  was  no  longer  a  wonder  to  me  that  lie  was  so  universally  read  and  fa- 
miliar with   the  history  and  sciences  that  often   tound  utterance  in  his 
preaching  and  conversation.     He  was  never  satistied  witli  nur    y  skim- 
ming the  surface  of  any  subject  that  engaged  his  attention.     He  sonuht  to 
fathom  every  doctrine  and  principle  to  its  ultimate  source,  and  thereby 
■comprehend  its  force  and  philosophy.      His  reading  was  not  conlined  to 
theology  by  auy  means.      His  range  of  thought  and  investigatinu  took  a 
very  wide  range,  so  much  so  that  he  seemed  at  Lome  on  any  subject  tnat 
■was  worthj'  of  his  notice. 

It  thus  appears  that,  after  the  completion  of  the  four 
years'  course  of  study,  he  continued  to  be  a  student  during 
iill  his  pastorate — a  diligent  reader  for  a  jieriod  of  twenty- 
five  years  ;  and  not  wholly  suspending  the  ha])it  after  the 
cares  and  hibors  of  the  Episcopacy  were  ui)on  him.  In 
these  later  years  he  kept  an  eye  on  the  issues  of  the  press 
iind  kept  up  with  the  current  literature  on  all  letiding  (jues- 
tions  of  the  day.  Especially,  it  is  known  and  ai)i)ears  in  his 
own  writings,  that  he  was  well  versed  in  the  doctrines  of  all 
modern  isms  and  in  the  philosophy  of  modern  scientists, 
which  had  its  birth  or  boldness  during  the  latter  years  of 
his  life. 

He  read  books  profitabW,  not  only  because  with  inter- 


27(j  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

ested  attention,  l)iit  aided   l)y   the   beiit    and    (luality  of  his 
own  mind.      llo  was  a   natnral   critic   and   a   horn-logician. 
■\Vliat  he  read  was  not  ])lindly  accepted  on  trust,  not  even 
Avitli  the  endorsement  of  a  great  name.     In  the  same  habi- 
tude of  mind  he  listened  to  sermons,  and  subjected  doctrine 
and  sentiment  to  critical  scrutiny  and  conii)lct(!  analytic  dis- 
section.    It  made  what  he  read  or  heard  a  niin(!  and  not  the 
load  of  ore — the  metal  was  the  more  thoroughly  assayed,  l)ut 
the  lead  also  was   followed   and   enabled   him,  as  himself  a 
creator  of  thought.     How  he  thus  thoroughly  mastered  by 
attestina:  the  views  of  others  is  indicated  by  his  remark  to 
Bishop  Pierce,  which  Mrs.  M.  recollects,  "I  have  honestly 
supposed  some  thoughts  were  original  to   me,  which  after- 
wards I  found  in  books  I  had  read" — ^the  source  escaping 
memory,  but  the  thought  incorporated  in  his  own  imperish- 
ablv.     In  the  other  view,  the  product  of  other  mhids  was 
seed  for  a  harvest  of  his  own  ;  in  l)()ok-reading,  in  the  same 
act,  a  student  and  author  of  ideas,  as  he,  also,  made  ser- 
mons whilst  listening  to  them.     That  hal)it  is  a  well-known 
characteristic.     A  class-mate  specially  notes  it  as  his  own 
observation  and  on  the  declaration  of  Marvin  himself:   "He 
would    listen    attentively    to    the    sermons    of    others    who 
preached  in  fear  of  him  ;  but  instead   of  dis[)araging  their 
performance,  he  was  gathering  items  for  a   new  sermon  of 
his  own.     He  said  to  me  once,  that  when  ho  heard   Caples 
preach  he  freciuently  got  the  outlines  for  two  sermons." 

The  incident  just  named  introduces  mention  of  another 
habit  in  theological  study,  which  Mrs.  M.,  also,  notes,  that 
"he  was  accustomed  to  talk  with  intelligent  persons  about 
books,  sermons,  and  the  Bible" — talking  theology  and  over 
sermons,  it  is  meant  and  will  be  best  understood  by  Metho- 
dist preachers.  It  characterized  their  unselfish  spirit  and 
liberal  fraternity  in  the  olden  times,  and  is  not  wholly  ob- 
solete at  this  day — this  universal  and  equal  co-partnership 
in  plans  of  sermons  and  stock  of  theology.     It  contributed, 


GRADUATED    IX    THE    :MINISTRY.  177 

forriicrl\',  no  little  to  the  pulpit  tiiiiniiig  and  theological  ed- 
ucation of  3'oung  preachers.  The  late  venerable  Andrew 
Monroe  used  to  relate  that  a  Presbyterian  clergj'man  once 
asked  of  him  explanation,  cxi^ressing  surprise  that  without 
the  trainini!"  of  the  Seminary  and  under  the  disadvantages 
of  their  itinerant  life  Methodist  preachers,  as  a  class,  were 
such  good  theologians  as  well  as  effective  preachers :  the 
reply  was,  "  AVe  tell  one  another." 

This  exchange  of  connnodity  in  separate  lines  of  study 
of  books  and  texts  and  division  of  profits  was  hal)itual  be- 
tween Bishop  Marvin  and  his  near  friends — not  unconnnon 
with  him  generally  in  intercourse  with  those  of  like  mind. 
His  record  in  this  respect  began  on  his  first  circuit  with 
Dry  den,  the  neighboring  preacher.  At  the  session  he  held 
of  the  Southwest  Missouri  Conference  on  his  last  plan  of 
Episcopal  visitation,  he  met  his  old  friend  and  made  a  pub- 
lic reference  to  the  help  of  his  sermons  in  the  former  days, 
thus  narrated  bv  a  hearer  :  "While  holdins;  the  Conference 
last  fall  in  Independence,  he  took  occasion  one  day  to  re- 
mark from  the  chair,  that  just  eiirhteen  years  before  he  had 
attended  a  Conference  at  that  place,  and  then  he  had  been 
preaching  just  eighteen  years.  '  Brother  Wallace,'  he  said, 
'is  the  only  man  belonging  to  it  now,  that  was  a  member 
of  it  then.  I  ask  your  pardon.  Brother  Dryden,  you  were 
also  a  member  and  I  recollect  trying  to  preach  two  of  your 
sermons.  The  texts  remain  in  my  memory.  One  Avas, 
'There  rcmaineth,  therefore,  a  rest,'  etc.,  and  another, 
'Worship  God.'  "  "  Yes,"  said  Diyden,  "  and  there  was 
a  third,  'Yea,  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss,' 
etc."  "True,"  was  the  reply,  "but.  Brother  Dryden,  I 
did  not  try  it  long ;  I  soon  Inid  them  aside  and  have  been 
doinij;  business  on  my  own  cai)ital  ever  since." 

That   was,  no   doubt,  his    first   and   last    use    of  other 

preacher's  plains  of  sermons,  written  or  printed  ;  but  not 

the  last  of  talking  over  them  and  tellini!-  his  own.     It  is  in- 
12 


178  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

tercstins"  to  note  that,  Avhile  there  might  have  been  in  Mis- 
souri some  saying",  "  I  am  of  Caph's  "  and  "  I  am  of  Mar- 
vin," and  some  h)()k-()ut  for  envious  rivalry  between  them, 
they  were  themselves  telling  each  other  all  eaeh  knew  and 
interchanirinii"  their  best  thouuhts  and  points  of  best  ser- 
mons.  There  is  another  notable  instance  of  this  "  compar- 
ing of  notes  " — Avith  one  Avhom  he  first  met  in  war-times, 
then  the  President  pro  tern,  of  an  Annual  Conference,  and 
of  whom  he  thought  and  wrote  at  the  time  in  his  Diary,  "he 
would  make  a  good  Bishop."  It  l)egan  before  either  was 
and  continued  after  both  were  Bishops.  "With  others,  in 
his  later  years,  the  exchange  was  unequal,  imparting  more 
than  he  acquired,  but  gaining  something;  as  Adam  Clarke 
was  accustomed  to  enter  into  conversation  with  every  fel- 
low-traveler, however  obscure  and  ignorant,  giving  as  reason 
for  it,  that  he  could  talk  with  none  who,  in  his  sphere,  had 
not  learned  something  of  which  he  was  ignorant.  In  that 
first  year  in  St.  Louis,  his  ministerial  associations  were  help- 
ful, an<l  ever  afterwards  cherished — Browning,  whom  he 
venerated  ;  Boyle,  wdiom  he  admired  and  loved.  One  class- 
mate, John  A.  Tutt,  was  stationed  at  AVesley  Chapel ; 
another  at  Mound  Church,  Pollock,  gifted  and  sweet- 
spirited — the  first  to  discover  Marvin,  "  as  having  sense 
like  old-folks,"  and  between  them  the  bond  of  kindred 
spirits  and  mutual  sympathy  and  help,  hi  common  cares 
and  in  the  brotherhood  of  ]\Iethodist  Preachers. 

The  course  of  study  prescribed  for  graduation  in  the 
ministry  is  rudimentary,  intended  for  the  beginning  and 
not  the  end  of  study,  and  to  be  accompanied  by  the  col- 
lateral studies  which  have  been  specified  in  this  review  of 
the  life-long  and  industrious  student-life  of  Marvin.  The 
course  was  more  limited  in  that  day  than  now  ;  but,  in  gen- 
eral, not  now  than  then,  more  thoroughly  mastered.  In 
wanting  of  a  contemporary,  Bishop  Marvin  said,  Watson's  In- 
stitutes were  "soaked  into  him."    Besides  the  usual  consid- 


GRA"DUATEI)    IN'    THE    MINISTRY .  17U 

•eratioiis  in  the  preniiscs,  there  Avas  then  an  aecidcntiil  rea- 
son for  llie  diliuent  study  of  the  standards  of  doctrine  In 
the  history  of  the  ]Metliodist  pulpit  in  Missouri,  that  was 
the  era  of  polemics.  Calvinism,  especially  in  the  full  flower 
of  rank  Antinomianism,  as  represented  in  the  Baptist  pulpit 
•of  that  day,  had  to  be  encountered.  The  large  flow  of  em- 
iirration  into  the  State,  particularly  from  Kentucky,  brouLdit 
in  the  doctrines  of  Campbell  and  his  disciples — then,  in  the 
full  zeal  of  professional  disputants  and  holding  and  dissemi- 
nating the  most  heretical  tenets  of  their  doctrine  :  obey  for 
l)elicve,  some  Universal  ism,  and  especially  denial  of  the  Di- 
Tinitv  of  Christ  and  the  Personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  ]Methodist  puli)it  of  the  time  resounded  with  its  ancient 
themes — the  Godhead  of  the  Redeemer,  justiflcation  by 
faith,  resreneration  ))v  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  Witness  of 
the  Spirit  and  a  free  and  full  salvation.  The  doctrine  was 
proved  out  of  the  Scriptures  ;  and  the  pulpit  helped  to 
proof-text  and  method  by  the  Institutes  of  ^^'atson  and  the 
Sermons  of  ^yesley,  by  Fletcher's  Checks  and  Clarke's 
•Commentary. 

The  course  of  study,  in  its  extent  and  character,  made 
the  sound  theologian  Marvin  was.     In  only  one  thing,  his 
Yiews  on  natural  death  and  in  this  not  as  of  essential  doc- 
trine, did  he  differ  with  its  entire  teaching.     It  taught  and 
fortified   hmi  in  theAnninian  theology.     That  he  adopted 
intellio'cntlv,  fully,  heartily.     He  defended  it  stoutly.     He 
Ijreached  it  purely  and  powerfully.      Of  the  value  of  the 
theological  curriculum  of  the  Conference  and  the  authority 
of  its  principal  text  1)ooks,  he  had  pronounced  sentiments. 
Doirma,  in  general,  he  regarded  as  the  very  intrenchment 
of  essential  and  saving  truth.      In  his  writings  and  in  his 
administration,  he  insisted  as  Avell  on  the  one  i)art  as  the 
other  of  the  ^Methodist  Shibboleth,  ••  sound  in  doctrine  and 
holy  in  life."'      The  very  last  of  his  Episcopal   decisions, 
made  in  187  7,  at  the  Southwest  Missouri  Conference,  was 


180  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

ill  lionor  of  the  old  standarcLs  of  ]\Ictliodist  thcoloo-y,  for- 
luuluU'd  in  the  twenty-five  articles,  preached  in  Wesley's 
sermons,  instituted  by  Watson,  and  vindicated  by  Fletcher. 
These  writers,  for  more  than  an  hundred  j^ears,  had  stood 
sentinel  and  o-uard  over  the  doctrinal  inte<iritv  of  ]\Ietlio- 
disni.  lie  would  perpetuate  their  Commission.  Under  their 
watch  and  Avard,  it  was  among  his  sentiments  that  the  cita- 
del is  secure.  At  the  public  reception  of  the  Bishops  at 
their  meeting  in  St.  Louis,  in  1870,  Bishop  Paine,  in  re- 
marks reviewing  the  past,  noted  that  there  had  never  been 
in  this  country  a  doctrinal  division  of  ^Methodism.  For  the 
time  to  come  indefinitely,  Bishop  ]\Iarvin  has  said,  "  I  do 
not  fear  a  doctrinal  cataclvsm." 

It  is  to  be  assumed,  but  the  mention  is  not  to  be  omitted, 
that  the  Bi1)le  was  in  his  course  of  study — not  only  books 
al)out  it  but  the  Book  itself,  for  personal  searching  and  its 
uses.  This  Avas  a  first  study  in  point  of  time  and  in  his  es- 
timate of  iini)ortance.  When  his  habits  were  fixed,  it  is 
known  that  he  went  first  to  the  Bilde  and  after,  if  at  all,  to 
Connnentaries.  His  drauuhts  were  from  the  sprinsf-head  at 
the  well,  rather  than  from  the  bucket  in  the  house  ;  at  the 
pains  of  original  investiiration  and  rewarded  Avitli  a  fresher 
if  not  purer  supply.  At  the  primary  source  of  truth  he  re- 
ceived deeper  and  more  devout  impressions  and  imparted, 
as  he  received  them,  with  the  energy  of  a  first-handed  ])low. 
From  his  youth  he  had  studied  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  they 
were  "  known  " — as  to  history  and  doctrine,  the  philosophy 
and  the  exegesis  of  tlicin,  cntirijly  and  thorouglil}'.  The 
study  Avas  devout  and,  in  a  marked  manner,  reverent.  The 
words  of  this  Book  were  the  "  Word  of  (Jod  "' — lo  him  the 
ultimate  standard.  In  one  of  the  introductory  chapters  of 
"  The  Work  of  Christ"  he  wrote,  "If  a  man's  reason  con- 
ducts him  to  the  clearest  conviction  of  the  inspired  character 
of  the  BU)le,  it  must  be  the  standard  of  divine  truth  for  him 
ever  after.     This  is  my  case."       His  natural  tendency  of 


GRADUATED    IX    THE    MIXISTIIV.  181 

mind  was  to  speculative  thou<rlit  and,  as  lie  said,  "  tlici-c  is 
n  Avhole  universe  of  speculative;  thouiiht  connected  w  itli  rc- 
lipfion."  lie  had,  however,  a  salutary  fear  of  being  "  over- 
l)()ld  ; "'  and  lest  he  should  l)e  lost  in  the  wilderness  of  met- 
aphysics, he  took  ah)ng  with  him,  as  constant  monitor  and 
guide,  the  "■  swr  Word."  In  that,  called  by  him,  "  tho 
basis  of  my  faith,"  he  sought  footing  for  theory,  and  "■  es- 
sential doirma  "  was  his  wav-niark  in  the  wihlerness.  "I 
mean,"  he  said,  "  that  speculation  cannot  stand  as  against 
the  plain  declaration  of  Scripture.  One  thing  has  been  set- 
tled 1)V  me — settled  for  myself  finally — that  the  Bible  is  the 
"Word  of  God.  From  it  there  is  no  appeal.  All  specula- 
tion is  at  an  end  when  if  has  spoken." 

In  his  first  year  tho  good  examination  he  passed,  as 
stated  bv  Mr.  Patterson,  secured  votes  for  his  continuance 
on  trial.  It  called  the  attention  of  class-mates  to  him  ;  and 
one,  the  reporter  of  the  first  examination,  remembers  that 
in  all  the  rest  he  excelled.  He  passed  from  the  list  of  un- 
derirraduates  and  was  advanced  to  the  hiirher  ministrv  in 
Elder's  orders.  Ilis  parchments  bore  signature  and  seal, 
us  Deacon  of  James  O.  Andrew,  and  as  Elder  of  Joshua 
Soule.  The  ordination  of  Elders,  it  is  known,  is  the  great 
solemnity  of  a  Conference  session — b}^  him  its  sanctity  was 
clearly  apprehended  and  profoundly  realized.  Remarkably, 
it  was  an  abiding  sentiment  and  a  prevailing  motive — the 
vows  of  God  and  of  the  ministry  are  upon  me.  He  scruti- 
nized closely  the  terms  of  those  vows,  which  were  fa4nili:)r  to 
his  lips  and  thoughts  before  the  ritual  was  familiarized  by 
his  ordination  of  others. 

He  held  in  resi)ect  and  in  esteem  the  hiiih  diirnitY  of  his 
calling,  never  ashamed  of  the  (iospel  or  of  being  its  minis- 
ter— not,  however,  with  superciliousness  ever,  or  ol)trusive 
advertisement  of  the  "  cloth."  It  is  related  that  a  company 
of  fellow-travelers  became  curious  to  know  his  calling  in 
life  and  were  overheard  ))V  him  interchanging  conjectures. 


l'^2  BISHOP    MARVIX. 

He  did  not  embrace  the  opportunity  to  announce  hinisclf^ 
They  suspected  it,  Avith  their  close  watch  upon  liini,  by  th& 
token  of  the  bowed  head  and  the  grateful  pause  and  silent 
word  of  grace  at  the  public  table  ;  and  knew  it,  only  when 
he  stood  up  in  the  cal)in  of  the  steamboat  to  i)rcach — that, 
not  a  procured  but  solicited  service. 

For  the  dlgnit}^  of  ofhco,  Avhether  in  Church  or  State,  he 
had  a  marked  sentiment  of  respect,  and  in  i)ublic  worship 
customarily  prayed  for  "  all  that  are  in  autiiority."  Office, 
in  his  view,  was  a  seat  of  honor  and  official  position,  inima 
facie,  a  sign  of  merit  ;  but  the  high  place  was  no  refuge 
from  his  contempt  and  denunciation  of  the  unworthy  office- 
holder, whether  the  town-constal)le  or  the  president  of  a 
Bepublic.  Much  as  he  loved  Methodist  Preachers  he  did 
not  spare  them  in  the  application  of  this  rule  ;  and  spared 
them  the  less,  as  he  held  the  office  they  tilled  to  be  above 
all  earthly  dignities,  and  that,  as  a  body  of  ministers,  they 
honored  it  with  signal  zeal  and  fidelity.  Symptoms  in 
them  of  departure  from  the  .simplicity  of  a  (jospel  minister 
or  the  spirit  of  a  Methodist  Preacher  grieved  him,  and  some- 
times tried  his  patience  beyond  endurance — then  woe  to  the 
offenders  in  the  scourge  of  his  tongue,  in  those  cases  where 
the  rebuke  of  his  manner  or  remonstrance  of  counsel  would 
be  lost  on  them.  At  one  of  his  Conferences,  in  the  social 
circle  a  young  preacher  was  offensively  forward,  fussy,  and 
consequential.  He  monopolized  the  attention  of  the  Bishop 
in  particular,  plying  him  with  in([uiry  and  adding  comment 
concerning  "  the  big  preachers  "  of  the  Church,  indicating 
that  his  view  contemplatetl  the  pulpit  as  the  showman  of 
the  preacher  and  not  of  the  Cross.  At  length  his  inc^uiry 
reached  to  Munsey,  and  the  young  man  expressed  "  great 
desire  to  hear  him  in  one  of  his  happy  moods."  The  Bishop 
intended  for  him  an  opinion  of  the  light  weight  of  his  real 
consequence,  when  he  replied,  ""Well,  sir,  he  could  take  you 
by  the  heels  and  throAV  you  over  a  thousand  stars  at  once.'* 


GRADUATED    IN    THE    MINISTRY.  183 

Our  iiifornumt  ackls,  '-  ho  Iui'irmI  tf)  nie  and  said,  I  have  no 
confidence  in  that  young  man.  I  do  not  believe  he  has  anj 
care  for  the  salvation  of  souls  about  liim." 

In  his  true  appreciation  of  the  dignity  of  the  Christian 
ministrv  and  its  orders  and  offices,  he  never  paraded  or 
stood  on  his  dignity.  Rather,  it  is  to  be  said,  that  it  was 
the  merit  of  his  character,  which  honored  the  exalted  offi- 
ces and  high  positions  he  filled,  that  there  was  no  place  ia 
it  for  entrance  to  a  sense  of  self-importance  and  the  conse- 
quence of  ofiicial  honors.  The  Diary  of  this  Bishop  reads 
like  the  humble  monologue  of  the  same  man  on  his  first 
Circuit.  The  informant  last  quoted  reports  a  tea-table 
talk,  the  conversation  turning  upon  the  subject  of  some 
men  becoming  puffed  up  by  elevation  to  place  and  power — 
wdiat  has  been  so  apparent  to  the  public  Marvin  said  in  pri- 
vate communication  :  "If  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  Epis- 
copal/(?e//>*^,  I  have  never  felt  it."  AVhen  the  Bishop 
from  the  Empire  State  of  the  South  held  a  conference  at 
the  old  Mound  church  in  St.  Louis,  in  a  sermon  at  night 
he  preached  himself  happy  as  well  as  the  congregation.  He 
came  down  out  of  the  pulpit  and  joined  in  the  general  shout 
and  hand-shaking,  A  layman,  who  was  evidently  gratified 
by  the  E))iscopal  hand-shake,  was  heard  by  the  writer  of 
this  to  begin  an  intended  remark  with  the  Avords,  "  Bishop, 
you  are  the  head  of  the  Church  ;"  but  abruptly  cut  short 
— "No,  no,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Head  of  the  Church  and  all 
we  are  brethren."  So,  Avhen  the  son  of  the  Emi)ire  State 
of  the  AVcst  came  back  to  it  a  Bishop,  lips  so  used  to 
another  name,  often,  all  over  the  country,  failed  on  the 
Episcopal  title — to  a[)ology,  so  heartily  was  the  prompt  re- 
ply, "that's  right,  call  me  Brother  ]Marvin." 

The  great  importance  of  the  weighty  office  to  which  he 
was  called,  as  an  Elder  in  the  Church  of  God,  was,  in  his 
consciousness  and  on  his  conscience,  definitely  and  pro- 
foundly.    The  manner  of  his  life  and  the  course  of  his  miu- 


184  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

istry  were  a  stereotype  of  i]\o.  terms  of  the  ritual.  IIow 
he  iravc  himself  ^vllolly  to  his  ofJice — "  this  one  thini>-,"  the 
object  of  all  his  cares  and  the  subject  of  all  his  studies  ;  a 
man  of  constant  and  prev^ailing  prayer  and  prcachiiiir  "vvith 
the  Holy  (ihost  sent  down  from  heaven  ;  a  daily  reader  and 
Aveig-hcr  of  the  Scriptures  and  waxing  ri[)er  and  stronger  in 
his  ministry  with  every  year  and  to  the  end  of  his  days. 
Every  part,  the  things  of  comparatively  minor  as  well  as  of 
superior  importance  in  the  vows,  were  regarded  by  him  as 
£,like  bound  on  his  conscience. 

The  vows  were  considered  as  most  solemn  obligations, 
and  to  violate  them  would  be  to  destroy  the  integrity  of  his 
own  character.  His  view  is  given  in  a  case  of  disreirai'd  by 
a  preacher  of  even  advisory  deliverances  of  the  General 
Conference  and  the  Pastoral  Address  of  Bishops  issued  l)y 
its  direction  on  the  subject  of  worldly  amusements  and 
fashionable  vices.  As  related  to  his  vow  of  reverent  obe- 
dience to  those  having  care  and  government,  in  writing  of 
that  dereliction  by  the  preacher,  he  said  strongly:  "The 
measure  of  g-uilt  involved  in  a  violation  of  ordination  vows 
I  shall  not  undertake  to  determine.  For  one,  I  should  hes- 
itate long  before  I  could  take  the  sacraments  of  religion  at 
the  hands  of  those  who  have  done  it."  He  did  determine 
the  a-uilt  in  another  reference — concerning  the  vow  which 
secures  to  the  Methodist  pulpit  a  scri[)tural  creed  and  to 
Methodism  its  doctrinal  unity.  The  veneral)le  Andrew  Mon- 
roe has  publicly  testified,  that  in  a  ministry  of  fifty  years 
he  had  not  come  in  contact  Avith  a  doctrinal  difficulty  in  the 
Conference,  and  in  explanation,  among  other  things,  speci- 
fies the  restraint  of  ordination  vows,  which,  he  says,  are 
♦'  as  sacred  as  an  oath  at  the  altar  of  God."  Bishop  Mar- 
vin wrote  :  "  As  I  have  said  1  do  not  fear  a  doctrinal  cat- 
aclysm in  the  Methodist  Church.  Far  from  it.  Indeed,  no 
preacher  can  teach  heresy  in  the  Church  and  remain  an 
honest  man."     In  his  own  view  he  was  a  sworn  officer. 


GRADUATED  IN  THE    MINISTRY.  185 

111  this  uiul  from  the  th'st  Chapter  it  has  gone  along  "with 
the  narrative,  how  liis  anee.stral  origin,  his  providential 
liistory,  his  human  and  divine  training,  the  call  and  anointing 
of  God  and  the  diseipline  of  the  Church  made  hhn  what  he 
was — the  al)U'  minister  of  the  New  Testament  and  true 
Methodist  Preacher. 

The  groat  body  of  Methodist  Preachers  in  America  have  been  what  is 
popularly  phrased  "  uneducated  men  ;  "  tliat  is,  they  entered  the  ministry 
Avilh  nothini?  more  than  a  common  school  education — many  of  thoni  with 
much  less  tlian  that.  -Many  of  them  have  become,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  men  of  large  information  and  ripe  scholars  in  Biblical  learning,  so 
far  as  this  is  attainable  in  "  their  own  language  wherein  they  were  born." 

In  point  of  fact,  they  have  influenced  American  society,  in  religious 
matters,  more  effectually  than  any  other  class  of  preachers.  The  census 
of  Methodism  is  the  astonishment  of  the  world.  But  the  literal  census 
gives  only  a  very  partial  statement  of  the  result  of  these  men's  work.  The 
fruits  of  Methodist  revivals  abound  in  other  churches.  I  have  known 
flourishing  churches  of  other  denominations  which  were  replenished  from 
scarcely  any  other  source.  It  is  proverbial  what  numbers  go  from  the 
•'mourner's  bench"  (this  is  purely  Methodist  terminology)  into  other 
communions.  Other  churches  have  fallen  largely  into  the  methods  of  labor 
and  the  character  of  preaching  which  have  been  so  potential  amongst  us. 
Besides  all  this,  these  "  uneducated  "  men  have  revolutionized  the  popular 
theology  of  this  continent. 

On  the  human  side  the  causes  of  this  astonishing  success  are  appar- 
ent. These  preachers  were  men  of  the  people.  They  were  fresh  from  the 
various  callings  of  life  and  were  in  the  fullest  sympathy  with  the  masses. 
Their  doctrine,  in  some  aspects,  was  new  and  striking,  and  on  the  mere 
statement  of  it  commended  itself  to  the  common  sense  of  men.  Their  ser- 
mons were  not  burdened  with  unintelligible  theological  terms.  Every 
word  was  in  the  mother  tongue,  every  sentence  was  fully  comprehended, 
even  by  the  less  intelligent  classes.  They  were  very  ardent — their  words 
took  Are  in  their  own  hearts  and  went  out  blazing  among  the  people. 
They  were  bold  men,  never  hesitating  to  denounce  the  most  popular  vices. 
They  rebuked  sin  Avith  no  feeble  generalization,  but  a  pointed  and  barbed 
shaft  was  driven  into  the  profane  swearer,  the  Sabbath-breaker,  the  drunk- 
ard, the  man  who  did  not  pay  his  debts,  the  gambler.  Theaters,  balls, 
circuses,  grog-shops,  were  pointed  out  as  so  many  gates  of  hell.  Sinai 
was  altogether  on  flame  before  their  congregations.  Ah!  these  men  knew 
where  the  conscience  lay,  and  with  what  probe  to  touch  the  quick  of  it. 

Then  when  a  man  fell  thunder-smitten,  among  the  crags  of  Sinai,  with 
what  skill  they  lifted  him  and  laid  him  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  under  the 


186  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

stream  that  dropped  warm  and  hcalin,:;  from  the  very  heart  of  the  YictiiA 
who  "tasted  death  for  every  man."  Themselves  knew  his  power  to  save, 
^^  A  VRKK  salvation — a  full  salvation — a  puksbnt  salvation — conditioned 
upon  failli— this  was  their  theme."  Sin  tlicy  pictured  "  in  all  its  blackest 
hue,"  and  salvation  in  all  its  richest  fullness,  its  present  plentitude  and 
power. 

"  Gaininc:;  knowledge  is  a  good  thing,  but  saving  souls  is  better."  This 
came  from  Mr.  Wesley,  and  who  can  ti'll  the  power  his  words  had  over  the 
early  Methodist  Preachers?  Their  prime  business  was  to  save  souls,  and 
they  were  all  their  time  engaged  in  it,  redeeming  at  the  same  time  every 
possible  moment  for  study.  At  the  cabin  flre-side  in  the  winter  evenings,. 
under  the  shade  of  a  tree  in  the  spare  hours  of  a  summer  day,  in  the  sad- 
dle, they  would  be  reading  some  important  book.  Preaching  almost  every 
day,  what  they  had  learned  they  put  into  service  at  once.  Thus,  not  un- 
frequently,  they  became  men  of  extensive  knowledge— real  Doctors  of 
Theology.  This  knowledge  came  from  them  to  the  people  in  popular  lan- 
guage, in  the  form  of  impassioned  extemporaneous  sermons. 

Then,  on  the  spiritual  side,  they  were  men  of  deep  experience  in  the 
things  of  God,  men  of  much  prayer  and  great  faith.  Thiir  word  was  in 
power.  They  ever  heard  the  sound  of  tlieir  Master's  foot-steps  behind 
them,  and  His  voice  saying  to  them,  '  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."  And  He  was  with  them.  They  felt  it,  they 
knew  it.  They  had  wrestled  with  the  Angel,  and  had  power  with  God  and 
Avith  men.  Each  one  was  an  Israel— a  Prince  of  God.  They  were  much 
with  God  in  secret,  and  He  rewarded  and  honored  them  openly.* 


*Life  of  Caples,  pp.  52—55. 


^\hu^\l 


^ 

♦- 


^P^'^F^ 


CHAPTER    X. 


AT    HOME. 

The  Conference  session  of  IS-to  at  Columbia — A  prominent  session — Sig- 
nal in  Marvin's  history — His  majority  in  years  and  in  the  Conference 
— A  Southern  M<^iodist^A  married  man — The  Preacher's  wife— Har- 
riet Brotherton  Clark Courtship — The  vow  of  itinerancy — Marriage 

— Her  history — The  preacher's  house — The  Marvin-home — An  itinerant 
home-farm  and  its  sale — Debt — ''Wife  is  financier" — Her  household 
administration— The  children — The  love  for  his  family— Diary  records 
— Exile  during  the  war— Recollections— Asylum  in  Arkansas — The 
Doty-home— The  McGehee  '•  Retreat  "—Letter— Away  from  nome  ex- 
plained—The family  government — His  views — Principles— Ministers' 
children — Training  at  a  Methodist  parsonage — Letters  to  his  children 
—The  Home  -  Altar— The  House  of  God— Household  of  Faith— 
"Paradise  of  Home." 

^IT-HE  session  of  the  Conference  for  the  year  1845,  held 
^ll^  at  Columbia,  commencing  October  1st,  Bishop  Soule 
presiding,  is  very  prominent  in  the  history  of  Missouri 
Methodism.  At  that  session,  under  the  Plan  of  Separation 
for  the  jurisdictional  division  of  the  old  church,  the  Con- 
ference adhered  to  the  M.  E.  Church,  South.  Then,  also, 
it  divided  its  territory  into  two  Annual  Conferences,  the 
separating  line  being  the  Missouri  River ;  the  part  South  of 
the  river  called  the  St.  Louis,  and  that  on  the  North  retain- 
ing the  old  name.  The  session  was  signal  in  the  historj^  of 
Marvin — he  became  a  Southern  Methodist  Preacher,  had  at- 
tained to  his  majority  in  the  Conference  and  in  i^ears,  and 
was  married,  at  Conference  Avith  a  l)ride  of  a  week.  To  the 
last  named  event  this  chapter  is  devoted — Marvin  at  Home. 


188  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Dr.  Lovick  Pierce  says  of  Bishop  Andrew:  "Ho  was 
married  at  an  earlier  time  of  life  then  it  had  been  usual  for 
preachers  to  marry  ;  and  he  was  one  of  two  or  three  who 
broke  the  spell  of  location  as  a  necessity  upon  marriage, 
Avhich  was,  in  my  opinion,  an  epoch  in  the  onward  move- 
ment of  Methodist  itinerancy." 

Bishop  Andrew,  singularly  a  man  of  Providence,  became 
the  occasion,  both  times  by  marriage,  of  introducing  into 
American  Methodism,  two  great  changes  of  economy,  neither 
of  them  bad — the  Southern  Methodist  Church  and  the  Preach- 
er's  wife.  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  in  a  memorial  sermon,  justi- 
fied both  on  the  ground  of  manifest  expediency  and  inexor- 
able necessity — each,  what  he  sa3's  of  the  last-named,  "  an 
epoch  in  the  onward  movement  of  Methodist  Itinerancy;" 
and  of  the  latter  institution  adding  : 

I  trust  that  it  -will  not  be  looked  upon  as  irrelevant  to  the  object  of 
this  memorial  to  say,  in  behalf  of  the  tirst  Mrs.  Andrew,  and  of  many 
others  of  the  wives  of  Methodist  preachers,  that  the  Church  and  the  world 
owe  to  their  memory  a  debt  of  honor  that  never  has  been,  and  never  will 
be,  paid  off.  Talk  as  you  will  about  moral  heroism,  its  finest  specimens 
will  be  found  amoui;  the  wives  of  our  noble  i)ioueer  itinerant  preachers  of 
the  Old  South  Carolina  Conference.  I  think  myself  safe  in  saying,  that 
even  your  revered  Bishop  would  have  been  compelled  to  give  up  itinerancy 
iu  these,  the  mighty  years  of  his  manhood,  if  it  had  not  been  tliat  Mrs.  A. 
preferred  to  supplement  the  meager  income  of  her  husband  l)y  the  earn- 
ings of  her  needle  at  midnight's  weary  watch,  rather  than  see  him  leave 
Ms  Master's  work  to  earn  iu  some  other  vocation  a  living  for  her  and  their 
little  ones.  Well  might  Solomon  say,  in  eulogy  of  great  womanhood : 
"  Many  daughters  have  done  virtuously,  but  tliou  exccUest  them  all."  Iii 
the  galaxy  of  noble  women  stood  Mrs.  Andrew;  and  by  her  self-sacriflcing 
spirit  and  deep  devotion  to  Clu-ist  and  His  Church,  slie  saved  her  great- 
souled  husband  to  the  Ciiurch  as  one  of  its  chief  pastors.  What  I  say  I 
know;  anil  I  canncjt  parade  the  labors  of  the  Bishop  before  you  to-day  for 
memorial  eulogy  and  leave  his  faithful  Amelia  out;  for  I  am  satisfied  that 
this  great  woman  had  much  to  do  in  giving  us  at  last  a  good  Bishop. 

In  respect  to  both  of  tlicsc  representatively  Andrew-In- 
stitutions, Marvin  was  a  close  disciple  and  an  exact  follower 
— both  epochs  represented  iu  that  week  at  the  Columbia 
Conference,  a  Southern  Methodist  and  a  Married  Itinerant. 


AT    HOME.  180 

In  many  things  they  were  twin-men  and  had  parallelism  of 
history  in  both  its  outcome  and  its  agencies.  As  Andrew 
his  Amelia,  ]\Iar\  in,  in  his  fourth  year  and  at  his  first  Sta- 
tion, found  his  Harriet — true  Preachers'  wives  and  truly 
primary  electors  of  Bishops. 

The  time  of  his  marriage  was  at  an  earlier  ajre  in  years 
than  he  advised  for  others.  His  example  is  not  safe  to  fol- 
low, unless,  as  in  his  case,  the  Presiding  Elder  says,  "  I 
tell  you.  Bishop,  he  can  preach  ;*'  and  a  classmate  shall  note, 
"One  thing  I  know,  he's  got  sense  like  old  folks;"  and 
except  there  is  in  both  bridegroom  and  bride  the  temper  of 
piety  and  the  genius  of  ambition,  symbolized  in  the  name  of 
Captain  Baker's  boat,  on  which  Marvin  and  wife  traveled  in 
o-oinii:  to  Conference  and  a  week  after  ai>:ain,  in  ijoinir  to  their 
tirst  joint  Circuit.  The  trip  was  on  the  jNIissouri  liiver,  up- 
stream, over  sand-bars,  through  a  forest  of  snags — the 
craft  a  steamboat,  and  its  name,  "John-Go-Long."  Other- 
wise, Avith  an  early  wife  on  board,  the  itinerant  craft,  if  not 
soon  run  ashore  and  tied  up  at  the  l)ank  or  sunk  out  of 
sight,  will  have  a  destiny  to  the  navigation,  not  of  principal 
streams,  but  small  tributaries — some  "  Crooked  Creek  Cir- 
cuit." The  ministry  of  Marvin,  the  married  preacher,  did 
not  end  where  it  began,  nor  stop,  nor  veer,  nor  land  at  any 
port  where  society  was  a  strange  people — thanks  to  him  and 
to  his  wife  !  If  he  was  rather  young  in  years,  she  was  more 
mature  for  her  sex,  his  senior  by  nearly  three  years,  and 
taken  from  the  society  of  his  fourth  year  in  the  ministry, 
with  a  good  start  in  him  to  take  her  up  and  good  culture  in 
her  not  to  pull  him  down. 

On  the  record,  there  is  no  appearance  of  the  Presiding 
Elder  in  this  history  of  Courtship — with  ominous  Avords  of 
warning  against  the  girls,  nor  with  the  sol)er  countenance  of 
a  privy  counselor  consulted  about  the  choice  He  had  gonci 
through  three  circuits  and  through  nearly  a  Avhole  year  in 
the  Station  without  fallinii-  in  love — the  Presidini::  Elder,  as 


190  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

a  scare-crow,  was  not  needed.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
might  have  told  l^oHoek  his  secret,  and  llediiian,  his  good 
friend,  Avould  be  gratified  to  hear  of  liis  good  fortune  ;  but 
as  to  advice,  the  substitution  of  another  man's  choice  of  his 
wife  for  his  own,  that  was  not  the  ]Maivin  kind  of  indepen- 
dent thouijht  and  action — he  had  sense  of  his  own.  If, 
however,  some  have  not,  he  would  have  advised  consultation 
with  the  Presiding  Elder  or  the  Senior  Preacher. 

He  needed  this  guardianship  the  less,  because,  it  is  au- 
thenticated, he  never  lost  his  senses.  There  are  two  ac- 
counts of  his  courtship,  the  wife's  and  his  own — his,  show- 
ing: that  he  selected  the  m  ife  before  he  fell  in  love  with  the 
sweetheart.  That  fact  is  his  own  and  his  only  recorded 
history  of  how  he  courted?  It  was  told  during  the  free  and 
ffenial  talk  of  travelers  on  a  Texas  road,  with  C.  as  his 
charioteer,  and  riding  along  aside  on  horseback  an  Asbury- 
preacher,  the  bachelor  Lcaton,  who  remembers  and  relates 
it :  "  The  Bishop  burlesqued  me  some  for  not  having  mar- 
ried, winding  up  by  saying,  '  What  an  insipid  thing  this  life 
has  been  to  Leaton  !'  He  then  wanted  to  know  if  I  had  any 
plan  for  the  future.  I  told  him  only  in  the  secret  workings 
of  my  own  mind.  I  then  stated  a  difficulty  in  regard  to  the 
other  sex,  which  had  alwa3^s  been  in  my  M'ay.  He  seemed 
to  appreciate  the  situation  and  said,  '  Marry  the  girl  of  good 
mother-wit.'  Brother  C.  objected  to  my  plan  and  said, 
*  You  intend,  then,  to  find  the  girl  first  and  love  her  after- 
wards !'  The  Bishop  replied  for  me  and  for  himself :  '  Yes, 
and  that  is  a  very  correct  idea,  too.  When  the  time  came 
that  I  made  up  my  mind  that  it  was  my  duty  to  marry,  I 
hired  a  horse  and  buij^iry  to  jxo  out  into  the  country  to  see 
the  girl  I  did  marry,  and  on  my  way  there  I  fell  powerfully 
in  love  with  her,  and  when  I  got  there  and  saw  her,  she  was 
a  thousand  times  more  lovely  than  I  thought  she  was.'  " 

The  conversation  following  drifted  into  sober  talk  on 
marriage    and  preachers  marrying.     The    "  When  I  made 


AT    HOME.  191 

up  my  mind  "'  was  not  on  liis  first  circuits,  nor  then  in  mind 
ni  all.  Mention  Avas  nnuhi  of  the  unacceptabilitv  of  a  young 
2)rcacher.  Marvin  had  assisted  him  in  a  protracted  meeting 
iind  explained  the  cause  of  complaint  l>y  this  :  "  He  took 
the  day  socially.  I  could  not  get  to  speak  to  a  girl  or  a 
widow  when  he  was  about.*'  In  the  turning  of  his  mind  to 
marriage  and  his  search  for  a  wife,  there  Avas  an  clement  of 
"duty"  goyerning  the  conclusions  ;  prayed  oyer,  no  doubt, 
l)ut  before  the  answer  would  come  from  his  o\yii  heart  rather 
than  heayen  ;  and  watching  too — that,  before  hi^  eyes  were 
l)linded  by  Cupid.  In  his  selection  of  a  personal  companion 
nnd  preacher's  wife  he  consulted  a  cool  head  rather  than  a 
heated  heart.  He  testifies  that  he  found  what  he  sought, 
attracted  by  a  good  mind  and  sound  sense  and  solid  piety, 
though  residing  in  a  plain  person  ;  not  bewitched  by  mere- 
tricious charms,  but  fascinated  by  shining  virtues,  Avhich 
were  embodied  in  the  congenial  life-time  companion,  the 
wise  and  faithful  mother  and  the  helper  in  his  ministry — 
the  woman  to  whom  he  thouo-ht  it  not  inconirruous  to  dodi- 
cate  a  volume  of  sermons  ;  the  preacher's  wife  whom  he  did 
love,  and  not  so  much  esteemed  as  reverenced,  saying,  in  a 
company  of  friends,  towards  the  end  of  his  days  in  review 
of  the  choice  of  his  youth  :  "  When  I  see  the  sacrifices 
which  she  has  made  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  I  regard  her 
more  and  more  as  a  holy  thing." 

Mrs.  Marvin's  report  of  the  courtship  attests  the  sober 
histor}',  and  discloses  the  wisdom  of  the  j)rcacher  and  a  se- 
cret of  the  fidelity  of  the  wife.  The  declaration  of  serious 
intentions  was  made  at  a  camp-ground,  and  Avith  this  to  be 
included  in  the  covenant  of  marriai^e  :  "  To  l)e  willinii'  to  iro 
wherever  he  might  be  appointed."  lie  offered  himself, 
iind  she  took  him,  as  an  Itinerant  Pr{!acher.  They  were 
married  at  the  home  of  her  uncle,  Lewellen  Brown,  near 
Bridgton,  St.  Louis  Co.,  Sept.  23,  18-15,  Rev.  John  Ilogan 
officiatino:,  and  Rev.  D.  W.  Pollock,  s^roomsman. 


192  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

The  Ii()ns(>  ill  wliicli  thov  wcn-c  iirin-icci  was  (.Icstroyod  by 
fire  soiiu^  \e:irs  ai^o.  'V\\o  writer  has  oi'tcii  hccii  in  the  large 
front  room  at  tlu^  west  side  of  the  main  liall,  Avhei'c  the 
ceremony  was  performed — the  paHoi-  of  iiis  "  hired  hoiTSc  " 
Avheu  he  was  the  preacher  in  charge  of  the  Circuit  in  the 
year  1S5G.  It  was  a  hirge  two-story  brick  house,  with  in- 
vitin'""  approach  from  the  road,  and  surroumh'd  ])y  ample 
and  ncatly-conslructed  out-huiklings.  The  eminence  com- 
manded a  beautiful  prospect  and  overlooked  the  broad  acres 
of  the  farm,  lying  at  the  head-waters  of  the  streams  which 
flow  through  tlu;  famed  Florisant  Valley.  'I'he  residence 
Avas  one  of  the  most  commodious  and  elegant  in  the  neigh- 
borhood in  that  day,  and  the  occupants  of  tlu^  highest  stand- 
ing and  influ<Mice  in  the  society  of  the  church  and  conimun- 
itv.  The  old  homestead  is  all  alienated,  excei)t  of  the  farm 
the  title  to  fifty-five  acres  by  devise  of  her  uncle's  will, 
treatin**"  her  as  an  own  child,  remains  in  Mrs.  Marvin.  She 
with  his  widowed  daughter  are  the  only  survivors  of  the  old 
famih^ — the  home-circle,  where  generous  and  rerin(Hl  hospi- 
tality used  to  l)e  dispensed  and  preachers  found  a  favored 
home  and  Marvin's  wife  w^as  reared  and  cultured.  In  the 
words  of  the  husband  in  the  inscription  prefacing  his  pub- 
lished sermons,  her  adaptedness  and  devotedness  as  a 
l^reacher's  wife  have  remarkable  testimony  :  "  To  my  wife  : 
To  whose  cheerful  self-denial  and  devotion  to  my  work ;  to 
whose  rigid  economy  in  administering  domestic  expendi- 
tures ;  to  Avhose  ready  adjustment  of  her  wants  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  a  meager  support,  in  our  eai'lier  life  ;  to  whose 
careful  and  godly  training  of  our  children,  in  my  [)rotracted 
absences  from  home  ;  and  to  the  example  of  Avhose  faith 
and  purity  of  heart  I  am  more  deeply  indebted,  as  a  Meth- 
odist Preacher,  than  any  one  except  our  Maker  can  know — 
this  volume  is  affectionately  inscribed." 


AT    HOME.  193 

The  notes  of  the  family  life  at  hand  touch  all  alonir  on 
the  routine  of  a  preacher's  life  and  the  demands  and  inter- 
ests of  his  work.  He  comes  back  home  to  a  joyous  wel- 
come :  and  2:oes  off  to  the  round  of  a  Circuit  or  a  distant 
Episcopal  lour,  not  without  tears  in  their  eyes,  l)iit  w  itli  no 
nnirmur  on  the  lips  of  wife  and  children.  I^oving  i)rayer 
o-oes  ^yith  him  and  it  abides  at  home  for  the  absent  head  and 
idol  of  the  house,  and  covering  both  his  i)erson  and  his 
work  for  Christ's  sake — in  these  prayers  the  wife  leading, 
his  vicar  at  the  family  altar.  There  is  a  hush  in  and  around 
the  house  dui-ing  the  hours  of  studj'-time.  The  Bible  has 
been  laid  down  on  the  table  ;  he  is  pacing  the  floor — it  is 
preparing  for  the  pulpit :  there  is  deep  quiet  and  silence, 
except  occasionally  a  whispered  utterance  of  his  own  lii)s. 
There  are  numerous  callers,  a  miscellaneous  company,  l)ut 
they  are  a  minister's  Avards  or  father's  friends,  and  there  is 
no  end  of  patience  with  the  door-rap  or  l)cll-pull.  There  is 
always  a  spare  bed  iu  the  house  and  an  extra  seat  at  the  ta- 
ble and  both  in  constant  use  ;  Imt  hospitality  never  tires, 
and  there  is  a  smile  at  both  ends  of  the  table. 

It  was  hard  that  he  should  be  away  from  home  so  often 
and  so  Ions;,  but  the  wife  had  in  mind  the  itinerant  vow  of 
her  espousals,  and  the  children  knew  of  ]ns  superior  vow  to 
Christ,  subordinating  all  other  loves.  His  absence  grieved 
them,  but  it  exalted  him  in  their  love  and  added  to  it  vene- 
ration. Knowinii'  its  simile-minded  and  earnest  errand,  in 
love  and  duty  towards  the  Master,  they  could  not  and  did 
not  complain  that  he  loved  his  family  only  less  than  his 
Lord.  It  was  harder,  that  when  he  was  at  home  they  could 
see  so  little  of  him — not  till  the  accunmlated  pile  of  letters 
was  read  and  answered,  and  the  church  papers  looked  over, 
and  this  and  that  of  the  care  of  the  churches  attended  to, 
and  the  troop  of  visitors  come  and  gone,  and  the  })rolonged 
talks  with  nearest  friends  at  an  end,  that  often  far  into  the 
niiiht.  There  was  patience  for  all  this  in  what  was  well- 
13 


194  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

tauii'lit  and  wi'll  uiulcrstood  of  the  father  as  a  ministci-,  one 
that  sci'veth,  and  a.s  chief,  scrxaiil  of  all.  They  knew,  too, 
what  Avas  never  in  douI)t  in  the  heart  of  tlic^  family,  that  un- 
(Icrlyini;-  all  these  cares  and  occupations  of  ])ul)lic  life,  there 
was  a  broad  and  deep  stratum  of  affection  foi-  iheni.  which 
when  it  could,  in  a  retired  hour  or  around  the  tal)le  or  in 
"  niothei-'s  room,"  cropped  out  in  look  and  word  of  endear- 
ment and  most  loving  care  and  privileged  communication. 

At  such  times  there  was  rich  reward  of  patience  in  the 
pleasant  si)irit  which  diffus(>d  cheerfulness  at  the  fireside  ; 
and  at  the  tabh;  a  share  of  his  sociability,  in  the  tongue  of 
instruction  and  often  of  witty  speech,  and  not  uncared  for 
in  the  fatherly  counsel  of  the  se[)arate  interview  and  Chris- 
tian teaching  of  the  Bible-comment  at  family  worship.  He 
had  the  children  to  go  to  church  and  Sunday-school  ;  and 
the  wife  had  them  n^idy — as  he  expressed  it — "  in  good 
time.".  The  preacher's  pew  at  church  was  not  vacant ;  and 
in  the  pcAV  and  at  the  fireside,  and  whether  of  jirincijiles  and 
habits  of  life  or  maimers  or  dress,  the  mother  did  not  hin- 
der but  helped  the  father  to  keep  the  vow  of  a  Deacon 
before  he  had  a  family  and  which  she  lu^ard  him  take  upon 
him  in  the  office  of  an  Elder,  when  she  was  first  his  wife,  so 
to  frame  the  fashion  of  life,  of  himscdf  and  his  famih%  "  as 
to  be  wholesome  examples  to  the  flock."  In  all  the  scenes 
and  relations  of  this  family  the  individual  lights  were  well 
ordered  and  regulated.  There  Avcre  no  cross-lights  ;  and 
the  blended  beams  composed  an  uncommon  lustre  in  the 
liirht  of  the  Marvin-home. 

In  a  conversation  with  the  Rev.  ]\Ir.  Beckham  during 
that  week  together  as  room-mates  at  the  North  Carolina 
Conference,  this  was  said  by  the  Bishop:  "  I  traveled  fif- 
teen years  and  had  five  children,  before  1  received  as  nmch 
as  five  hundred  dollars  per  year.  Wife  wrought  wonders. 
She  was  one  of  the  best  women  in  the  world.  If  we  did  not 
have  the  dollar  to  buy  coffee,  the  coffee  did  not  come  into 


AT    HOME.  195 

the  house."      Some  writer  h:is  mentioned  the  startling  .sup- 
position and  intjuirj,  if  all  the  unsupported  pastors  in  the 
]\I{^thodist  Israel  should  at  the  same  time  leave  their  flocks, 
how  many  shei)herds  Avould   be  left?      In  a  sermon  at  a 
Conferenee   session,    heard    by   the    writer,   Bishop   l*ieree, 
deprecating  the  hireling  spirit,   said   with    manifest    relish 
as  well  as  sincerity  :    "I  thank  (lod  that  I  have  had  oppor- 
tunity to   perform  a  great  deal   of  unpaid  service."     The 
Methodist  Church,  in  its  general  history,  has  lived  on  the 
soul  of  its  ministry,  preaching  paid  or  unpaid  ;  and  has  sur- 
vived on  their  sacrifices  and  suffering.     The   spirit   of  the 
Master  has  kept  the  Itinerancy  a-going — in  part,  how  "  the 
^reat-souled  "  men  have  been  saved  to  the  Church,  the  ven- 
erable   father    of  Bishop  Pierce    has  told  in  the    story  of 
Andrew's  Amelia.     AVlien  the  preacher  is  aMny  in  service  to 
the  class,  which  has  not  paid  the  quarterage  and  don't  in- 
tend to  pay,  the  same  spirit,  in  wives  who  are  worthy  com- 
l^anions  of  great-souled  men,  is  left  at  home — to  endure  and 
to  manage  what  a  heathen  poet  has  described  as  the  "  )'es 
angustae"'    of  a    Latin   home;   in    modern   and    Methodist 
lands,    "the    narrow    things"   of    the    Preacher's    "hired 
house." 

Rev.  Wm.  Holmes  has,  for  the  first  time  since  it  oc- 
cured,  disclosed  the  following  incident — singular  in  a  Mar- 
vin history  and  in  a  member  of  his  Church  ; 

"  One  incident  connected  with  his  early  ministry  I  shall  never  forget. 
He  had  no  judjjjment  in  lluancial  matters.  When  he  was  stationed  at  Han- 
nibal a  member  of  the  church  proposed  to  him  to  lease  a  suburban  house 
and  five  acres  of  land,  and  to  sell  hira  a  span  of  horses  and  farming  uten- 
sils, telling  him  that  he  could  cultivate  the  ground  and  make  several  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  thus  relieve  himself  of  embarrassment.  Contiiling  in 
the  judgment  of  the  brother,  he  entered  into  it.  The  result  was  as  might 
have  been  expected.  His  devotion  to  the  Church  and  his  work  induced  a 
neglect  of  the  farm.  The  year  closed  with  a  he  vy  debt  on  his  hand,  he 
was  unable  to  meet.  It  so  happened  that  I  preached  for  him,  and,  in  my 
sermon,  I  commented  on  the  declaration  of  Paul,  'Owe  no  man  anything, 
but  to  love  one  another;'  being  totally  ignorant  of  the  facts  as  above 


lOG  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

detailed.  After  the  service  he  talked  with  me  at  length  about  the  text 
and  my  commont  on  it.  I  saw  he  was  troubled;  but  I  did  not  know  the 
cause.  On  the  next  day  I  learned  from  many  members  of  the  church  the 
condition  of  things,  and  many  of  them,  not  knowing  the  man,  blamed  him. 
That  and  other  pecuniary  matters  prior  to  that  had  involved  him.  These 
matters  came  to  my  knowledge  shortly  before  Conference.  In  an  inter- 
view I  had  witli  Bro.  Pinckard  about  it,  he  suggested  tliat  Bro.  M's.  devo- 
tion to  liis  work  and  his  appreciation  of  his  Conference  relations  were 
such  that  the  best  remedy  to  prevent  him  being  imposed  upon  and  being 
crippled  in  liis  itinerant  work,  would  be  to  interview  liini  and  inform  liini 
tliat,  unless  he  would  solemnly  promist;  not  to  cnntract  any  debts  without, 
cousulling  and  having  the  judgment  of  his  oflicial  board,  we  would  pre- 
sent charges  before  the  Conference  of  contracting  debts  without  the  prob- 
ability of  paying.  Bro  M.  was  prepared  to  take  our  advice  and  made  a 
solemn  promise.  I  don't  think  any  one  but  Bro.  r.  and  myself  and  Bro. 
M.  ever  knevv  anything  of  that  interview.  So  far  as  I  know,  Bro.  M, 
kept  the  promise  till  his  death ;  at  least  I  never  knew  anything  to  the 
contrary."* 

Providential  discipline  and  the  faithful  wounds  of  friends 
put  a  final  end  to  secularity  in  ^larvin's  ministry,  and  an 
end  to  involvements  of  debt.  The  latter  was  accomplished, 
by  a  short  and  sure  method — he  turned  over  the  iinancial- 
l)ureau  to  his  wife.  "  Upon  one  occasion,"  says  Rev.  Mr. 
Doty,  whose  house  was  a  home  durino;  the  war,  "  he  handed 
me  $2000  (Confederate  money)  and  said:  'For  twenty- 
three  years  I  have  never  spent  a  dav  in  secular  thouoht,  Tf 
you  can  do  anything  with  it  that  will  benefit  my  family,  do 
it.'  I  bei>-o;cd  him  to  suirircst  to  me  Avliat  to  do — how  to  use 
it.  '  No,  I  don't  think  about  that — wife  is  the  financier  of 
our  family.     Do  as  you  think  be.st.'  " 

In  the  communication  from  his  Station  at  Marshall, 
Texas,  there  is  this  further  report  of  the  look  })y  a 
member  of  the  church  into  the  home  of  the  preacher:  "Af- 
ter an  ac(juaintance  with  the  Marvin  family  everybody 
thought  them  a  pattern-family  and  would  so  express  them- 
selves to  him  He  Avouhl  iin'ai-ial)ly  reply,  '  My  Avife  has 
all  the  credit  for  the  well-training  of  my  children,  I  have 
been  preaching.'  "  The  group  around  him  at  the  Ahirshall 
parsonage  comprised,  except  three  dead  babes,  all  his  child- 
ren— the  first  born,  the  child  of  Weston  Circuit,  in  that 


AT    JJO.MK.  107 

year  at  Maisliall,  at  date  Aiiu'iist  3i-(l,  in  li-^r  niiictocnth 
year,  bearing"  two  iiaincs  Avhich  represented  to  liini  the 
purest  and  deepest  of  his  earthly  loves — wife  and  only  sis- 
ter— ^Nlareia  Chirk  :  Ada,  bearing  the  name  which  ho  thought 
was  the  most  beautiful  among  maiden's  names,  born  at 
Hannibal  :  A  sou  born  at  Lagrange,  Noveud)er  1st,  1841t, 
whom  he  uamed  Fielding,  after  a  prince  among  men,  the 
Rev.  John  II.  Fielding,  at  the  time.  President  of  St.  Charles 
College:  The  other  children  in  the  group  born  at  "the 
Old  Place,''  in  A\'arreu  Co.,  Mo. —  Cornelia,  whom  he 
called  Xelie,  and  Minnie,  as  he  called  INIary,  the  last  born, 
his  little  three-year-old  girl,  when  he  left  ^Missouri,  in  18()2, 
for  the  South,  and  was  separated  from  wife  and  children 
till  they  were  met  again  at  the  dividing  line  between  the 
armies,  and  grouped  around  him  at  Marshall 

After  his  election  to  the  Episcopacy  and  remaining  to 
hold  the  fall  sessions  of  the  Texas  Conferences,  the  family 
preceded  him  to  Missouri  for  the  schooling  of  the  children, 
and  all  were  domiciled  in  the  family  of  Mr?  R.  II.  Pittnian, 
the  Principal  of  the  Woodlawn  Seminary,  at  O'Fallon.  At 
Danville  and  there  and  in  best  schools  in  St.  Louis  the  girls 
were  well  educated.  Fielding  was  sent  to  the  Pritchett  In- 
stitute, at  Glasgow,  'Mo. 

The  good  opinion  of  his  children  at  Marshall,  as  uni- 
formly m  all  the  places  of  his  abode,  was  highly  gratifying 
to  him.  He  had  great  pleasure  and  pride  in  them  all.  Fa- 
miliar visitors  know  in  what  posture  of  a  wise  and  loving 
father  he  stood  in  the  group  of  his  children.  When  distant 
from  them,  they  were  still  near — in  his  heart  and  in  his 
pravers  :  at  times  a  heart  unutterably  burdened  and  i)rayers 
agonized  ;  as  when,  away  in  the  army,  he  could  not  get  a 
letter  for  long,  Aveary  months,  or  when  the  report  reached 
him  that  "  Home  Guards  "  had  invaded  his  "home"  and 
arrested  his  wife.  Then  this  exclamation,  "  ]May  (Jod  have 
mercy  on  my  family  !  "     In  the  same  Diary  a  Sunday  entry 


108  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

is,  "  When  shall  I  worship  (iod  with  my  own  family  again? 
IIow  my  mind  recurred  to  home  scenes  in  the  love  feast 
this  morning  I  "  The  anniversary  day  of  his  marriage  comes 
and  is  not  overlooked  :  "  Eighteen  years  ago  Harriet  Broth- 
erton  Clark  became  my  wife,  and  no  man  ever  had  a  l)etter. 
Eiolit  children,  four  boys  and  four  girls,  have  been  the  fruit 
of  our  union.  Three  of  the  boys  died  in  their  infancy.  The 
livino:  are  sweet  children.  Shall  I  ever  see  them  and  their 
mother  again?     May  God  in  infinite  mercy  grant  it." 

There  are  memory-records  at  his  homes  in  the  South. 
The  sick  preacher  is  taken  from  Price's  Camp  to  an  Arkan- 
sas home,  in  the  family  of  ]Mr.  W.  T.  Crouch,  who  writes: 
"  I  shall  never  forget  his  prayers  around  the  family-altar. 
Oh,  how  close  he  Avould  come  to  tlu^  Savior  !  lIow  tenderly 
would  he  appeal  to  God  in  behalf  of  his  absent  family  !  lie 
talked  with  God."  At  his  Doty-home,  his  head(iuai-ters  for 
Louisiana  and  Texas,  this  :  "The  long  absence  from  his 
familv  bore  heavily  upon  him,  but  he  would  not  tax  others 
with  his  private*. troubles  ;  but,  to  me,  in  the  privacy  of 
friendship,  he  would  open  his  bleeding  heart,  and  used  ta 
sav,  '  Oh  that  I  could  see  my  sweet  wife  and  children  !  '  " 
The  AVoodville  Ketreat,  in  Mississi[)pi,  was  his  a])ode  for 
six  months — there  as  much  at  home,  he  wrote,  as  a  man 
could  be  out  of  his  own  house,  with  Judge  McGehee's  and 
Bro.  Burruss'  families,  whom  I  count  my  best  friends  in 
the  South — that,  from  his  Diary  and  this,  from  their  ])()ok  of 
cherished  recollections:  "For  six  delightful  months  our 
house  was  ]Mr.  ^Marvin's  home,  and  from  it  he  w^ent  out  to 
his  parochial  duties,  and  back  to  it  he  brought  the  spirit  of 
cheerful,  true  Christianity,  day  after  day  making  us  love 
and  revere  him  more.  He  had  long  chats  with  me  under  the 
sunnner  moon,  telling  of  his  home  and  children  and  noble  wife, 
and  often,  with  tears,  wondering  when  he  might  rejoin  them, 
wonderinir  if  the  circle  would  be  unbroken  when  he  should 
be  united  to  them."     The  writer  of  the  above,  the  daughter 


AT    HOME.  109 

Miirv,  ill  the  McG'ihcc  family,  has  funii.>>hed  tlic  f()lh)\ving 
letter,  received  l)y  her  from  JVishop  Marvin.  It  contains  a 
picture  of  life  at  his  first  Episcopal  home,  in  St.  Louis.  It 
was  "written  on  tlie  eve  of  a  Ions;  absence  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
— then  not  a  separation  from  loved  ones  enforced  by  the 
violence  of  war,  but  still  under  a  compulsion  not  less  im- 
perative and  rigorous.  It  is  explained  by  his  own  pen  why 
and  how  he  could  l)e  absent  so  much  and  so  long  from  a 
home  he  pictures  so  charmingly  and  loved  so  well : 

St.  Louis,  July  18,  1868. 

My  Dear  Mrs.  Sxowden  :  I  have  been  now  for  a  long  time  in  your 
debt,  ami  bi-fore  going  off  to  the  racilic  Coast  I  must  discharge  this  obli- 
gation My  experience  is  that  there  is  nothing  more  pleasant  than  the 
payment  of  debts  when  one  has  the  means.  My  only  trouble  in  this  case 
is  that  peradventure  you  may  find  nothing  better  than  depreciated  cur- 
rency here,  for  I  have  been  of  hue  almost  bewildered  by  multiplicity  of 
incongruous  employments,  so  that  my  head  seems  "all  in  a  muss."  But 
apologies,  I  believe,  are  never  in  good  taste,  so  that  you  see  I  have  al- 
ready begun  in  greenbacks. 

We  are  keeping  house  again  after  two  years'  vacation.  I  have  rented 
a  house  jnst  on  the  edge  of  town,  with  large  grounds,  qnite  a  number  of 
trees,  and  ample  air  privilege.  We  are  in  one  of  the  best  neighborhoods  in 
the  city.  Expect  to  keep  a  cow — a  good  one — and  consume  home-made 
milk  and  butter.  There  are  also  ample  arrangements  for  raising  chiciceus 
on  the  place.  If  we  choose  we  can  raise  our  own  vegetables  next  spring, 
and  you  may  be  sure  we  will  choose.  And  yet  it  is  a  large  sense  in  which 
I  use  the  first  person  plural  in  this  case,  for  I  shall  not  be  here  to  have 
any  voice  in  the  matter.  I  thonght  during  the  war  that  I  never  would 
again  submit  to  any  long  separations  from  my  family.  But  a  man  who 
has  the  vows  of  God  upon  him  must  not  consult  flesh  and  blood.  The 
demands  of  the  Church  must  be  met  at  any  cost.  The  grand  agencies  of 
Christianity  must  be  kept  in  full  vigor.  The  greatest  achievement  of  life 
is  to  "  work  the  works  of  Ciod."  No  sacrifice  is  too  great  to  be  made  in 
this  high  calling.  No  sacrifice  can  be  more  than  a  most  unworthy  response 
to  the  infinite  sacrifice  of  Him  who  ''  gave  Himself  for  us."  Even  this 
poor  life  were  a  small  and  unworthy  offering  made  to  him. 

I  was  writing  a  sermon  the  other  day  and  fell  upon  a  line  of  thought 
which  led  me  on  to  the  statement—"  the  activities  of  life  do  not  terminate 
in  single  acts,  but  go  on  to  eternal  destinies."  How  does  our  life  appear 
in  the  light  of  this  fact ! 

The  fact  is,  humanitv  is  never  half  conscious  of  itself  until  it  contem- 
plates itself  in  the  light  of  the  Christian  faith.    A  man  eating  and  drinking 


200  BISIIOl'    MARVIN. 

and  makinsjj  money,  or  even  carrying  on  ixovernmentsanilstudyinii  A^tron- 
ony,  is  a  trivial  creature  until  his  connections  with  God  aud  eleniiiy  are 
discovered.  It  is  only  when  he  vwrships,  and  so  comes  into  sympathy 
even  with  the  Inllnite,  that  he  becomes  iruly  auijust.  Il  is  tiiere  that  a 
celestial  radiance  touches  and  j^hn-ifies  him.  He  is  not  of  the  earth, 
earthy,  lie  is  already  admitted  to  the  brotherhood  of  the  Immortals.  His 
inheritance  is  in  the  hisrhest  places  of  the  universe.  His  emotions  are 
perpetual  responses  to  inliiiite  overtures  of  Love.  He  is  baptized  with 
Peace  and  Light.  ***** 

1  am,  as  ever,  your  friend, 

E.  M.  Marvin. 

The  al)ove  letter  reveals  Marvin  in  tlio  perfect  liuman- 
ness  of  his  earthly  loves  and  the  man  of  eonsecration  to 
Christ  and  the  man  of  faith,  "seeing  the  invisible"  aud 
livino-  both  for  and  in  the  future  and  eternal  life.  The  sen- 
timent  of  superior  and  supreme  devotion  to  Christ,  if  in  his 
history  surpassing  an  ordinary  zetd,  is  not  /cal  Avithout 
knowledge,  nor  without  scriptural  authority  and  preced- 
ent. It  is  not  unknown  or  unnatural  to  human  affections — 
ill  the  spiritual  realm  not  less  than  in  i)atriot  lands  to  be  ex- 
pected, and  the  spectacle  more  sublime  because  in  a  holier 
cause,  that  a  noble  wife  sends  forth  a  husband  to  the  battle 
held  and  to  distant  campaigns  ;  and  cliihlren  buclde  on  his 
sword  and  i)roudly  put  the  helmet  upon  the  head  of  the 
Chieftain,  llis  family  tlms  understood  his  absence  from 
home  and  other  forms  of  tidelity  in  his  vocation,  interpret- 
ing his  life  in  the  light  of  his  principles  and  not  loving  him 
less  but  reverino-  him  tiie  more  ;  nor  complaining  of  less 
devotion  to  them  in  surpassing  devotion  to  Christ,  his  Lord 
and  theirs. 

In  the  arm  of  the  service  to  which  he  was  providentially 
assi<nied,  there  was  more  of  camp-life  than  post-duty.  lie 
did  not  throw  up  his  commission  on  the  eve  of  a  distant 
campaign  or  on  the  order  of  battle.  If  it  could  be,  his 
family  went  with  him  ;  if  not,  leaving  them  in  barracks,  he 
went  forth.  At  the  camp-fire  his  thoughts  traveled  back  to 
a  loved  home.     Its  loves  minded  with  the  cares  and  courage 


AT    HOME.  201 

of  :i  soldier's  duty — on  tlio  first  Pacilic  tour  of  thirteen 
montlis  tliese  entries  at  various  dates  in  his  Diarv  :  "I  am 
strivinir  to  do  niv  Avliole  duty  and  feel  that  it  is  a  or(>iit 
privile<>e  to  la1)or  and  suffer  for  Him  who  died  for  me" — 
*' I  should,  above  all  things,  deplore  a  fruitless  ministry" 
— "  O,  for  a  general  ()ut[)()uring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  this 
Coast'' — "  May  the  little  one  grow  to  he  a  thousand" — 
*'  Letter  from  home  !  all  are  well.  Thanks  to  our  graeious 
Heavenly  Father!"  Their  portrait  was  taken  with  him 
and  worn  next  his  heart — looked  on  often  and  talked  about. 
There  is  this  ineident  from  the  seaboard  of  the  Atlantic. 
It  is  eiven  by  Dr.  llodirers  as  a  sample  of  <renial  huinor  and 
in  it,  also,  a  view  of  sober  sentnnent  over  a  tender  love  : 
*'I  rcmeml)cr  how,  when  at  camp-meeting,  a  numl)er  of 
persons  were  talking  about  their  children.  He  excited  ex- 
l^ectation  by  a  reference  to  his  own.  My  children,  he  said, 
are  not  particularly  handsome,  though  they  are  good-look- 
ino-  enouo'h  :  nor  prodia'ies  of  briirhtness,  thouuh  intelliirent 
enough  ;  but  there  i^  one  particular  in  which  they  surpass 
any  children  I  have  ever  seen.  Then,  by  various  terms  of 
speech,  he  excited  expectation  by  delaying  the  statement, 
which  came  at  last  in  quiet  remark — '  they  are  so  sweet !'  " 
Amon<r  the  notes  of  a  tour  of  fall  Conferences  in  Texas, 
in  1-S71,  followed  by  a  round  of  Episcopal  supervision 
reaching  through  the  Avinter,  there  is  this  entry  :  "  At 
Chapi)ell  Hill  I  am  the  guest  of  Dr.  Connor,  President  of 
Chappell  Hill  Female  College.  I  have  been  in  my  room 
hut  a  few  minutes  until  a  message  comes  to  me  from  a  lady 
in  the  parlor  who  is  anxious  to  see  me.  A  hapi)y  surprise 
aw^aits  me.  It  is  my  daughter.  A  ray  of  home  sunshine 
has  fallen  upon  me.'  Amidst  the  welcomes  on  return  from 
his  long  absence,  were  some  by  letter,  and  among  them, 
one  from  the  amiable  and  venerable  Kev.  Dr.  Thomas  B. 
Sarirent,  of  Baltimore.  He  forwards  the  rei)lv  to  his  note, 
with  this  preface  :     "  The  enclosed  is  the  only  letter  I  have 


202  BISHOP  MAiiviN. 

from  Bishop  Marvin,  You  will  say  it  is  '  a  gem  of  purest 
ray  serene,'  when  you  have  read  it.  As  soon  as  1  learned 
of  his  arrival  from  his  foreign  tour,  I  wrote  to  weleome 
liim.  In  attempting  to  utter  my  joy  I  gave  his  home  the 
name  which  he  quotes.  This  called  forth  the  s\ve(?t  utter- 
ances you  may  see  and  feel  on  the  little  sheet  I  send  3'ou  :" 

St.  Louis,  Aug.  28,  1877. 

My  Dear  Doctor:  I  am  profonnclly  sratified  to  know  that  you  are- 
still  among  us  mortals.  I  luul  thought  it  very  likely  that  when  I  should 
return  you  would  be  already  crowned.  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  be  gratifled 
at  the  delay;  yet  so  I  am.  You  are  still  short  of  the  goal  -,  and  if  '•  faint," 
yet  "still  pursuing."     May  the  peace  of  God  be  with  you! 

"The  Paradt'iv;  of  home!"  Ah!  yes;  you  know  the  name  of  it.  But 
was  there  ever  a  Paradise  since  the  first  that  hid  no  serpent  in  it?  I 
came  home  to  find  my  brother  sick  unto  death.  "  The  destroyer  is  among 
the  works  of  God."  But  we  wait  for  the  new  heaven  and  the  new  earth, 
wherein  dvvelleth  righteousness.  There  is  a  Paradise  which  no  serpent 
lias  entered ! 

Give  my  love  to  all  in  Baltimore  who  love  me. 

I  have  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  timt;  at  the  bedside  of  my  brother, 
and  this  day  am  i)reparing  for  my  first  Conlerence  Session,  to  which  I 
start  in  the  morning. 

With  much  affection,  as  ever, 

E.  M.  Marvin. 

The  effect  of  his  much  absence  on  the  children  wdien. 
they  were  young  and  till  they  understood  the  matter,  is 
related  l)y  Fielding  in  his  recollections  of  his  father: 

"  During  my  earl}"  childhood  he  was  awiiy  from  home 
most  of  th(i  time  and  to  mo  his  coming  was  as  that  of  a 
stranger.  Timidly  1  came  into  his  presence,  and  the  cordial 
request  had  fre(|uently  to  be  turned  into  the  harsh  command 
to  gain  obedience.  Until  I  was  old  enough  to  appreciate 
his  love  this  tirmness  caused  still  greater  dread  and  his  con- 
tinued absences  o;//y  hu-reased  the  estrangement. 

<' My  weakness  called  forth  his  liveliest  pity  and  sym- 
pathy. His  letters  to  me  while  at  school  were  tilled  with 
words  of  tenderness.  Above  all  and  always  they  Avarned 
me  aganist  every  species   of  evil.     I  remembc  a  sentence 


AT  HOME. 


203 


m  Olio  of  them  something  like  this — '  The  l^rightest  success, 
if  (iod  be  dishonored,  is  l)ut  iigilth'd  pathway  to  destruction.' 

"  It  is  true  that  he  reganhMl  his  duty  to  th(!  church 
above  every  thing  else,  but  his  affection  for  his  family  was 
beyond  expression  tender.  Tiiere  wms  uo  sacrifice  of  his 
own  comfort  that  lie  would  not  make  for  them,  and  yet  he 
would  even  sacrifice  their  comfort,  if  necessary,  to  the 
advancement  of  the  Church.  In  the  family  circle  he  M-as 
kind  to  all,  sometimes  jovial,  and  at  times  some  of  his 
witticisms  were  severe  ;  but  never  so,  if  he  knew  the  subject 
was  sensitive." 

From  what  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  judicious  train- 
ing l)y  the  mother,  it  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  there  was  an 
absence  of  paternal  concern  or  lack  of  a  father's  influence 
and  control.  The  contrary  is  indicated  by  the  testimony  of 
his  son,  and  is  certified  by  his  wife  in  her  notes  con(;erning 
the  family  life — of  its  discipline,  saying:  "lie  was  very 
fond  of  the  children.  lie  used  to  play  with  them  and  was 
approachable  to  them  without  constraint.  There  was  with 
Marcia,  the  eldest,  most  freedom  of  approach  ;  not  so  much 
by  the  two  next  oldest,  Ada  and  Fielding — not  in  them  a 
fear  of  their  father  but  a  natural  timidity.  In  after  years 
he  thought  the  positive  manner  of  his  control  should  have 
been  modified  to  suit  that  peculiar  temperament.  The  child- 
ren from  their  early  years  were  impressed  with  the  authority 
of  his  command.  AVhen  issued,  that  was  accepted  as  final 
and  imperative." 

It  was  ni  the  attitude  of  fatherhood,  as  God's  vicar  and 
a  wise  judge  and  careful  curator  in  respect  to  the  child, 
that  in  one  of  his  writings,  these  strong  words  are  uttered  : 
"  My  neighbor  says,  'I  will  not  bind  my  chikl  in  the  affairs 
of  his  soul.  He  shall  ha  free.  lie  shall  choose  for  himself 
This  is  (luite  taking  to  the  popular  ear.  But  I  say  my  child 
shall  not  be  free  to  go  wrong,  either  in  religion  or  anything 
else,  if  I  can   help  it — and   more  emphatically  in  religion 


204  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

than  anvtliinir  else.  I  Avill  bind  him  by  commands,  by  cov- 
enants, and  l)y  all  the  most  sacred  obligations,  to'scrvc  God. 
I  will  environ  him  with  motives  that  he  shall  feel  it  to  be 
unnatural  and  monstrous  for  him  to  disregard.  I  will  make 
it  in  the  highest  degree  difficult  and  painful  for  him  to  go 

to  hell." 

There  is  the  "  anything  else,"  the  reader  Avill  observe, 
in  the  above  extract,  but  in  it  will  observe,  also,  the  fact 
and  the  sentiment,  that  Christian  culture  was  his  chief  con- 
cern, as  it  is  the  prime  benefaction  of  a  true  fatherhood. 
His  o-overnment  in  the  family  was  conducted  by  these  three 
rules  of  administration — authority,  affection,  and  Christian 
teaching;  ueither  separately,  all  duly  1)l('nded.  The  chil- 
dren, as  they  testify,  were  impressed  as  well  with  a  sense  of 
his  love,  as  of  his  authority.  He  played  with  them  ;  he 
cared  for  them  ;  he  educated  them — love  shown  practically 
in  beneficent  forms,  as  well  as  in  w^ords  of  endearment.  The 
due  blending  of  all  and  the  happy  fruits  of  it,  are  seen  in  a 
picture  of  his  home  by  the  pen  of  one.  Dr.  B.  T.  Kavanaugh, 
wiio  was  for  a  time  an  inmate  of  it  and  is  a  judicious  obser- 
\0Y : 

The  next  thinii  which  attracted  my  attention,  in  the  home  life  of 
Bishop  Marvin,  was  liis  family  government.  I  have  never  seen  a  more 
complete  union  of  affection  and  authority  blended  In  a  household  than  in 
his.  While  an  air  of  cheerfulness  and  good  humor  predominated  in  his 
spirit  and  manner,  a  dignified  tirmness  and  decision  marked  his  bearing, 
that  could  not  be  mlsnndcrslood  nor  disregarded  by  any  one  present.  The 
children,  naturally  mild  and  plea-ant,  under  the  influence  of  such  a  pres- 
ence, could  not  do  otherwise  Mian  yield  to  its  iiiHuence,  conform  to  its 
spirit  and  dictates,  and  scarcely  realize  that  they  were  governed  at  all. 
The  genial  and  free  spirit  of  the  father  and  husband  so  impressed  and  con- 
trolled that  of  the  children  and  wife  that  one  heart  and  one  mind  seemed 
to  animate  the  entire  household.  V\^hile  the  children  were  free,  easy,  and 
happv  in  the  presence  of  their  father,  their  love  and  reverence  for  him 
hushed  into  quietness  every  uprising  of  tumultuous  mirth,  and  quiet  delight 
seemed  to  reign  predominant.  General  principles  were  laid  down  by  the 
father,  clear  and  strong,  suited  to  the  capacity  of  each  :  but  the  details  of 
duty  and  obligation  were  jnivately  and  affectionately  given  by  the  mother. 

The  ruling  principle  in  the   house,  therefore,  was  love;  pure  love, 


AT    HOME.  2()^> 

whicli  in  its  very  nature  pro(Uic(!s  cliecrful  ;uid  j;I:id  obedience  to  every 
wish  and  desire  of  the  ruling  spirit. 

This  is  a  government  modeled  after  that  of  God's  over  his  spiritual 
family,  where  love  fnllills  the  whole  law.  I^ove  can  neitlier  lhinl<  nor  do 
evil  willingly.  Hence,  where  it  holds  dominion,  peace,  harmony,  and  hap- 
piness must  be  the  legitimate  and  inevitable  result.  After  mucli  reflection 
and  observation,  I  feel  constrained  to  say  that  I  have  never  seen  a  family 
more  completely  organized  and  governed  on  Christian  principles  than  that 
of  Enoch  M.   Marvin. 

In  a  family  so  well  disciplined  in  nioi-al  and  religious  principles,  we 
may  reasonably  look  for  fruits  corr(;sponding  to  the  teachings  and  tenor 
of  wholesome  disci|)line,  both  mental  and  moral  This  fruit  we  have  in 
the  pure  and  elevated  lives  of  the  heaven-favored  children  of  our  beloved 
Brother  Marvin.  It  was  their  custom,  on  Ixing  seated  at  the  family  table, 
before  the  blessing  was  asked,  for  each  to  repeat  a  passage  of  scripture 
suitable  to  the  occasion,  and  one  that  would  arouse  proper  meditation  for 
the  occasion;  after  which  the  father,  or  the  minister  present,  invoked  the 
divine  blessing. 

It  is  a  common  saying  that  preachers'  children  are  worse 
than  others.  Considerable  i)ains  have  been  taken  to  test  it, 
by  a  hirge  observation  and  by  the  testimony  of  statistics, 
which  show  tliat  the  proverbial  saying  is  a  popnlar  falhicy. 
It  may  be  interesting  and  worth  while  to  adduce  the  testi- 
mony : 

It  is  flippantly  said  that  '  ministers'  children  are  worse  than  any 
others."  In  some  cases  the  relationsliip  lias  given  a  prominence  to  mis- 
doing— has  made  it  more  noticed ;  but,  in  point  of  fact  the  statement  is 
not  true.  A  prominent  man  in  the  American  pulpit  said  on  a  public  occa- 
sion: "  In  Connecticut  there  were  nine  hundred  and  thirty  children  over 
fifteen  years  of  age,  of  miuisters  and  deacons,  only  twenty  of  whom  turned 
out  badly.  In  Massachusetts,  out  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-three  fami- 
lies of  ministers,  there  were  fifteen  hundred  and  ninety-eia;ht  children  over 
fifteen  years,  and  only  tw-enty  ever  becime  dissipated.  Here  we  have  forty 
out  of  twenty-flve  hundred  and  thirty-five  children,  just  two  and  a  lialf  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  number. 

"  I  will  ask  auy  business  man  if  he  would  not  be  glad,  oftentimes,  if 
his  losses  were  not  greater  than  two  and  a  half  percent.?  I  undertake 
to  say  that  no  business  has  ever  been  so  safe  as  that  of  raising  deacons' 
and  ministers'  children  in  New  England. 

'•  If  we  examine  Dr.  Spraguo's  invaluable  collection  of  clerical  biogra- 
phies, we  derive  another  corroboration  of  our  position.  A  hundred  clergy- 
men may  be  taken  out  of  one  of  his  volumes  at  raudom,  and  it  will  be 
found  that,  of  this  first  hundred,  one  hundred  sons  became  also  preachers. 


206  BISHOP    MAKVIN. 

Of  the  remainder,  tlie  largest  proportion  rose  to  eminence  in  other  pro- 
fessions or  avocations.  Can  the  same  be  said  of  any  other  body  of  one 
luiiiiircil  men,  talien  at  random,  from  other  walks  of  life?  As  to  tlie  daugh- 
ters of  clergymen,  it  has  been  remarked  by  a  keeu  observer  that  it  is  a 
'passport  to  tlie  highest  places,  and  a  guarantee  of  respectability  and 
worth,  both  in  Great  Britain  and  America.'  " 

The  household  of  a  ]\Iethodist  preacher,  it  is  supposed, 
is  under  purticuhir  disadvantage,  because  the  father  is  away 
from  home  so  nmch.  The  hurt  is  not  so  necessarily,  nor  so 
much  as  may  1)0  imagined.  In  the  teaching  of  example, 
Avhat  is  honorable  in  sentiment,  what  is  brave  and  sturdy  in 
character,  what  is  heroic  in  Christian  consecration  and  pure 
and  lovely  and  of  good  report,  may  be  shown  r(»ally  and  not 
less  forcibly  in  the  preacher's  absence,  if  it  is  like  Bishop 
Marvin's  and  as  it  was  understood  by  his  children.  It  illus- 
trated a  high-born  humanity,  and  interpreted  Christian  vir- 
tue, and  was  to  them  an  Epistle  of  Christ.  Nor  is  there  so 
much  lack,  as  may  be  thought,  of  paternal  rule,  if  there  is 
a  woman  left  at  home  who  is  fit  to  be  a  Methodist  Preacher's 
■wife  and  the  mother  of  children.  She  is  not  only  a  partner 
in  this  business,  but  a  competent  deputy  left  in  the  office, 
when  the  head  of  the  Bureau  is  away  on  necessary  duty. 
There  are  standing  rules  for  its  government  to  be  carried 
out,  and  they  are,  by  the  mother,  in  his  absence  as  when  he 
is  present  with  them.  Direct  personal  control  and  care  are 
not  wanting — by  the  authority  and  the  comfort  of  letters. 
The  following  to  d:mghters  and  to  his  son,  when  he  was  a 
law  student  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  are  samples  : 

St.  Louis,  Nov.  1,  1872. 

I 

My  Dear  Son  :  This  is  your  birthday,  and  your  name  has  been  spoken 
with  affection  several  times  in  the  course  of  the  day.  We  have  just  been 
talking  about  you  at  the  supper-table,  and  I  agreed  with  your  mother  that 
some  one  ouglit  to  write  to  you  before  the  day  was  quite  gone. 

You  are  twenty  three  years  old,  if  I  count  right.  How  swift  is  the 
wing  of  time !  It  seems  very  strange  to  me  to  have  throe  children  now 
older  tlian  I  was  when  I  was  married.  I^ven  Cornelia  is  as  old  as  I  was 
when  I  begun  to  preach.     If  life  shall  be  spared,  I  shall  soon  complete  my 


AT    HOME.  207 

half-century.    The  journey  of  life  is  short!     We  shall  all  very  soon  "ac- 
complish as  an  hireling  our  day." 

There  can  be  but  one  wortiiy  purpose  of  our  existence.  That  pursuit 
that  contemplates  a  result  limited  to  time  must  be  nuwonhy  of  an  immor- 
tal being.  Wliat  we  may  achieve,  and  must  be  done  with,  witliin  tlio  per- 
iod of  sixty  or  seventy  years,  is  trivial  indeed.  Our  Creator  has  in  view 
for  us  :i  destiny  inliiiitely  more  noble.  He  invites  us  to  tluit  contest  in 
wliicli  the  Tlirones  of  Eternity  are  to  be  won.  It  givus  me  great  joy  to  be- 
lieve that  you  have  long  since  entered  upon  thia  contest,  and  that  you  are 
still  earnestly  maintaining  it.  May  you  be  girded  fully  for  the  strife  dur- 
ing the  year  upon  wliich  you  this  day  enter!  Tatce  to  yourself,  my  son, 
"  the  wliole  armor  of  God,"  and  "  stiind  against "  both  "the  wiles"  and 
the  "fiery  darts  "  of  the  enemy.  Let  your  trust  be  in  God.  Maintain  the 
spirit  as  well  as  the  habit  of  prayer,  and  "  keep  your  garment  unspotteil 
from  the  world." 

A  life  consecrated  to  God  can  never  be  a  failure.  Whatever  may  be 
the  result  of  mere  business  or  professional  ventures,  such  a  life  attains  to 
the  highest  end  of  existence.  Of  course  I  shall  be  rejoiced  if  you  do  well 
in  your  profession,  and,  if  your  life  and  health  be  spared,  I  doubt  not  that 
you  will.  But  even  if  "  worst  should  come  to  worst "  in  regard  to  "the 
affairs  of  this  life  ''  I  shall  certainly  not  consider  that  a  calamity.  Nothing 
is  a  calamity  except  the  ruin  of  tlie  soul.  Preserve  honor  and  truth.  Keep 
jour  promise  with  God.  Seek  Hist  the  kingdom  of  Gotl.  Indeed  yor  have 
done  this  as  to  time.     Still,  hold  it  Jirst  in  importance. 

I  press  this  matter  not  because  I  doubt  the  stability  of  your  religious 
character.  I  have  had  the  most  implicit  confidence  in  you  ever  since  your 
public  profession  of  faith  in  Christ.  But  I  have  had  some  fear  that  the 
ardor  of  early  ambitions  might,  in  some  measure,  for  a  time,  tend  to  re- 
press the  exercise  of  faith,  and  so  militate  against  the  fell  development  of 
the  spiritual  life.  I  dread  somewhat  the  effect  of  an  undue  anxiety  for 
mere  professional  success,  and  the  eclat  that  it  secures.  I  would  have 
you  first  of  all  tilings  a  Christian — deeply,  fully  consecrated  to  God.  All 
♦ilse  will  be  added  as  God  Himself  shall  see  the  need:  "for  your  Father 
knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  these  things.'' 

Your  ma  and  sisters  all  send  a  birthday  kiss.  Write  me  at  once  so 
that  I  may  receive  it  before  I  go  South. 

As  ever, 

Yolk  Father. 

San  Francisco,  Cal  ,  Oct.  30,  1S7G. 
My  Dear  Ada  :  I  have  been  writing  nearly  every  day  to  some  one, 
for  the  last  several  days,  and  to-day  I  feel  like  writing  to  you  It  is  Mon- 
day. We  had  a  pleasant  Sabbath,  good  congregation,  and  attentive.  We 
are  to  liave  a  special  service  at  our  church  on  Tuesday  night,  ami  then 
sail  at  noon  on  Wednesday.  Bro.  Hendrix  is  to  preach  and  then  we  are  to 
have  the  sdcrameut  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 


208  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

In  the  damp  weatlier  of  ihc  last  few  days  I  liave  taken  some  cold  and 
have  slight  soreness  of  the  throat,  Nvliich  has  affected  my  voice  considera- 
l)ly.  But  the  weatlar  is  briiiht  now,  and  bids  fair  to  remain  s)  until  we 
sail.  So  you  see  I  take  it  for  granted  you  are  interested  in  the  least  little 
matters  that  concern  my  comfort. 

It  seems  to  me  that  my  wife  and  children  were  never  so  dear  to  mo  as 
now,  that  I  am  on  tlie  eve  of  a  separation  that  is  to  be  so  great.  Life,  too, 
seems  uncertain,  though  I  have  no  special  dread  of  danger  on  my  tour. 
But  how  possible  it  is  that  we  may  not  all  live  to  meet  again,  and  how 
precious  is  the  hope  of  heaven  at  such  a  time.  *  *  * 

May  God  bless  you,  my  dear  daui^htcr.  I  know  you  are  striving  to 
serve  Him  in  truth.    'His  grace  will  be  suhicient  fur  you  at  all  times. 

With  more  love  than  I  can  express,  I  am, 

As  ever, 

Your  Papa. 

•  Steamer  Alaska,  Lat.  30^  33',  Long.  173. 

My  Dkar  Child  :  It  is  some  days  now  since  1  wrote  to  Marcia,  and 
since  tlien  we  have  had  one  or  two  of  the  heaviest  squalls  of  the  voyage  so 
far.  but  nothing  tliat  those  accustomed  to  the  sea  consider  dangerous.  For 
two  days  now  the  weather  has  been  quite  pleasant,  and  one  consequence 
is  we  all  have  good  appetites. 

We  may  be  said  now  to  l)e  in  mid-ocean,  being  somewliat  more  than 
half  way  to  Yokohama,  being  nearly  twenty-seven  hundred  miles  from  San 
Francisco.  This  puts  me  five  thousand  miles  from  home.  It  does  seem  a 
long,  long  way.  But  God  has  been  wouderrully  good.  He  has  preserved 
me  thus  far  from  sickness  and  accident,  except  a  little  sea-sickness  for  two 
or  three  days.  For  the  past,  there  is  great  cause  of  gratitude— for  the  fu- 
ture, I  will  trust.     Wliatever  He  does  must  be — is — right  and  be-t. 

I  have  had  mucli  d  ■light  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  on  the  voyage.  Into  sev- 
eral passages  I  have  had  a  new  insight — deeper  and  more  satisfying.  Bro. 
H.  and  I  had  our  reading  lesson  this  morning,  Mat.  xvi.,  and  I  know  not 
when  the  Word  of  God  seemed  to  sink  so*  deeply  into  me — especially  from 
the  21st  verse  to  the  close  of  the  chapter.  Peter's  confession  that  Jesus  was 
the  Son  of  God  probably  constituted  an  epoch  in  the  conscious  relations 
of  the  disciples  to  Him.  We  see  things  more  clearly  after  we  reach  a  state- 
ment of  them.  The  exalted  nature  of  the  Lord  was  perceived  by  th'm 
from  the  first,  and  they  hail  already  once,  when  He  stilleil  the  tempest,  said, 
'•Of  a  truth,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God."  But,  then,  it  was  an  impulsive  utter- 
ance just  at  the  moment  when  they  were  delivered  from  a  great  terror,  and, 
l)erhaps,  they  were  scarcely  conscious  of  its  full  import.  But  now  they 
were  calm  and  thoughtful,  and  the  statement  is  made  with  deliberaiJon  and 
Avith  great  formality;  "  ThoU  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God," 
and  "/ro»i  that  time  forth"  He  began  to  open  to  them  the  great  purpose  of 
His  coming  into  the  world.  When  they  clearly  saw  Him  to  be  the  Sou  of 
God  He  began  to  speak  to  them  of  His  death.     But,  even  then,  they  were 


AT    HOME.  209 

not  prepared  for  it,  ;uid  poor,  impulsive  Peter  even  undertook  to  rebuke? 
Him  for.  sayinsi;  suih  a  thing.  Presumptuous  man!  Witli  wliat  fearful 
words  was  lie  put  to  silence.  He  couhl  not  even  yet  savor  the  things  of 
God,  but  the  things  of  men.  In  a  human  liglit  the  great  thing  would  be 
to  live  a  prosperous  life  and  enjoy  a  triumph  over  all  opposition,  but  not 
as  God  saw.  The  divine  glory  of  Christ  required  that  he  should  suffer  for 
the  sins  of  the  world  and  redeem  His  people  from  their  sins.  Only  by  tak- 
ing upon  Ilimsflf  the  sins  of  the  guilty  could  He  recover  them  to  God. 
Peter  could  not  see  that,  and  never  did  until  the  light  of  Pentecost,  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  came  upon  him.  Into  what  a  glory  does  the 
sufferer  of  Calvary  emerge  from  the  eclipse  of  shame  and  death.  Saved 
millions  are  the  fruit  of  his  humiliation.  The  corn  of  wheat  dies,  but  what 
harvests  does  it  give  birth  to?  And  for  us,  too,  the  way  of  humility  is  the 
way  to  glory.  The  crown  of  thorns  comes  before  the  crown  of  life.  The 
valley  of  tears  must  be  trod  before  the  mount  of  vision  is  reached. 
May  we  have  grace  to  "savor  the  things  that  be  of  God!  "  May  we  be 
ready  ftir  all  that  He  appoints  us! 

It  will  probably  be  tlie  first  of  December  by  the  time  we  reach  Yoko- 
hama. We  did  h(>pe  to  get  there  by  the  25th  of  this  month,  but  that  is  out 
of  the  question  now.  We  will  be  a  little  vStraitened  for  time  in  consequence 
of  the  vniprecedented  slowness  of  our  ship.  But  we  are  as  pleasantly  sit- 
uated as  could  be  for  so  long  a  time  at  sea.  Ollicers  and  passengers  are 
all  agreeable,  and  we  have  dropped  down  to  latitude  30,  or  near  it,  so  that 
we  have  warm  w^eather.  We  shall  have  to  bear  northward  considerably 
as  we  near  tiie  coast  of  Japan,  and  then  till  we  leave  Shanghai  we  will  be 
about  in  the  climate  of  Arkansas.  From  there  we  .shall  go  direct  into  the 
tropics,  if  the  Lord  will,  and  remain  in  them  until  spring. 

With  much  love, 

Youu  Pap.4. 

Bishop  ISIurviu  has  put  on  record  his  views  of  moral  cul- 
ture— its  method  and  aim.  It  must  i)roceed  upon  the  basal 
fact  of  spiritual  depravity,  "born  in  sin,"  and  stop  not 
short  of  "  born  again  "" — inclusive  of  moral  excellence,  but 
culminating;  in  spiritual  regeneration  ;  not  only  to  fashion 
virtuous  habits,  Imt  create  the  religious  life,  "  the  hidden 
man  of  the  heart."  In  this  idtimate  and  supreme  aim,  the 
early  years  ar(^  the  time  of  best  opportunity,  nature  then 
the  most  friendly  to  grace,  aided  1)y  the  spirit  and  traits  of 
childhood.  The  above  views  preface  the  statement  contained 
in  llie  folh)wing  extract  from  a  series  of  papers  contributed 
to  tlie  colunms  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate: 
U 


210  BISHOP   MARVIX. 

True,  llien-  arc  facts  in  cnniu'ctioii  witli  childliood  which  render 
proper  Christian  trainiiiu:  vcty  effective. 

The  sciisil)iliiie.s  are  acute,  ami  through  them  much  may  be  effected. 
The  young  mind  is  credulons,  ami  may  be  pre-occupied  with  the  truth  of 
the  Gospel.  Indeed,  if  tiie  Christian  parent  makes  proper  use  of  liis  ad- 
A'antige  ho  will  inirench  the  truth  deeply  and  almost  unassailably  in  the 
child's  mind.  Then  there  is  the  power  and  authority  of  tlie  parent  over 
the  cliild.  Where  parental  authority  is  properly  established  and  main- 
tained all  the  early  years  of  life  are  wielded  by  the  parent  In  .the  most 
powerful  manner  the  child  may  be  thus  turned  and  impelled  towartl  a  holy 
life. 

The  Christian  training  which  goes  upon  the  supposition  that  the  child 
is  good  enough  without  being  born  again,  that  proceeds  upon  the  idea  of 
inbred  purity  instead  of  inbred  sin,  may  malce  formalists,  but  it  can  never 
make  true  Christians.  The  transforming  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  must 
be  felt  in  the  heart.     Nothing  short  of  this  is  to  be  taken  for  true  religion. 

I  have  no  doui)t  that  cliildren  properly  trained  may  often  be  converted 
at  so  early  an  age  that  they  may  not  be  able  to  analyze  the  acts  of  con- 
sciousness, nor  to  know  the  character  of  the  emotions  of  the  new  life. 
Such  persons  are  often  perplexed  in  after  years  by  the  clear-cut  and  often 
startling  experience  of  those  who  had  grown  to  maturity  in  sin.  Yet  no 
matter  how  early  the  work  may  be  accomplished,  this  work  of  the  Spirit 
must  be  done. 

His  personal  concern  at  that  point  is  manifested  in  words 
already  quoted,  and  in  these  words  of  admonition:  "To 
this  view  of  tlie  case  the  Church  must  be  brouo-ht.  There 
is  much  need  of  light  amongst  us  upon  tliis  subject.  Our 
own  Church  needs  toning  up  greatly.  Thousands  in  the 
Church  use  little  or  no  authority  to  turn  the  young,  unprac- 
ticed  feet  of  their  children  from  the  "way  of  death.  Many 
Methodists  are  incurring  heavy  guilt  in  this  very  thing." 

His  own  practice  conformed  to  his  exhortation.  He  was 
sedulous  to  train  his  children  in  manly  sentiments  and  wo- 
manly graces,  for  honorable  position  in  society  and  high 
ambitions  in  life  ;  but  chiefly  to  bring  them  to  Christ  and  to 
train  them  for  heaven — their  conversion  to  God,  the  burden 
of  his  soul  and  the  agony  of  his  prayer.  She  was  the 
youngest  child  and  the  only  one  out  of  the  Church,  and  till 
Minnie  was  converted  and  brought  in,  he  could  have  no  rest 
nor  give  her  rest,  and  gave  God  no  rest.    Ho  instructed  and 


AT    HOME.  211 

appealed  to  her  in  letters.  "  T  spoke  to  lier  directly,"  ho 
says.  lie  talked  with  (Jod  about  her.  At  last  he  greatly 
rejoiced  over  lier.  His  cup  was  full — the  whole  family  a 
household  of  faith. 

This  history  of  the  last  conversion  iu  this  family  indi- 
cates one  of  the  means  of  it,  the  least  practiced  and  the 
most  effective — direct  jiersonal  ap[)eal.  It  had  a  suitable 
introduction,  prefaced  by  a  godly  example  and  the  godly 
discipline  of  the  household.  The  worship  of  God  was  an 
ordinance  of  family  life.  The  Bible,  preached  iu  the  })ul- 
pit,  was  read  and  expounded  at  home.  There  was  among 
the  voices  in  the  house  the  song  of  praise,  which  is  heard 
"in  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous."  To  home-culture 
there  were  added  the  ordinances  and  worship  of  the  sanc- 
tuary— the  baptismal  rite  and  covenant  for  them,  the  Sun- 
day School  and  the  sermon.  AA'hen  he  Avas  judiie  for  them, 
they  were  church-goers,  not  sent,  l)ut  taken  ;  made  to  go, 
it  may  be,  at  first,  but  going  afterwards  in  the  easy  path  of 
habit,  and  at  last  happily  by  choice.  By  this  discipline 
they  were  brought  into  the  Church  and  kept  in  it.  This  the 
latest  saying  concerning  his  children  and  on  his  last  Sunday 
on  earth :  "  Is  not  this  the  Lord's  Day?"  inquired  of  the 
w'ife,  and  to  her  affirmative  reply  saying,  "  Have  the  chil- 
dren gone  to  Sunday  School?"  It  was  the  customary  Sun- 
day thought  and  the  thought  of  his  heart,  when  the  pulse 
beat  hiiih  in  youni?  married  life  and  then,  in  the  evening  of 
days,  when  the  shadows  were  falling  on  his  hearthstone. 

Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  in  the  introduction  to  the  Treatise 
aforementioned,  remarks:  "I  have  said  that  children 
spoiled  in  the  nursery  can  seldom  be  mended  in  the  sanctu- 
-ary.  And  it  is  equally  true  of  them,  that  if  they  are  well 
molded  in  the  nursery  and  well-finished  in  the  Sunday 
School,  it  is  hard  to  spoil  them  afterwards."  Bishop  Mar- 
vin has  siirnalized  the  same  methods:  "There  is  much 
-shameful  neglect  of  childreu  by  the  Church  and  by  Chris- 


212  BISHOP   aiARVIN. 

tian  parents.  The  best  possible  results  of  Christian  training 
are  rarely  realized,  for  the  reason  that  the  training  itself  is 
imperfect.  A  thorough  course  of  training,  where  there  is  a 
due  blending  of  authority,  affection  and  Christian  teaching 
on  the  part  of  parents,  and  the  proper  care  and  influence  on 
the  part  of  pastors,  with  prayer  and  faith,  would  breed  up 
a  style  of  Christians  now  rarely  seen  among  us." 

This  joint  ministry — the  Christian  home  and  the  Church 
of  Qod — was  effectual  to  the  salvation  of  his  house.     As  an 
end  specifically  proposed  and  wisely  and  ardently  pursued, 
by  command  and  covenant,  by  the  constraint  of  all  forms  of 
obligation,  anji  by  the  environment  of  all  possible  motives, 
his  supreme  desire  and  their  chief  good  were  realized — at 
the  head  of  a  Christian  family.     In  that  attitude  he  appears 
grandly.      In  that  character  of  his  house,  he  most  cherished 
it  and  found  the  name  for  it — "the  Paradise  of  Home." 
It  has  been  written  truly  and  eloquently,  "And  that  home, 
whether  it  be  a  king's  palace  or  in   a  slave's  cabin,  where 
Jesus  is  the  Lord  of  all  hearts,  and  the  pattern  of  all  lives, 
is  most  like  heaven  of  all  places  in  the  world."     With  the 
same  admiring  view  he  looked  upon  such  a  home  at  the  East 
Texas  Conference,  in  1870,  and  enjoyed  his  sojourn  in  it: 
"  On  Tuesday  morning  I  took  leave  of  my  friends  at  Carth- 
ao-e.     At  Jefferson  I  had  been  with  old  and  tried  friends — 
Bro.  J.  C.  JSIurphy  and  his  family.     Here  my  host  and  his 
family  were  strangers  to  me.     They  had  been  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Georgia,  but  found  themselves 
here  remote  from  their  own  peoi)le,  and  after  some  delay 
had,  during  the  past  summer,  united  with  our  Church.    Dur- 
ing the  week  of  my  sojourn  under  their  roof  I  became  warmly 
attached  to  both  parents  and  children.     One  special  ground 
of  esteem  was  the  fact  that  the  children  were  properly  gov- 
erned.    There  was  no  severity,  no  harsh  punishment,  but 
sustained  and  uniform  authority,  quietly  and  calmly  asser- 
ted on  the  part  of  the  parents,  mingled  with  the  most  tender 


AT    HOME.  213 

affection.  On  the  part  of  the  children  there  was,  of  course, 
obedience — ready,  -vvillinu-,  cheerful,  pleasant.  A\'hy  is  there 
so  little  of  this  sort  of  family  government  in  our  countrj^? 
It  is  a  thing  so  lovely  in  itself,  so  conducive  to  happiness 
and  good  character  among  children,  so  honorable  in  parents 
and  honoring  to  God,  that  one  would  expect  to  find  it  a 
prevalent  thing  in  Christian  households.  The  oldest  child 
of  the  family,  an  intelligent  little  girl  eight  or  nine  years 
old,  made  a  i)rofession  of  religion  during  the  Conference. 
We  parted  in  tears.  May  great  peace  abide  upon  this 
house." 

The  description  pictures  his  own  home  and  its  blessed- 
ness. The  benediction  of  peace  was  in  it,  and  on  it,  pro- 
nounced by  human  lips  and  connnanded  from  heaven — "  He 
blesseth  the  habitation  of  the  just." 


CHAPTER    XI. 


HANNIBAL    STATION. 

Conference  of  1846 — Stationed  at  Hannibal — A  second  year — The  first  sta- 
tion—His advancement— 111  tlie  order  of  tlie  Church— On  his  own 
merits — Humility — Tiie  connection  of  Westoii  and  Hannibal  appoint- 
ments— Home  and  woiic  at  Weston — Mrs.  Marvin's  recollections— His 
own — Came  to  Hannibal  in  debi — Ministerial  support — His  creed — 
His  experience — Sacrifice  and  exaltation — Default  exemplified  and  re- 
proved—The Caples-IMarvin  Avarnins; — Financial  embarrassment  at 
Hannibal  explained — Dtliverauce— The  later  Avisdom  and  better  rule 
-The  wages  and  work  at  Hannibal— Bishop  Paine's  recollections — 
The  post  of  honor — The  stages  of  his  public  life— Hannibal  Station  aa 
epoch. 

^ifgWARYIN  was  stationed,  in  1840,  at  Hannibal,  where  the 
•J^J^  Conference  was  held,  commencing  its  session  Sep- 
tember 3Uth,  Bishop  Paine,  presiding.  He  was  returned  to 
the  charo-ethe  following  year  at  the  session  held  at  Glasgow, 
commencing  Scpteml)er  29th,  under  presidency  pro  tern,  of 
Andrew  INIonroe,  Bishop  Capers  not  having  arrived  till  near 
the  close  of  the  session.  The  Hannibal  appointment  was 
epochal  in  this  history.  It  was  his  first  station  and  a  chief 
charge — at  the  time  the  post  of  honor,  as  it  v/as  the  most 
delicate  and  difficult  work  in  the  Conference  that  3^ear.  He 
is  going  up  on  the  scale  of  reputation  and  influence.  Some 
of  the  incidents  of  the  advancement  are  in  further  revela- 
tion of  his  ministerial  character  and  illustration  of  his 
itinerant  career. 

This  was  the  first  instance  of  a  return  to  the  same  charge 
in  a  successive  year,  having,  theretofore,  passed  through  five 


HANNIBAL    STATION.  215 

years  in  as  many  different  pastoral  cliaiucs,  and  all-of  them 
circuit  work.  It  was  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time, 
and  in  "the  wisdom  of  the  fathers."  The  pastoral  work 
and  administration  did  not  suffer  during  a  second  }'ear  at 
the  hands  of  a  young  preacher,  under  press  of  the  demands 
of  the  pul[)it  and  the  exactions  of  the  study.  The  advan- 
tage to  tlie  preaclier  w^as  realized  in  a  stouter  physic^ue,  a 
fresher  and  stronger  spirit,  better  general  culture,  a  broader 
theology,  and,  at  the  end,  a  more  varied  and  vigorous  i)ulpit. 
It  entered  into  the  training  of  the  man,  the  divine,  the 
preacher  Marvin  was,  when  ten  years  later  he  had  a  stouter 
physical  constitution,  than  when  he  began  his  ministry ;  and 
had  courage  to  take  up  the  glove  thrown  down  by  the  most 
polished  champion  of  the  Catholic  faith  in  St.  Louis  at  that 
time  or  since,  and  ability  to  poise  and  hurl  a  victorious 
lance  ;  nor  wanting  in  ability  nor  in  moral  as  well  as  intel- 
lectual stoutness,  to  hold  the  affections  of  the  Church  and 
the  audience  of  an  increasing  congregation,  in  the  same 
community  and  in  its  principal  pulpits  for  a  successive  dura- 
tion of  seven  j-ears,  and  could  have  done  it  a  lifetime.  Ho 
did  not  go  up  too  fast — not  the  glare  and  spurt  of  a  meteor, 
but  the  orbit  of  a  planet.  The  advancing  curve  was  pro- 
jected on  a  line  to  reach  a  zenith,  distant  but  high  in  mid- 
heavens.  Thanks  to  bishops  who  Avere  next  in  the  succession 
from  Asbury,  and  to  Paine  who  had  been  a  traveling  com- 
panion of  xdcKendree,  and  Capers  who  was  joined  with 
Andrew  in  the  Southern  Methodist  line  of  Episcopacy,  for 
the  a[)pointments  which  did  not  allow  at  first  a  second  year 
at  the  same  place  ;  nor  send  ]\Iarvin,  in  his  early  ministry, 
to  the  "chapel"  of  a  suburban  charge  rather  than  to  the 
free  rano-e  of  a  wide  circuit.  It  did  nmch  to  make  him  the 
colleague  of  Methodist  Bishops  and  a  compeer  any^vhere 
along  the  line,  from  the  first  to  the  last.  He  trode  in  their 
steps  as  Avell  as  in  the  path  of  the  appointments  they  made, 
and  reached  their  eminence. 


216  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

His  going  up  as  an  itincraiit,  besides  what  has  been 
named,  "  slow,  but  sure,"  was  in  the  way  of  Providence, 
as  that  is  found  in  tlie  order  of  the  Cliurch.  "•  I  never," 
he  has  said,  "  asked  for  an  appointment."  He  had  been 
for  five  3'ears  in  tlie  extreme  northeastern  part  of  the  State 
at  various  cliarges  and  did  not  consider  it  an  exception,  that, 
in  1851,  he  requested  to  be  sent  nearer  home,  to  look  after 
a  sick  sister  and  aged  parents  ;  not  then  asking  for  a  particu- 
lar place,  and  then,  going  to  an  ordinary  circuit — never,  in 
cupidity  for  larger  pay,  nor  in  carnal  ambition  for  a  chief 
place.  At  last,  he  had  good  support,  and  none  have  served 
more  responsible  work  or  filled  higher  offices  ;  but  in  the 
record  there  is  no  fact  and  none  of  the  arts  of  place-seeking. 
In  the  history  of  this  great  man  and  in  his  great  history,  we 
do  not  find  in  the  least  these  little  things — little,  not  in  the 
sense  of  a  slight  blemish  or  a  pardonable  weakness,  but,  as 
he  thought  and  has  said,  contrary  to  the  oath- vow  of  ordin- 
ation ;  and  in  the  ecclesiastical  relations  of  a  Methodist 
Conference  and  the  law  of  the  community,  he  thought  and 
has  said,  also — false  to  brethren,  the  preachers  who  are  true 
to  the  itinerant  economy  of  appointments  and  its  doctrine 
of  providential  direction.  He  thought,  moreover,  in  the 
lowest  view  of  ''  place-seeking,"  that  it  was  unworthy  of  a 
hiuh  soul  :  and  in  the  ""ravest  view  of  it,  as  contrarv  to  the 
humility  of  a  minister  of  Christ,  who  taught  his  first 
preachers  by  the  object-lesson  of  a  child  "  set  in  the  midst 
of  them  "  and  set  the  example  of  imitation,  as  himself 
*' meek  and  lowly  in  heart."  That  instruction  was  given 
when  the  first  preachers  disputed  b}^  the  way  who  should  be 
jrreatest  in  His  kinirdom.  There  is  another  historv,  true 
because  inspired,  of  intercession  with  the  ai)pointing  power 
l)y  partial  friends,  "  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children." 
There  is  nothing  of  tiiis,  or  of  an}^  phase  of  ambitious  or 
mercenary  self-seeking  in  the  jVIarvin  history. 

In  his  up-going,  there  w^as  first,  to  use  his  own  expression 


HANNIBAL    STATION.  217 

conccrniiiiT  the  wav  to  distinction,  the  "timT)cr"  to  l)02:in 
■with.  The  ascent  was  by  study,  l)y  piety,  l>y  consecration, 
hy  a  single  eye — on  his  own  merits.  In  liis  course  there  was 
good  sense  and  humility.  IIo  had  wisdom  and  patience  to 
wait.  Presiding;  Elders  know  more  than  is  often  known  to 
the  preacher  about  the  sentiments  of  the  j)eopl(!  or  even 
sometimes  of  his  own  cali])re.  Bishops  know  jiU  that  Pre- 
sidinji;  Elders  know,  and  sometimes  more.  AVhen  Marvin 
went,  as  he  was  sent,  to  an  advanced  work,  he  was  not  un- 
iicce[)tal)le  and  did  not  break  down  before  liis  term  was  out 
— going  up,  as  on  a  ladder,  in  real  distinction,  round  by 
round,  with  support  always  under  his  feet  ;  and  escaping  the 
inevitable  ultimate  fall  of  the  pretentious  preacher,  am- 
bitious beyond  his  merits  and  soaring  above  his  capacity ; 
aj)i)earing  suddenly  and  strangely  in  mid-air,  suspended  on 
nothing. 

It  belongs  to  this  connection  of  remark  to  add  the  com- 
incnt  on  his  history,  that  in  church  elevation  he  Avas  not 
*' exalted  above  measure."  As  a  true  exaltation,  if  on  a 
ladder  that  leans  against  the  sky,  there  was,  in  imitation  of 
anjifels,  descending  as  Avell  as  ascendinsr,  when  it  was  re- 
quired  or  needful  in  his  ministrvas  an  anirel  of  the  churches. 
His  appointment  to  Hannibal  Station — the  chief  appointment 
lit  that  time  in  the  Conference,  and  Avhich  had  been  tilled  hy 
Light,  and  Linn,  and  Lannius — was  followed  by  that  to 
Monticello,  an  average  circuit.  Andrew  did  not  think  it  was 
degrading  Marvin  to  send  him  ;  nor  Marvin  that  he  Avas  de- 
graded in  going.  The  next  appointment  was  to  Palmyra 
Station  and  the  next  to  St.  Charles  Circuit — with  o-raceful 
movement  up  and  down  on  the  rounds  of  higher  and  lower 
place,  and  going  with  equally  ready  feet  to  and  fro  between 
circuits  and  stations.  The  record  is  invariable  that  he  had 
revivals  at  all  his  charges  and  left  the  work  better  than  he 
found  it.  In  that,  riirht-iudirino;  men  will  locate  his  real 
honor — to  project  original  lines  of  enterprise,  for  survey  and 


218  BISHOP   MARVIX. 

occupation  of  regions  heyond  rather  than  what  satisfies  an 
ease-lovini^  and  slothful  spirit,  "  another  man's  line  of 
thiniis  made  ready  to  hand."  AN'iien  the  reader  comes  tO' 
see  the  Diary  records  wliicii  contain  his  comnmnion  with 
himself,  it  Avill  apjiear  both  how  humble  and  devoted  he  Avas. 
He  came  to  Conference  at  Hannibal  with  a  well  established 
reputation  as  a  good  preacher.  The  fame  of  AVeston  Circuit 
nominated  him  for  Hannibal  Station.  The  Rev.  C.  I.  Vande- 
vcnter  who  has  ample  opportunity  of  information,  testifies 
of  the  circuit,  that  "  his  name  and  memory  are  cherished 
with  uncommon  devotion  by  the  older  and  vounirer  member* 
of  INIethodist  families  still  remaining,  as  well  as  by  otliers.'^ 
Mrs.  JNIarvin  reports  the  following  accoun't  of  their  work 
and  life  at  her  first  entrance  on  the  itineranc}''  at  Weston 
Circuit :  "  William  Ketron  was  the  Presidimr  Elder  and  the 
assistant  preacher  was  George  D.  Toole,  who  afterwards 
w^ent  off  to  the  Baptists.  The  circuit  covered  a  large  extent 
of  territory.  In  the  round  ho  was  away  from  home  two 
Aveeks  at  a  time.  On  coming  to  the  circuit,  the  boat  reached 
Weston  Landing  in  the  night  and  we  went  to  the  hotel.  The 
next  day  we  were;  received  and  cared  for  by  the  family  of 
General  A\^ard  during  a  week  or  ten  days,  till  a  boarding- 
place  was  obtained.  It  was  at  Mr.  liisley's  house,  and  wati 
our  honu^  f(n"  tlu;  winter  and  a  pleasant  one.  j\Ii'.  jMarvin 
invested  our  means  in  the  purchase  of  a  sm:dl  farm,  a  mile 
from  Weston.  It  Avas  our  summer  home.  Gcoriic  AV.  Gist 
was  our  near  neii>;libor  and  rented  and  cultivated  the  land. 
He  was  the  father-in-law  of  Caples,  and  the  family  were 
liighl}?'  cultivated  and  refined.  His  wife's  mother  was  noted 
for  pietv.  Thev  were  excellent  and  aiiTceablo  neiixhbors. 
During  To  wint(n"  there  was  a  pleasant  revival  at  Weston, 
and  some  were  added  to  the  Church.  He  visited  that  winter 
the  town  of  St.  Joseph,  and  held  a  meeting  there.  •  I  accom- 
panied him,  and  we  were  guests  of  JohnF.  Carter,  Avho  Avas 
subsequently  a  member  of   his  charge  at  Centenar}^  and  is 


HANNIBAL  STATION.  219 

now  rcsidiiiii:  at  Chicairo.  The  weather  was  intensely  cold  ; 
but  the  meetin<2:  was  successful.  In  the  suninier  he  hehl  a 
canip-niccting  on  the  circuit,  assisted  by  Caplcs.  He  recei\'cd 
very  nieaiiX'r  pay,  and  our  support  came  out  of  our  own 
means,  as  loupi;  as  they  lastcHl.  The  farm  had  to  l)e  sold  to 
jiay  debts  contracted  for  living.  After  paying  debts,  the 
net  i)roceeds  of  sale  amounted  to  only  three  hundicd 
dollars."  He  came  to  Hannibal  Station  in  debt.  Here  is  the 
Quarterly  Conference  record  of  his  receipts  :  January  10, 
1847,  $20;  March  9,  $2;  June  21,  $20.(i5  ;  August  29, 
$47.;)7  ;  total  for  the  year,  $90.02.  This  exhibit  points  the 
inquiry  ;ind  vrondcr,  how  he  could  by  pc)s-;ibilit\-,  or  would 
by  choice,  maintain  the  itinerancy.  It  was  not  done  without 
such  disinterested  devotion  as  Mrs.  ]\Iarvin  records,  and  such 
straits  and  trials  as  Mr.  Holmes  has  narrated.  It  has  ex- 
planation, in  l)oth  views,  by  his  sentiments  and  practice  in 
regard  to  ministerial  support. 

What  he  said  of  a  friend  Avas  true  of  himself,  that  his 
itinerancy  Mas  not  conditioned  upon  the  lidelity  of  his  pas- 
toral charge  in  doing  its  duty  towards  him.  Ho  Mas  careful 
first  and  concerned  chiefly  to  do  his  dutj^  towards  the  Master 
Mho  had  called  him.  He  left  SteM'ards  in  respect  to  their 
fidelity,  and  the  Lord's  people  in  respect  to  his  support,  to 
acquit  themselves  of  responsibility  to  the  same  Master,  Mho 
had  alike  commandc.d  him  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  laid 
upon  them  the  obligation  of  care  that  he  should  "live  by 
it."  His  itinerancy  M-as  anchored  on  that  ordination  of 
Christ,  the  Lord  of  all  the  servants.  If  there  Avas  scantv 
living  it  Mas  a  call  to  "  endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of 
Jesus  Christ,"  not  a  discharge  from  the  service.  If  the 
living  M-as  too  scanty  for  subsistence,  it  M'as  decided  in  the 
consultation  at  the  hearth-stone,  our  "  omu  means  "  mustsfo 
rather  than  our  itinerancy  shall  stoj:).  AVhen  ready  cash  M^as 
all  gone,  the  real  estate  mms  converted  into  currency  and 
AV(Mit  too.  When  there  M-as  nothing  left  hut  the  conscience 
of   the  Church,  and  that  Avas  dull  and  slow,  he  did  not  jm- 


220  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

l)eaoli  the  fidelity  of  Christ.     Xn  the  stress  of  circumstMnces 
the  anchor  did  not  break  its  cable  nor  drair. 

Such  was  his  creed.  It  was  verified  by  his  experience. 
His  immovable  trust  was  justified,  Tiie  subsequent  histoiy 
furnished  a  modern  answer  to  the  Lord's  ancient  challeng-e 
of  faith — "Lacked  ye  anythino;? "  Even  when  faith 
seemed  to  be  defeated,  it  was  only  tried,  and  was  "  found  unto 
praise."  Li  the  school  of  trial  it  was  learned  what  ennobled 
un  apostolic  ministry,  "  how  both  to  abound  and  to  suffer 
need."  The  Pauline  patience  was  patterned  after  and  prac- 
ticed, "  enduring  all  things  for  the  elect's  sake,"  and  among 
the  things,  "in  necessities."  It  was  fortitude  and  charity 
surpassing  stoicism,  and  superior  in  kind  and  measure  to  the 
best  philanthropy  of  the  world,  which  l)uilds  asylums  for 
the  afflicted  and,  Howard-like,  makes  an  itinerancy  of  the 
jails  of  Christendom.  It  is  a  low-bent  ej^e  which  does  not 
recognize  the  loftiness  of  fellowship  with  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  and  see  in  the  coarse-clad  and  needy  preacher,  not 
the  portrait  of  a  pauper,  but  a  picture  of  the  hero — a  spec- 
tacle to  command  admiration,  not  to  excite  pity.  Does 
Marvin  in  his  grand  life  api)ear  in  an}^  scene  grander,  than 
when  he  is  siii'iiinsi;  the  deed  of  transfer  of  his  home  rather 
than  to  part  with  the  credentials  of  an  itinerant  Methodist 
Preacher?  It  appears  the  grander  in  the  light  of  Christian 
meekness  which  utters  no  niurnnn".  Utterinfj;  no  word  of 
reproach  or  complaint,  "  that  the  ministry  be  not  blamed," 
is  a  kindred  glory  of  his  Christliness.  He  is  even  forward, 
as  it  has  been  seen,  to  find  excuses  for  the  shortcominijs  of 
the  Church  in  the  failure  of  his  support.  Five  years  before, 
Caples  Avas  his  predecessor  on  Weston  Circuit.  He  received 
more  than  Marvin — $105.  By  no  miracle  of  economy,  says 
his  biographer,  could  a  family  su])sist  on  that  amount,  and 
without  private  resources  del)t  or  actual  starvation  was  the 
inevitable  alternative.  Debt  was  the  consequence,  and  loca- 
tion.    The  rest   of  the  story   has  been  already   told  on  a 


HANNIBAL    STATION.  221 

former  page.  He  out  cord-wood  in  tlic  bottom  above 
Weston  to  get  out  of  del)t.  In  that  clearing  ho  cut  out  the 
path  of  return  to  the  itinerancy.  "  I  thank  him  for  it  !  " 
is  the  earnest  word  of'^Marvin's  admiration  of  Caples,  the 
wood-chopper. 

Bishop  Marvin,  liowever,  did  not  excuse  but  reprobated 
a  delimiuent  church.  By  so  much  as  the  sufferer  is  exalted 
by  t!ie  sacrifice,  the  responsi])le  authors  and  willing  M'itnesses 
of  it  are  dishonored.  The  remark  is  not  intended  as  special 
animadversion  upon  Weston  Circuit.  The  default  v;as  not 
solitary  then,  \^ov  unknown  now.  Bishop  Marvin  has  offered 
palliation  for  their  failure  in  the  personal  needs  and  emer- 
gent circumstances  of  the  people  opening  up  a  new  country. 
But  even  the  generous  Marvin  has  said  in  connection  with 
the  Caples-histovy  :  "  Yet  an  enlightened  conscience  in  the 
Church  would  have  turned  an  amount  to  Christian  uses 
sufficient,  at  least,  to  keep  the  preacher's  family  above  w^ant. 
Intelligent  faith  would  have  seen  in  Christian  aijencies  a 
prime  necessity.  But  this  high  ground  had  not  been  reached 
by  the  Church.  So  this  ^ireacher,  popular  as  he  was,  was 
starved  out."  So  was  his  successor  in  1846-47,  so  far  as 
the  Church  was  concerned.  Marvin's  wife  paid  the  Quarter- 
age and  board-bills  during  the  winter,  and  the  sale  of  his 
home  paid  the  debts  contracted  for  livinsi;  durino-  the  summer. 
The  record  is:  Caples  $10");  Marvin  $90.02.  The  former 
had  no  private  means  and  "could  not  see  his  famih^  perish  " 
and  located.  The  other  had  something  of  his  own,  or  rather 
his  wife's,  and  the  Church  made  him  spend  it.  If  there  is 
severe  indictment,  it  lies  in  the  histor}^  and  not  in  the  word 
of  the  Commentator.  As  to  the  question  of  ability,  it  is 
true,  in  the  general  fact,  an  unsupported  ministry  does 
not  lie  in  the  fact  of  an  unable  Church.  In  the  Northern 
branch  of  the  ^Methodist  Israel  alone,  its  wealth  has  been 
estimated  on  reliable  authorit}",  at  five  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  ;  and  in  various  computations,  it  has  been  shown  that 
the  half  of  its  income  would  suffice  in  a  few  years,  over  and 


222  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

above  the  support  of  the  Gospel  in  every  town  and  hamlet 
in  America,  to  map  the  lieathen  world  into  circuits  and  sta- 
tions. In  the  Southern  Clmrch  the  statistics  are  of  similar 
import. 

A  Southern  Methodist  Bishop,  looking  over  the  whole 
connection  and  accustomed  to  travel  with  his  eyes  open,  at- 
tril)utes  an  impoverished  ministry,  in  like  manner,  to  other 
causes  than  tlic  poverty  of  the  Church.     Of  one  of  the  two 
instances  to  which  he  refers,  he  writes:  "  In  two  notable 
instances   the   fatliers    of   American   ^Methodism    ate    sour 
grapes,  and  the  teeth  of  their  children  are  set  on  edge.  The 
early  itinerants  were  mainly  bachelors.     Manying  and  lo- 
cating went  together  as  the  rule.     The  country  was  in  a 
condition  to  pay  but  little — the  preachers  needed  but  little. 
This  was  well — providential,  in  the  beginning  ;  but  evidently 
it  could  not  so  continue,  if  the  Church  was  to  have  develop- 
ment and   continuance.     It  was  an  incident  of  the  times. 
The  mistake  was  in  defending  it  as  a  principle.    Assailed  by 
enemies  on  every  hand,  they  made  a  virtue,  a  boast,  of  this 
temporary  expedient,  and  justified  it  on  too  broad  a  ground. 
It  came  to  be  understood  that  Methodism  was  not  on]y  a 
true  gospel,  but  a  cheap  one.     The  idea  of  a  paid  ministry 
was  synonymous  with  that  of  a  mercenary  ministry.  Dearlj 
have  we  answered  for  it.     Like  all  errors,  this  one  had  to 
be  corrected,  and  slow  has  been  the  process.    The  boomerang 
has  been  flying  l)ack  in  our  faces  for  forty  years,  while  thq 
Methodist   Church  has  Ijeen  trying  to  get  on  the  highet 
irround  of  God's  ordinance,  that  tlicv  who  consecrate  them, 
selves  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  are  entitled  to  live  by 
it.     Old  members  tlicre  are  who  persistently  reckon  whai 
they  contribute  to  the  support  of  their  pastor  as  a  gift,  & 
charity.     Conscientious  congregations  do  not  scruple  to  set^. 
tie  with  him  at  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar." 

The  vicious  practice  which  Bishop  McTyeire  notes  in  the 
above  extract,  and  his  word  of  admonition,  are  contained  in 


HANNIBAL  STATION. 


223 


the  sijxnificjince  of  the  Caplcs-^SIarvin  experience  on  the 
Weston  Circuit.  The  destructive  missile  he  mentions  came 
near  striking  down  two  of  the  most  i)olishcd  and  stately 
l)illars  of  Missouri  Methodism.  Tlie  one  was  for  a  time 
actually  displaced  by  the  hand  of  withholding  more  than  is 
meet,  but  restored  l)y  the  brawny  arm  of  tlui  wood-choi)per. 
The  other  stood,  but  on  the  foundation  of  his  own  faith  and 
generosity,  supplying  out  of  his  own  means  the  hick  of  the 
Circuit.  Their  history  stands  in  protest  against  starving 
out  preachers.  They  stood,  but  ever}^  preacher  has  not  the 
inanliness  of  Caples  and  the  invincible  devotedness  of  Mar- 
A'in.  There  are  wives  to  be  cherished  and  children  to  be 
fed.  "A  man  cannot  see  his  famih^  perish."  As  to  the 
skill  and  help  of  the  housewife  at  the  Parsonage— the  one 
liad  an  unadapted  wife  ;  and  of  that  of  the  other,  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  all  preachers'  wives  have  not  the  heroism  or  the 
aptness  of  Andrew's  Amelia  and  Marvin's  Harriet.  There 
is  a  minimum  in  support  which  no  housewife  can  manage, 
and  an  alternative  between  lack  and  location  that  reaches  a 
point  where  the  preacher  is  not  free  to  choose,  and  is  com- 
pelled to  succumb.  "Duty,"  said  Bishop  Marvin,  "to  a 
man's  own  family  is  paramount.  Their  claims  stand  fir^t. 
Failure  here  is  worse  than  intidelity."  To  compel  the  loca- 
tion, what  is  that? 

The  iinancial  history  on  ^Yeston  Circuit  sent  ]Marvin  to 
Hannibal  Station  in  debt,  and  made  the  financial  history 
there  which  has  been  narrated.  In  sheer  justice,  the  latter 
history  must  be  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  former.  It  will 
be  modified  by  it  in  such  ways  as  to  change  the  features  in 
which  it  may  appear  in  Mr.  Holmes'  narrative,  and  relieve 
the  fact  of  debt  from  im[)utation  even  of  culpable  careless- 
ness, or  any  reckless  imprudence.  His  reputation  as  a  fi- 
nancier is  even  retrieved  by  the  facts.  How  could  a  Roths- 
child financier  the  living  of  a  family  for  a  year  out  of  ninety 
dollars  and  two  cents  !     He  went  in  debt,  but  he  had  ex- 


224  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

pended  all  his  own  ready  cash  first.  Then  he  liad  to  1)uy  on 
credit  as  a  necessity  for  necessaries  of  life,  because,  as  the 
account  shows,  he  had  received  fi'oni  the  Circuit  three 
months  after  Conference,  in  .January,  only  twenty  dollars; 
and  from  that  time  till  the  followinir  March,  only  two  dol- 
lars  more.  He  had  to  Avait  more  than  three  months  longer 
for  an  additional  twenty  dollars  and  sixty-five  cents.  The 
final  payment  at  the  last  quarter  reveals,  by  the  rule  of  con- 
traries, another  reason  for  l)uving  on  credit.  He  depended 
on  the  faith  and  conscience  of  the  Church  to  l)e  able  to  pay 
out. 

His  expectation  Avas  disappointed,  l)ut  it  was  not  unreas- 
onable nor  imprudent  at  the  time.  It  was  his  first  yenv  of 
married  life  and  itinerant  experience  in  the  sup[)ort  of  the 
preacher's  family — at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  and  not 
so  wise  as  when,  at  a  later  date  and  from  experience,  he 
found  out  what  "allowances"  meant,  and  that  only  "receipts" 
from  quarter  to  quarter  can  he  safely  made  a  financial  basis 
of  expenditure  ;  and  if  at  all  based  U[)on  anticipations  of 
the  final  quarter,  the  calculation  must  he  heavily  discounted, 
if  the  preacher  shall  leave  his  charge  out  of  debt.  l>ut  he 
was  confiding  and  did  not  learn  this  wisdom  for  some  years 
— not  till  he  had  i)assed  through  several  pastoral  charges.  By 
the  time  he  reached  Monticello  Circuit,  in  1848,  he  under- 
stood it.  There  it  Avas  proposed  that  he  should  report  to 
Conference  the  preacher's  salary  paid  in  full  with  promise 
of  payment  after  Conference;  ;  but  with  nobody  bound  in 
particular  and  only  the  Church  in  general,  he  refused  to  do 
it,  in  Avords,  strong  but  his  own — "  I  am  done  telling  lies." 
He  A\"as  misled  at  first  by  an  untutored  confidence  in  the 
Circuit-revenue  and  fell  into  the  ditch  of  debt.  At  no  time, 
IioAvever,  did  his  debits  exceed  his  abilitj^  to  i)ay  and  exten- 
ded only  to  the  inconvenience  of  timely  payment.  The 
sale  of  his  home  at  Weston  was  ordered  when  he  left,  but 
the  proceeds  of  sale  Avcrc  not  at  hand  till  some  time  after. 


HANNIBAL  STATION.  ?25 

The  hard  experience,  as  Marvin  endured  it,  has  some 
beautiful  lights  in  relief  of  a  dark  picture.  His  meekness 
has  been  mentioned.  His  attitude  towards  the  matter 
of  ministerial  support  is  well  defined  and  strikingly  pictured 
in  his  own  words  given  1)elow.  It  is  a  beautiful  spectacle  of 
faith  standing  erect  on  the  promise  of  Christ.  His  trust 
copies  the  picture  of  confiding  John  leaning  his  head  on  the 
bosom  of  the  loving  Lord.  His  dependence  iirst  and  last 
and  best  was  in  prayer  challenging  the  fidelity  of  the  JNIaster 
— tliat  a  better  collector  than  Stewards  and  a  surer  purveyor 
than  Circuits.  Tlie  picture  and  the  posture  are  portrayed 
in  these  words  of  testimony  and  trust  and  tried  and  trium- 
phant peace  : 

One  who  has  much  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  the  Church  sees  every- 
where how  much  use  there  is  for  money  in  the  service  of  tlie  Master. 
Certainly  the  prediction  that  the  "  iroUl  of  Ophir  shall  be  His"  has  up  to 
this  moment  liad  but  partial  fullillmcnt.  In  almost  every  community  the 
work  of  God  is  embarrassed  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  by  the  want  of 
adequate  material  resources.  A  brother  remarked  in  my  hearing,  some 
time  since,  that  in  our  country  the  prospect  seemed  all  the  time  to  be  that 
the  preachers  would  be  starved  out,  and  yet  all  tlie  time,  somehow,  Ihcy 
get  bread.  It  has  almost  the  appearance  of  a  continual  miracle  wrought 
in  behalf  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  salvation  of  souls.  Every  year  the 
preacher  thinks  if  things  get  no  better  he  must  locate,  and  ye!:  at  the  end 
of  every  year  he  determines  to  try  it  again. 

God  fulfills  His  pi'omise.  The  faithful  men  who  do  his  work  are  fed. 
They  carry  their  wants  to  Him,  and  He,  their  "Father,  knows  th:it  they 
have  need  of  these  things."  He  charges  Himself  with  the  wants  of  the 
wives  and  children  of  the  men  who  toil  in  His  harvest  fields. 

What  a  blessed  privilege  it  is  to  carry  our  temporal  needs  to  God  in 
prayer.  "  He  careth  for  us  "  What  peace  comes  upon  us  from  those 
words  I  Why  should  not  the  man  whom  God  has  called  away  from  secular 
avocations  and  set  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry  trust  Ilim  for  bread? 
What  is  there  unreasonable  in  the  faith  that  God  Mill  "  supply  all  his 
need?" 

I  believe  it,  and  this  my  faith  gives  me  great  peace.  It  biings  won- 
derful rest.  The  man  who  is  truly  called  of  God,  and  does  faitliful  ser- 
vice, lias  the  right  to  look  to  God  for  food  and  raiment.  His  faith  may  be 
sorely  tried.  He  may  see  himself  drifting  into  extreme  want,  yet  let  him 
only  be  faithful  and  see  what  God  will  do ! 

To  that  creed  of  his  coulidencc  and  wisdom  of  his  plan, 
15 


226  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

he  has  given  llic  personal  testimoii}' — "Christ  lias  never 
failed  nic  3'ct."  In  t!ic  last  3'ear  of  his  life  still  another 
Avord  of  confirmation  is  civen,  reeonuMl  in  his  l)()ok  of  Wfirld- 
tra\('l,  when  he  "svas  most  a  Avavfarer  and  "wanderer  from 
home:  *' As  our  steamer  a[)proaeiied  the  wharf,  our  eyes 
were  cheered  by  the  siuht  of  Kcv.  J,  W.  Lamhuth  and  his 
little  son  Willie,  ajjproaehing  to  welcome  us  and  conduct  us 
to  their  hospitable  house,  which  was  to  be  our  home  in  this 
distant  region — this  stranire  world.  Ah  !  what  an  old-time, 
]\Iethodist  welcome  was  in  the  face  and  voice  of  our  dear 
Sister  Lambuth  as  she  greeted  us  on  the  veranda,  and  how 
fully  has  the  first  tone  of  the  greeting  been  followed  up 
from  that  moment  of  meeting  until  now  !  Blessed  be  the 
name  of  God  for  all  the  sweet  charities  and  endearments  of 
Christian  life  and  hospitalit}' !  Our  Saviour  promised  to 
those  who  should  forsake  houses  and  hinds  and  homes  for 
the  Gospel's  sake,  that  they  should  have  a  hundred-fold, 
even  in  this  present  time — fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sis- 
ters, homes — and  J  hereby  testify  that  lie  has  kept  His  word 
to  me.  Ill  America,  in  Japan,  in  China,  He  has  made  the 
promise  good.  He  pursues  me  with  His  mercies  even  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth." 

The  hard  experience,  likewise,  as  Marvin  was  exercised 
by  it,  had  some  indemnifications.  It  Avas  the  training  of  a 
true  and  tender  shepherd  ;  as  the  Chief  Shepherd  and  Bishop 
of  souls  was  qualified,  coming  down  to  our  nature  and  the 
place  of  want  and  woe  for  touch  to  a  feeling  of  infirmities. 
AVhat  he  said  of  his  fellow-sufferer  on  AYeston  Circuit  was 
true,  likewise,  of  his  own  heart  and  histoiy :  "The  poor 
were  never  overlooked  by  him.  At  one  time  he  was  him- 
self, to  use  his  own  language,  «  in  poverty  bordering  on 
want.'  The  houses  of  such,  he  never  shunned.  Perhaps 
his  own  poverty  was  part  of  the  training  by  which  God  pre- 
pared his  heart  for  the  pastoral  office.  Possibly  it  was  a 
better  training  than  a  course  of  Divinity  would  have  been.' 


HANNIBAL  STATION. 


227 


111  the  intcivliango  of  circuits  and  stations  on  the  list  of 
Lis  appointments,  and  I  he  u[)\\ard  and  downward  movement 
on  the  scale  of  sahiry,  he  had  h'ariuMl  the  Avisdom  of  con- 
tentment with  any  phice  and  how  to  be  full  and  to  l^e  empty 
with  varying-  pay.  He  thereby  escaped  serious  dan  age  he 
himself  describes:  "  Tlie  danger  I  dread  is  not  in  the 
liardships  of  the  preachers.  But  as  the  Church  prospers 
here  and  there  a  wealthy  congregation  supports  its  pastor 
handsomely.  The  pastor  and  his  family  contract  habits  and 
tastes  of  expensive  living  that  make  the  prospect  of  a  poorer 
charge  unwelcome.  Are  we  not  in  danger  of  getting  a  class 
of  men  in.  the  Conferences  who  will  l)e  seeking  the  best 
places  and,  it  may  be,  using  influence  to  get  them?  It  is 
whispered,  now  and  then,  that  there  are  such  men  already 
iimon*''  us.  That  cases  of  the  sort  are  to  be  found,  I  am  not 
prepared  to  deny.  That  they  are  numerous,  I  do  not  be- 
lieve. On  the  contrary,  from  wide  and  close  observation,  I 
have  the  conviction  that  the  body  of  ]\lethodist  Preachers  is 
sound  to  the  core.  Nearly  all  the  preachers  in  any  given 
Conference  hold  themselves  ready  to  go  wherever  the  Bishop, 
when  informed  as  to  their  circumstances,  raa}^  in  his  godly 
judii'ment,  deem  it  right  to  appoint  them.  Now  and  then, 
only,  one  refuses  to  serve  a  work  where  he  sees  prospect 
of  insufficient  support ;  l)ut  the  cases  are  so  rare  as  scarcely 
to  require  mention.  There  is  not  wanting  even  now,  the 
mind  that  was  in  Christ,  the  mind  that  was  also  in  Mr. 
Wesley — the  readiness  to  accept  not  only  toil,  but,  also, 
povertv — even  the  deepest  poverty — if  the  Master's  name 
and  cause  require  it.  Only  men  Avho  count  it  an  honor  to 
suffer  with  their  Lord  in  the  work  of  savin<i:  souls  from  eter- 
nal  death  can  either  preserve  the  itinerant  system  in  its  in- 
tegrity or  perpetuate  the  Wcsleyan  revival." 

It  has  come  down  to  this  time,  through  i\Irs.  ^Marvin's 
recollections,  what  was  his'  allowance  at  Hannibal  Station, 
and  how  it  Avas  made.     "In  fixing  the   allowance,  one  of 


228  BISHOP  MAEVIN, 

the  stewards  said  the  table  expenses  of  his  family  of  three 
persons  cost  six  hundred  dollars,  and  he  thouuht  that  was 
a  sufficient  amount  for  the  expenses  of  the  preacher  with  a 
wife  and  one  small  child.  Ills  view  prevailed.  Living  at 
that  time  and  place  was  cheap.  Compared  with  later  years, 
that  allowance  would  be  as  much  as  ten  or  twelve  hundred 
dollars.  The  claim  Avas  ultimately  paid."  The  Church 
determines  the  preacher's  living,  its  style  and  convenience. 
The  rule  of  estimate  at  Hannibal  was  just  and  sensible — 
living  like  the  people  live,  not  the  richest  nor  the  poorest, 
but  like  the  average  family.  The  final  payment  was  well, 
but  it  would  have  been  enhanced  in  actual  Avorth  and  far 
more  in  satisfaction,  if  it  had  been  current  instead  of  "  ul- 
timate." When  it  is  irregular  it  means  discomfort  or  debt, 
as  has  been  seen  ;  and  seen,  too,  what  that  means. 

The  final  quarter  of  a  Methodist  ecclesiastical  year  has 
many  a  record  of  disaster — disappointment  in  the  financial 
outcome  and  with  it,  ])roken  ministerial  commissions  and 
ship-wrecked  reputations.  There  is  no  intended  dishonesty 
on  the  part  of  the  preacher,  but  only  too  great  conlidencc  in 
the  financial  "  ultimate."  He  is  blamed,  nevertheless — at 
the  delimiuent  pastoral  charge,  leaving  amidst  the  clamor 
of  creditors  and  followed  by  it  into  every  subsequent  charge 
and  at  last  pursued  by  it  to  the  Bishop's  room  and  to  the 
Conference  floor,  where  he  is  hackled  as  a  criminal,  and 
discounted  on  the  list  of  appointments  as  a  suspected  char- 
acter. At  the  late  Atlanta  General  Conference  the  preach- 
ers in  the  unfortunate  debtor  class  were  alluded  to  in  severe 
remark,  pending  the  proposition  to  restore  the  old  question 
in  admission  into  the  Conference — "  Are  you  in  debt?  "  A 
lay  delegate  from  North  Carolina  defended  the  injured 
preacher,  laying  the  discredit  at  the  door  of  the  defaulting 
circuit,  which  had,  directly  or  indirectl}^  promised  a  sup- 
port and  failed  in  th'^  performance.  He  was  a  lawyer  and 
even  in  a  voluntary  system  of  ministerial  support  found  an 


HANNIBAL  STATION.  221) 

ini})lic(],  if  there  were  no  express  promise,  in  the  common 
l;iw  rule  of  "  assumpsit,"  us  for  service  had  and  received. 
He  could  see  no  justice  in  discreditini;  and  de«i;radinii;  the 
preacher,  whose  offence  was  a  mistaken  reliance  upon  allow- 
ances, supposing  them  to  l)c  endorsed  by  the  integrity  of 
the  Church  of  God  and  representing  a  Christian  conscience. 
The  hiwyer  and  layman  laid  the  lash  rather  on  the  sluggish 
steward  and  the  la<rirart  circuit. 

On  this  subject,  it  may  be  profitably  repeated,  the  later 
Marvin-rule  is  the  only  security  for  the  comfort  of  a  good 
name  and  the  life-tenure  of  ministerial  office — to  flee  debt, 
Avhich  can  be  done  surely  only  by  not  bu}'ing  on  credit. 
Wise  and  experienced  preachers  know  that  what  is  ultimate, 
in  its  nature  and  as  is  exemplified  in  circuit  finances  abun- 
dantly, is,  also,  indefinite  and  uncertain.  Their  hope  and 
expectation  of  the  last  (luarter  are  regulated  accordingly 
and  so  are  their  family  expenses.  There  is,  therefore,  in 
the  intervening  quarters  a  history  of  lean  living  and  vexa- 
tious cares.  The  comfort  of  the  salary  paid  at  the  end  is 
half  lost  in  not  being  paid  during  the  progress  of  the  year. 
What  may  be  the  disadvantage  and  discredit,  alike  to 
l^reacher  and  i)eople,  of  insufficient  allowance  and  irregular 
payment  of  it  is  detailed  in  the  following  extract  from  a 
leadin<»-  mairazine  nublishe(l  in  this  countrv.  It  presents  the 
view  which  the  world  takes,  and  which  it  may  be  profitable 
for  the  Church  to  know  and  to  heed  : 

If  a  man  is  fit  to  preach,  lie  is  worth  wages.  If  he  is  worth  wages,  he 
should  be  paid  with  all  the  business  regularity  that  is  demanded  and  en- 
forced in  business  life.  Tliere  is  no  man  in  the  community  wlio  works 
harder  for  llie  money  he  receives  than  tiie  faithful  minister.  There  is  no 
man— in  \Yliose  worlc  tlie  community  is  interested  —  to  whom  regular 
wa'zes,  that  shall  not  cost  him  a  tliought,  are  so  important.  Of  wiiat  pos- 
sible use  in  a  pulpit  can  any  man  be  whose  weelis  are  flittered  away  in 
mean  cares  and  dirty  economies?  Every  month  or  eviTy  quarter-day, 
♦jvery  pastor  sliould  be  sure  that  there  will  be  placed  in  his  hands,  as  his 
just  wases,  money  cnougli  to  pay  all  his  expenses.  Then,  witliout  a  sense 
of  special  obligation  to  anybody,  he  can  preach  the  truth  with  freedom, 


230  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

anrl  prepare  for  his  public  ministrations  Tvitliout  distraction.  Nothing- 
more  cimilI  to  a  pastor,  or  more  disastrous  to  liis  Avorl^,  can  be  done  tliaii 
to  force  upon  liiin  a  feelin'j;  of  doijendence  upon  the  charities  of  his  floclv. 
The  office  of  sucli  a  man  does  not  ri-e  in  dii;nity  above  tliat  of  a  court- 
fool.  He  is  tlie  creature  of  a  popular  Avliiin,  and  a  preacher  ■without  influ- 
ence to  those  who  do  not  respect  him  or  his  oHice  suiliciently  to  pay  him 
the  wag-  s  due  to  a  man  who  dovotes  his  life  to  them. 

Manliness  cannot  live  in  srch  a  man,  except  it  be  in  torture— ^a  torture 
endured  simply  because  there  are  others  who  depend  upon  the  charities 
doled  out  to  him. 

Good,  manly  pastors  and  preachers  do  not  want  gifts;  they  want 
"wases.  It  is  not  a  khidness  to  eke  out  insufficient  salaries  by  donation 
parties,  and  by  benefactions  from  the  richer  members  of  a  flock.  It  is  not 
a  mei'it  as  tliey  seem  to  regard  it,  for  parishes  or  individuals  to  do 
this.  It  is  an  acknowledgment  of  indebtedness  which  they  are  too 
mean  to  i)iy  in  a  business  way.  The  pastor  needs  it,  and  they  owe  it» 
b;.t  tliey  take  to  themselves  the  credit  of  benefactors,  and  place  him  in  an 
awkward  ai'.d  false  position.  Tlie  influence  of  this  slate  of  things  upon 
the  World  tliat  lies  outside  of  thi;  sphere  of  Cliristian  belief  and  activity 
is  bad  b'Tond  aU  calculation.  We  have  had  enough  of  the  patronage  of 
Christianity  by  a  half-scoffing,  half-tolera'ing  world.  If  Christians  do  not 
sufficiently  recognize  the  legitimacy  of  the  p:istor's  calling  to  render  him 
fully  his  just  wagc^,  and  to  assist  him  t)  maintain  his  manly  independence 
before  tlu  world,  they  must  not  bhime  the  world  for  looking  upon  him 
with  a  contempt  that  forbids  approach  and  precludes  influence.  The  world 
will  l)e  quite  ready  to  take  the  pastor  at  the  valuation  of  his  friends,  and 
the  religion  he  teaches  at  the  price  its  professors  are  willing  to  pay  in  a 
business  way  for  its  ministry.* 

In  jNIrs.  Marvin's  recollef^tions  of  the  home  and  tlie 
work  ;it  that  chatu-c,  it  is  added:  "  ]\rr.  j\I;irvin  was  well 
pleased  with  Hannibal  Station.  It  was  a  i^letisant  i)hu'e  and 
we  had  a  pleasant  home.  Ilov.  Jacob  Laiinius  was  the  Pre- 
sidin<j  Elder.  lie  wtts  an  earnest  laborer  and  :in  eloquent 
preacher.  AVe  boarded  at  his  house  one  Avintcr.  The  pop- 
ulation of  the  town  at  that  time  w:is  about  three  thousand. 
There  were  Presbj^terian,  Ba[)tist  and  E[)iscopal  Churches, 
holdinof  ren:ular  services.  Ours  w:is  the  leadinii;  church. 
The  house  was  a  good  brick  structure  and  the  conizregations 
were  frenerally  very  2;ood.  Tlie  membershii:)  Avas  lar.f2"e,  and 
among  them  some  of  the  old  and  most  prominent  citizens  of 


*Scribner''s  Monthly. 


HANNIBAL  STATION.  2.'il 

the  community.  I  "vvus  sick  much  of  llio  time,  and  the 
meml)er.s  ami  people  were  very  attentive  and  kind.  ]\Ir. 
ISIarvin  held  successful  protracted  meetings  at  the  charge. 
Quite  a  iiuni])er  of  the  young  pco[)lo  joined  the  Church, 
many  of  them  still  living  and  faithful  to  their  vows.  Out- 
side  of  the  charii-e  he  assisted  at  various  meetini2;s,  part  icu- 
larly  at  the  camp-meeting,  which  was  held  aimually  on  the 
Hydesburg  Circuit,  adjoining  the  station.  Among  the  con- 
verts of  that  meeting  was  his  sister,  Marcia.''  His  pastor- 
ate at  Hannibal  was  highly  important  and  was  signally  suc- 
cessful, llis  return  there  in  all  subsequent  years  as  a  visitor 
to  their  ]nilpit  and  their  homes  was  always  hailed  with  joy- 
ous wt'lconie. 

The  si«>:ni(icance  of  his  first-station  Avork,  in  some  re- 
spects,  has  been  already  indicated.  It  is  further  shown  by 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  appointment  was  deter- 
mined, as  related  by  Bishop  Paine  who  made  it: 

M}--  acquaintance  with  Bishop  Marvin  began  at  the  first  annual  C  uifer- 
ence,  in  Avhicli  I  presided  as  Bi-li  >p— ISlil.  It  was  the  Missouri  Confer- 
ence, hekl  in  llanuil)al,  and  w  is  the  first  aft"r  th>3  Pittsburg  General  Con- 
ference. Tlie  separation  line  had  been  agreed  to,  leavin  x  the  appriintmcn's 
on  tlie  border  at  lib.-rty  to  select  between  adliering  North  or  Soutli.  The 
process  was  g')ing  on  all  along  the  line.  Missouri  was  a  border  Confer- 
ence, and  Hannibal  was  a  station  immediately  upon  the  line.  The  com- 
munity, and  especially  the  Methodi-ts,  were  divided  as  to  their  preferences. 
Dr.  John  II.  Linn,  the  incumb  mt  of  our  Church  in  that  station  by  his  wise 
and  conservative  influence,  had  so  managed  as  to  h  )ld  the  elements  of 
disrup;i.)n  in  comparative  repose,  so  that  a  majority  of  our  menibjrs  were 
inclined  to  r<nniu  in  the  Southern  org  mization.  But  Dr.  Linn  was  to  be 
transferred  to  anoth'T  Conference,  and  who  should  succcimI  him  was  a 
question  of  intense  anxiety  and  universal  in(iuiry.  David  W.  Pollock  was 
in  change  of  Palmyra,  a  station  a  few  miles  above,  and  he,  too,  was  to 
leave  the  Conference.  To  till  those  stations  with  the  right  men  was  very 
important  The  former  place,  especially,  claimed  our  most  earnest  and 
painful  solicitude.  Win.  U.  Ru^h  was  presently  substituted  for  Pollock; 
and,  after  frequent  consultalion  willi  the  Presiding  Elder  and  a  hearty 
nomination  by  Dr.  Linn,  Enoch  M.  Marvin  was  appointed  to  Hinnibal. 
He  h:id  traveled  five  years,  had  been  ordainetl  Eld-T  with  Pollock  and 
Bush  at  the  iirevious  Conference,  wis  rcjxir  ed  as  a  devoted,  studious,  and 
successful  circuit  preacher,      llis  prcachuvj  power  and  general  reliabilitg 


232  Bisiior  MAuviN. 

for  delicate  and  dUficult  work  were  cmpliasizi'd.  I  need  scarcely  add  that 
the  appoiiitinent  .seemed  providential,  and  was  repealed  next  j-ear.  The 
Church  was  quieted  and  established,  and  its  membership  largel}*  increased. 

II:iiinil);il  Station  was  an  era  in  his  historv.  The  student 
of  his  public  life  will  find  it  defined  by  distinctly  marked 
staples,  tdniost  e(iually  divided  hy  decades  of  years,  and 
each  signalized  by  a  prominent  providential  event  in  the  ad- 
vancini;  course.  The  second  stage  was  at  his  accession,  bv 
regular  appointment  in  185(3,  to  the  pastorate  in  St.  Louis 
— in  the  midst  of  conditions  of  central  influence  at  that  great 
commercial  metropolis  and  taking  hold  of  agencies  which 
had  reach  to  the  wide  bounds  of  the  Mississippi  V'alley. 
The  third  stage  Avas  approached  by  the  i)ath  of  his  army-life 
and  ministry,  and  was  reached  when,  in  his  absence,  he  was 
made  IVishop,  at  New  Orleans,  in  18(]n.  The  first  stage  be- 
jran  at  McConnell's  house  and  culminated  at  Hannibal  Sta- 
tion.  There  wo  find  him  a  rising  preacher  and  standing  at 
the  entrance  of  vai-ious  lines  of  advancement  to  the  position 
of  a  representative  Churchman. 


*-  w — ' »  « 4  '• 


IIKV.    ENOCH    M.    MAKVIX, 
At  the  Agk  of  23. 


CHAPTER     XII. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    RELATIONS. 

Relations  to  other  Churches  —  History  and  governing  principles — The 
Churchman  and  Cliristian  — As  a  controversia  ist — Relish  for  contro- 
versy in  youth — Mental  idio^yncracy— Incident  to  tlie  times  —  His 
controversial  record— A  popular  leatler  challen'zed — "Joiuing  the 
Campbellite  Church" — An  unique  speech— His  second  rule  of  denomi- 
iiaticmal  fellowship — Undue  multiplication  of  sects — "  Hardshell  ser- 
mon " — His  true  Catliolicity  of  spirit — Rulations  to  the  Methodisras — 
Episcopal  Methodism,  separation,  strife,  reconciliation — His  record — 
A  Southern  Methodist. 

*'iV^VHEN  I  was  a  younger  man  1  used  to  relish  contro- 
^J^*i^  vers}^,"  was  Bishop  ]Marvin's  reply  in  comment 
on  a  request  to  preach  on  the  subject  of  baptism,  at  ]Mar- 
shall,  Texas,  during  the  war.  In  an  introduction  to  a  contro- 
versial book  on  the  same  sul)ject,  he  expressed  the  sentiment 
of  his  mature  years  :  "  What  with  the  heresy  of  baptismal 
regeneration  on  one  side,  and  that  of  anti-pedobaptism  on 
the  other,  thei'e  is  need  for  a  wide-spread  presentation  of 
the  '  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.'  Controversy  for  its  own  sake 
is  undesirable,  but  when  the  interests  of  truth  demand,  it  is 
not  to  be  shunned.  The  incidental  ill-feeling  that  may  arise 
is  to  be  regretted,  but  we  must  '  contend  earnestly  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.'  "  In  the  itinerancy  of 
his  latest  labors  the  following  sentiment  is  recorded.  Turn- 
ing a  farewell  look  upon  the  Mission  fields  of  the  world 
■which  he  had  been  exploring,  his  last  pen  wrote:  "For 
myself,  though  there  is  so  little  done  by  the  Methodists  of 


234  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

either  hemisphere  in  tliis  particuhir  field,  I  rejoice  greatly 
that  the  work  is  in  hands  so  trnly  and  deeply  evangelical. 
The  presence  of  Ciod  is  Avith  the  iVmerican  ^lissionaries  in 
Eastern  Europe  and  Western  Asia.  ^ly  fellowship  with 
them  I  have  felt  to  be  as  unselfish  as  it  is  dee[).  If  they  do 
not  advance  the  glory  of  my  particular  church,  they  do  what 
is  the  only  vital  thing — they  advance  the  glory  of  Christ." 

The  above  extracts  contain  the  governing  principles  and 
indicate  the  history  of  Marvin's  relations  to  other  churches. 
He  reco<2:nized  the  substantial  unitv  of  the  Church  in  the 
midst  of  diversity  of  creeds  and  forms  of  polity  and  worship^ 
and  adopted  heartily  the  catholic  spirit  with  the  formal 
dogma — "And  I  believe  in  the  Church  of  God."  J  n  per- 
sonal fellowship,  he  took  to  his  heart  all  who  love  the  I/ord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.  In  ecclesiastical  relations  he  cor- 
dially churched  all  denominations  hokling  to  Christ,  the 
Head,  in  essential  doctrine,  "as  the  truth  is  in  Jesus." 
AVith  these  sentiments  of  })ersonal  charity  and  denomina- 
tional liberality,  he  carefully  and  wisely  discriminated  a 
spurious  charity  and  an  unprincipled  toleration.  lie  loved 
God  and  therefore,  "his  brother  also."  He  was  a  zealous 
cliurchman,  but,  also,  a  true  Christian;  according  to  the 
Wcslevan  proverb,  a  genuine  ^Methodist  and  therefore  not  a 
bi<'-ot.  "So  Christ  is  preached  and  ve  believed"  deter- 
mined  and  regulated  his  intercourse  and  co-operation  in  the 
brotherhood  of  the  niinistrv  and  in  the  conmiunitv  of  sects. 
But  he  was  a  Christian  teacher,  "  set  for  the  defense  of  the 
Gospel,"  under  inspired  instruction  "  to  hold  fast  the  form 
of  sound  words,"  and  under  ministerial  vow  to  "  ))anish  and 
drive  away  all  strange  and  erroneous  doctrines."  That  made 
his  historv  as  a  controversialist.  This  history  touches  at  all 
stacres  of  his  ministerial  life  and  is  marked  bv  peculiar  inci- 
dents  and  contains  a  distinguished  record. 

The  "  relish  "  for  controversy  in  his  joutli,  of  whiidi  he 
made   mention,  was   a  mental  idiosyncracy,  rather  than  an 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RELATIONS.  235 

sestlictical  seiitimeut.  As  kindly  uikI  gentle  as  a  child,  and 
with  the  spirit  of  the  peacemaker,  his  mind  was  analytical, 
with  natural  scent  for  the  discoveries  of  sound  piiilosophy 
and  enjoying  the  exploits  of  a  discriminating  logic.  So  far 
as  the  relish  may  have  been  tinctured  by  denominational 
rivaliy  and  may  have  touched  the  tone  of  his  spirit,  it  was 
an  incident  of  the  times  in  the  years  of  his  earlier  ministry. 
They  were  times  of  ecclesiastical  warfare.  The  spirit  of 
controversy  was  in  the  atmos[)liere  of  the  churches.  The 
pulpit  was  rigidly  doctrinal  and  the  manner  of  it  polemical. 
His  associations  were  with  soldiers  in  camp  or  on  the  battle- 
Held,  fiiihtiflg  at  their  side  and  talkimi  over  the  war  in 
bivouac.  There  were  then  frequent  single-combats,  as  in 
the  Caples-Lard  debate  at  Brunswick  and  in  anotli:'r  at 
Hannibal  between  the  same  ]Methodist  warrior  and  Dr.  Hop- 
son  of  the  Campbellite  camp.  At  the  latter  Marvin  was 
present,  the  prompter  and  second  of  Caples.  In  his  des- 
cription of  it,  there  is  evidence  of  the  eagerness  with  wliicli 
he  entered  into  the  pul)lic  interest,  from  the  beginning  fore- 
casting the  issue  of  battle,  comparing  the  mental  stature  of 
the  antagonists  and  the  qualitj^  of  their  weapons,  whether 
heavy  ordinance  or  small  arms.  The  military  terms  of  his 
description  are  brought  down  from  the  connnon  speech  of 
those  times.  In  a  notable  instance,  indeed,  the  controversial 
discussion  was  conducted  by  the  use  of  an  allegory  con- 
structed from  the  tactics  of  war  and  the  bulletins  of  a  cam- 
paiii'n.  Missouri  readers  will  reco<rnize  at  once  the  allusion 
to  the  Caples-sermon  at  Savannah  in  reply  to  Elder  Hudgins 
of  the  Campbellite  pul[)it,  the  tradition  of  which  is  preserved 
and  rendered  with  such  vivacious  narrative  by  Bishop  INIar- 
vin — in  it,  the  alliance  of  the  "Greeks;"  the  pursuit  of 
the  iieeing  enemy  to  "  the  fords  of  Jordan  ;  "'  the  "  rout " 
at  Enon  ;  the  skirmish  at  the  "  puddle  '"  in  the  desert ;  and 
the  final  defeat  in  the  overthrow  at  the  "•  tombs." 

The  foregoing  references  indicate  the  history  and  spirit 


236  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

of  those  times.  Tlic  old  controversy  of  the  earlier  ^Tetho- 
di.sni  with  Ctilviiiistic  theology  luul  not  wholly  subsided  ; 
but  it  was  alnio.st  entirely  superseded  by  the  contest  with 
the  new-I)oru  creed  of  Canipbellism.  The  tenets  and  meth- 
ods of  its  pulpit  have  become  greatl}^  modified  and  improved 
in  this  day.  At  its  first  appearance  the  sect  was  an  eccle- 
siastical Ishmaelite,  nudging  war  on  all  others.  It  was  ex- 
ceedingly presumptuous  and  disputatious,  and  the  manner 
of  its  warfare  coarsely  abusive,  dealing  often  in  ridicule 
which  was  not  only  irrreverent,  but  little  removed  from  sac- 
rilege. This  tone  and  tactics  of  its  pulpit  exi)lain  the  fact 
of  antagonism  and  the  manner  of  dealing  Avith  the  foe  in  pe- 
culiar modes  of  defense  and  attack.  The  issues  were  grave 
and  vital — not  of  form,  but  substance.  The  immersion 
controversy  was  involved,  but  the  field  included  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  Christianity  and  vital  facts  of  Christian 
experience.  Creeds  w^ere  rejected  and  denounced  and 
without  a  standard  of  doctrine  or  tests  of  orthodox}^,  each 
pulpit  was  a  law  unto  itself,  and  in  its  ministry  and  member- 
ship the  sect  in  that  day  was  a  reservoir  of  almost  universal 
heterodox}^ — here  and  there  in  the  Chamelion  i)uli)it,  Uni- 
tarianisni,  Universalisni,  no  divine  Christ,  nor  })ersonal 
Spirit  of  Cod  ;  and  in  all  pul])its  alike,  baptismal  pardon 
and  regeneration  and  no  ex[)erini('iit;il  religion,  which  was 
not  only  discredited  but  carricatured. 

Methodism,  especially,  was  the  natural  enemy  of  the 
new  sect  and  the  most  formidable.  The  gravity  of  the  heresy 
and  the  zeal  and  audacity  of  its  propagation  thoroughly 
aroused  the  Methodist  pul[)it,  and  there  was  a  general  call  to 
arms  to  contend  for  the  citadel  of  the  (Mn-istian  faith.  The 
contest  was  earnest.  Its  spirit  Mas  elevated  and  higher 
than  the  zeal  of  denominational  partizanship.  Iiisho[)  Mar- 
vin has  illustrated  it  by  an  incident  in  the  ministr}'-  of  iJev. 
Georij^e  AV.  Bewlev  at  Kichmond,  Avhere  the  irreat  fact  of 
the  Divinity  of  Christ  was  habitually  assailed  in  pulpit  min- 


ECCLESIASTICAL  RELATIONS.  237 

istrations  and  street  talk.  lie  was  in  feeble  health,  lal)or- 
ing  under  pulmonary  disease  for  years.  While  preaching  a 
small  blood-vessel  was  ruptured.  The  spectacle  of  a  bloody 
handkerchief  excited  the  congregation  to  tears  and  impressed 
the  truth.  He  went  on  with  the  sermon.  "Redman,  sit- 
ting behind, him,  sprang  to  his  feet,  seized  his  ai;m  and  beg- 
ged him  to  desist,  for  he  preached  on  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. Rousing  his  slight  frame  with  the  strength  of  a 
lion,  Bewley  pushed  his  friend  aside,  exclaiming  'Let  me 
alone  ;  I  would  rather  die  defending  my  Lord  and  Master 
from  these  aspersions  than  in  any  other  way,'  " 

Marvin,  in  his  early  ministry,  was  the  companion  of  these 
men.     The  noted  pulpit-men  were  by  eminence  controver- 
sialists and,  in  general,  the  jjulpit  w'as  put  by  the  controver- 
sial history  of  the  times  in  the  attitude  of  both  teaching  and 
contending  "  for  the  faith  once  delivered  unto  the  saints." 
What  siiiiialized  the  ministry  of  Redman,  his  first  Presiding' 
Elder,  it  is  stated  in  his  obituary,  was  his  doctrinal  preach- 
ing and  his  controversial  skill.     In  the  last  words  of  Jacob 
Lannius,  his  Presiding  Elder,  during  liis  three  years  pastor- 
ate in  Northeast  Missouri,  in  184G-49,  the  same  fact  is  noted 
— "  I  have  preached  the  true  doctrine.     I  have  defended  it 
earnestly."     The  senior  preachers,  the  models  and  guides 
of  the  young  preachers,  were  emploj^ed  and  distinguished  as 
defenders  of  the  faith  and  champions  of  jMcthodism.     He 
imbibed  their  spirit  and  joined  the  army  in  the  field.     He  is 
soon  in  the  thick  of  the  light,  and  in  his  sixth  year,  a  cap- 
tain of  the  host.     When  he  was  at  Louisiana  he  held  a  pub- 
lic discussion  with  Elder  ISIodisctt,   a  Baptist  Minister,   on 
the  issues  of  the  controversy  on  baptism.     Similar  discus- 
sions in  notable  instances  of  pulpit  rejoinder  to  the  assaults 
of  Immersionists,  occur  in  his  army  ministry.     The  most 
signal   of   such   occasions    was   his   public   del)ate   with  the 
learned  and  eloquent  Smarius,  the  Jesuit  Priest,  at  St.  Louis, 
on  the  questions  of  complaint  and  protest  against  Romanism. 


238  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

In  th(!  Campbell ilo  conlrovoi'sy  lie  took  an  active  part.  He 
was  in  conlart  a\  illi  it  from  his  earliest  ministry — rife  in 
Central  Missouri  and  extendini;-  across  the  Northern  section 
from  the  jMissouri  Eiver  to  the  Mississippi.  AVhen  he  was 
iit  Monticello,  in  1848,  his  circuit  cml)raeecl  one  of  the 
strongholds  of  the  Iveforniers,  where  their  Colleu'e  Avas  lo- 
cated and  their  leading  champion  ministered.  lie  challcn- 
<»-e(l  this  pojjular  and  })owerful  leader.  The  incident  is  well 
known  in  Missouri,  remarkable  as  showing  both  the  brave 
warrior  and  the  skillful  strategist.  Accounts  of  it  have 
been  furnished  by  several  contributors  :  the  following  by 
Eev.  ^y.  ^V.  McMurray.  He  has  taken  it  down  from  the 
lips  of  eye  witnesses  of  the  singular  occurrence — so  singular 
that  the  story  is  known,  under  the  title,  "Marvin  joining 
the  Campbellite  Church:" 

I;i  the  years  1 848  and  '4"^,  E.  M.  Marvin  was  appointed  to  the  Monticello 
Clreail,  Mo.  Conference.  AmonLi"  the  many  interesting  reniini-cences  of 
thoso  twoyears,  I  liave  collected  from  the  old  pioneers  still  living  and 
some  who  have  recenlly  departed,  is  the  following,  which  occnred  perhaps 
in  the  fall  of  '4!»,  at  Monticello.  Elder  D.  P.  II.,  an  eminent  man  and 
successful  in  the  then  "  current  rrforniation,"  visited  Monticello  and  held 
a  meeting  of  several  days  continuance.  He  was  in  his  prime,  and  no  one 
ofl.i-;  brethren  excelled  him  in  tlie  skill  and  success  with  which  he  pre- 
sen'.etl  his  cause.  Many  were  added  to  their  number,  some  from  other 
cliurches,  until  this  la-t  feature  with  many  clmrch-members  became  a 
m.aiia.  The  speaker  made  special  effort  in  tlii-;  direction,  giving  great 
prominence  and  plausibility  to  the  plea:  "Come,  unite  with  us  on  the 
Bible;  throw  away  your  human  creeds;  let  us  be  one,"  etc.,  etc.  This 
liad  great  effect  The  excitement  was  intense.  Young  Marvin,  now  in  the 
eighth  year  of  his  ministiy,  had  been  closely  observing  the  drift  of  affairs, 
and  c  )ncluded  tliat  lu;  wouhl  punetin-e  the  bniible  that  he  saw  was  de- 
ceiving some.  The  services  were  being  held  in  the  Court-liouse.  It 
was  at  night;  a  large  audience  i)rescnt,  and  excitemr'nt  on  tii)-toe.  The 
text  was  that  most  perverted  of  all  others  on  this  subject— Eph.  iv.  5 
—  "O  0  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism."  The  speaker  closed  amid 
the  nio-t  i  ilense  interest  and  the  most  plau>ible  presentation  of  his 
theme  (  f  '  union  on  tlie  Bibe  without  a  creed."  "All  could  stand  on  this 
platform;  all  could  not  stand  on  a  creed.''  The  invitation  was  given  to 
join  1  y  connn-.:  forward  and  giving  him  their  hand.  Ko  sooner  had  the 
congregation  arose  and  the  singing  begun,  than  Marvin  walked  deliberately 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DELATIONS.  230 

iorward  and  gave  liis  hand  to  the  preacher.  An  enthusiastic  sister  could 
not  coutain  her  joy,  and  ;uidibly  excUiiined,  "There  goes  the  preacher; 
we've  got  the  preaclier."  The  singing  over,  the  speaker  said,  "Are  you 
in  earnest,  Mr.  Marvin?"  Marvin  replied,  ♦'  Never  was  moi'e  candid  in 
my  life,  sir!  "  Tlie  speal<er  continued,  "Do  you  believe  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Son  of  God?  '  "  VVhat  if  I  do,  or  do  not?"  was  the  reply.  '•  Well," 
said  the  speaker,  "we  demand  assent  to  that  question  before  bapti.-m.'' 
^'Didn't  come  here  to  be  baptizA'd  or  swallow  a  creed,'  said  Marvin; 
■"came  to  '  nnite  with  you  ou  the  Bible,'  and  the  first  thing  I  meet  is  a 
creed  ;  and  now  you  prate  about  baptism,  when  that  in  my  case  has  already 
been  administered.''  Imagination  can  well  fill  ui)  the  effect  the  scene  pro- 
duced uijon  that  audience,  never  to  be  forgotten.  The  meeting  was  to  chise 
that  night,  and  it  did;  but  not  until  Marvin  had  iuformed  the  speaker  tli:it 
lie  proposed  to  review  his  sermon  and  the  current  reformation,  and  would 
like  for  him  to  remain  and  assist  in  the  discussion.  The  speaker  replied 
that  he  would  if  INIarvin  would  go  to  Palmyra,  "  where  yonr  Brother 
Lannius  and  onr  Brother  Creath  live,  and  where  we  can  have  access  to 
their  libraries."  "  No,"  said  Marvin  ;  "  I  am  set  for  the  defense  of  Meth- 
odism here ;  Lannius  can  take  care  of  it  there.  Here  it  has  been  attacked; 
here  it  mu-t  be  vindicated."'  After  s  me  further  remarks  in  a  fruitless 
elfort  for  discussion  then  and  there.  Elder  1)  P.  II  closed  the  meeting, 
and  departed  f  u*  his  home  in  Illinois  next  morning.  Then  for  several 
evenings  in  succession  the  current  reformation  got  such  an  airing  fn)m 
this  young  David  of  the  Methodist  Israel  as,  I  presume,  it  seldom,  if  ever, 
received. 

There  was  another  rule  Avhioh  Governed  his  sentiments 
toAvards  other  sects.  "  Ko  Church  has  any  right  to  he^ 
unless  it  stands  for  something.  It  must  embody  and  con- 
serve some  truth,  some  principle,  some  great  matter  of 
Christian  interest  that  no  other  church  does,  or  it  has  no 
just  title  to  existence.  It  nmst  be  charged  with  some  jDor- 
tion  of  God's  work  that  no  one  else  is  at  hand  to  do,  and 
that  no  one  else  can  be  trusted  with  ;  or  its  presence  among 
the  churches  is  an  intrusion  and  an  impertinence."  What 
thus  distinguishes  and  justifies  the  existence  of  a  church, 
must  be,  he  says,  "some  principle  vital  to  the  Christiau 
commonwealth;"  the  separate  organization  representing 
*'  some  truth  of  hiijli  value  in  the  ecclesiastical  constitution 
and  of  which  it  is  the  sole  custodian.' 

The  ap[)ositeness  of  this  rule  and  its  application  had 
practical  illustration  and  call  for  its  exercise  in  the  new 
country,  where  he  Libored  in  his  early  ministry — not,  how- 


240  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

ever,  CDUimou  to  a  new  couiilry  exclusively.  The  tendency 
to  divisions  of  creed  iind  party  lies  in  liii  nan  nalurc  and  be- 
longs to  all  ages  of  the  Church  and  to  all  conditions  in  so- 
ciety. "One  fact,"  he  wrote,  "is  ap[)arcnt  in  all  ages,  and 
3'et  men  seem  not  to  have  been  duly  impressed  with  it  np  to 
this  hour:  that  is,  that  no  amount  of  mental  training  or 
culture  can  guard  a  man  against  error.  The  most  gifted 
and  highly  educated  are  just  as  lial)le  to  embrace  erroneous 
creeds  in  religion  and  ethics  as  the  most  ignorant.  The 
falsest  and  most  disorganizing  and  most  debasing  doctrines 
have  not  Avanted  for  accomi)lished  advocates," 

The  sentiment  finds  corroboration  in  tlie  statistics  of  sects 

in  these  :  The  Kev.  Edward  N.  Kirk  has  statetl  that  in  the 

Western  Ileserve,  in  Ohio,  in  1S48,  then  called  "  the  New 
En'dand  of  the  "West,"  there  were  no  less  than  "  forty-one 
sects,  all  professing  to  believe  the  Bible."  That  in  a  new 
country  ;  and  this  statement  concerning  one  of  the  States  in 
the  ori'dnal  New  E!rj;]and,  noted  for  its  colleges  and  its 
social  culture  :  "  It  is  obvious  to  every  stranger,  who  visits 
the  Northern  States,  that  in  them  there  are  many  sects  of 
relio-ionists.  In  Rhode  Island,  for  example,  small  as  it  is 
(in  a  population  of  not  above  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand souls),  there  are  said  to  exist  Congregationalism,  old 
school  and  new;  Episcopal,  high  and  low;  Unitarians, 
transcendental  and  orthodox  ;  Methodists,  protestant  and 
episcopal;  Quakers,  Hicksites,  Wilforites,  Gurneyites  ;  and 
Baptists— Calvinistic,  freewMll,  Christian,  seventh  day,  six 
principle,  and  a  few  Ironsides,  or  '  all  will '  or  '  Ilardshells,' 
as  they  are  called  South.  Then,  they  have  Swedenborgians, 
Koman  Cathoru;s,  Universalists,  Nothingarians,  Infidels  and 
Atheists,  and  recently  one  Presbyterian  Church."* 

The  al)ove  exhibit  is,  also,  in  illustration  and  justification 
of  the  Marvin-rule  in  regard  to  the  minute  subdivision  of 
gects not  only  of  the  absence  of  his  respect  for  them,  but, 

*riiilosophy  of  Sectarianism.     1858. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    RELATIONS.  211 

also,  the  wit  "with  which  sonietiiiies,  in  private  circles,  he 
w^ould  lash  them.  INIorc  Avidelj  than  in  ^lissouri,  perhaps, 
his  "  hardshell  serniou"  has  been  preached  to  select  audien- 
ces— its  subject,  the  '■s  schemes  "  of  the  Great  Apostasy,  an 
educated  ministry,  Sunday  schools  and  missionary  societies  ; 
the  text,  "that  there  be  no  schism  (schemes)  in  the  body  ;" 
the  treatment,  only  Marvin  could  render  it,  and  the  "  holy 
tone"  cannot  be  put  in  type.  Through  him,  it  is  known, 
the  "  Hardshell  "  Gospel  has  been  preached  at  the  ends  of 
the  earth — once  on  a  canal  boat  in  China.  Not  anyw^here 
did  he  preach  it  except  to  an  "elect"  company;  and  in 
China  he  chided  himself  that  he  could  be  merry  in  the 
midst  of  heathenism,  though  not  over  the  Western  supersti- 
tion. Indeed,  he  found  an  identity  in  respect  to  the  matter, 
in  heathen  as  in  Christian  systems — in  America  and  at 
Madras — here  the  Hardshells,  and  there,  the  Nosers  or 
Ilorse-shoers,  as  it  may  be  variously  written,  according  to 
this  note  of  observation  in  his  Book  of  Travels  :  "People 
here  indicate  their  faith  by  wearing  a  mark.  Sometimes  it 
is  a  spot  just  above  the  base  of  the  nose  ;  sometimes  a 
trident  extending  upward  from  the  base  of  the  nose,  the 
outer  lines  white  and  tho«  central  one  brown.  This  trident 
is  w^orn  by  Brahmans,  and  there  are  two  forms  of  it.  In 
one  form  the  lower  extremity  of  the  fii>ure  makes  a  reg-ular 
curve,  like  a  horse-shoe  ;  in  the  other  a  little  point  extends 
downward  from  the  extremity."  What  is  added  emphasizes 
the  parallel  in  general:  "These  different  forms  represent 
differences  in  doctrine — slight,  yery  slight,  differences,  a 
venerable  wearer  of  the  horse-shoe  told  us  ;  but  when  the 
two  parties  meet  in  the  temple  they  sometimes  make  the 
walls  resound  with  the  vigor  of  their  angry  reproaches  and 
recriminations."  His  sober  view  upon  the  multiplication  of 
sects  has  been  already  given.  It  is  indicated,  likewise,  in 
the  following  reference  to  the  mode  of  baptism,  how  nar- 
row as  the  basis  of  a  sect  and  what  the  folly  of  the  clamor 
16 


242  BISHOP  ivrAP.vTX. 

over  it :  *'  I  do  not  care  to  niuko  a  quarrel  -with  anv  one  up- 
on the  form  of  an  ordinance.  Others  may  liold  their  own 
views  as  to  the  mode  of  this  one  ;  I  s^liall  seclc  no  contro- 
versy "with  them.  I  might  repel  an  ungenerous  assault  upon 
my  own  views  ;  but  I  Avill  not  be  responsible  for  rending 
the  body  of  Christ  upon  such  a  question." 

He  discriminated  denoniinationalism  by  the  two  rules 
named — an  authorized  charter  of  existence  and  the  iud^- 
ment  of  true  charity,  not  as  a  Aveak  personal  sentiment,  but 
a  divine  principle,  its  model  at  the  Cross  of  Christ :  "  ]\Iercy 
and  truth  meet  together ;  righteousness  and  jieace  kiss  each 
other."  In  a  spurious  charity,  to  em])race  error  on  an 
equality  with  truth  would  ])e,  in  his  view,  criminal  ;  and  a 
complicity  in  absurd  and  injurious  folly,  to  give  countenance 
to  unauthorized  sectaries.  With  sucli  boundaries  to  toler- 
ation, in  ample  limits  he  lived  and  moved  among  the 
Churches  with  broadly  evansfelical  svmi)athies  and.  a  true 
and  genial  catholicity  of  spirit.  It  was  in  accord  with  na- 
tural traits — a  man  of  heart  and  a  brother  to  humanity. 

In  its  character,  the  controversial  spirit,  as  he  controlled 
it,  did  not  degenerate  into  personal  spleen ;  contending 
sternly  against  error,  but  with  no  spite  towards  its  per- 
sonal representative.  It  did  not,  in  its  history,  invade  or 
disturb  the  circle  of  his  friendsliips.  In  point  of  fact,  some 
of  hfs  chosen  friends  and  closest  companions  were  among 
those  who  would  not  extend  to  him  formal  fellowship  at  the 
communion  table.  Among  the  churches,  it  is  known  how 
Christians  of  all  creeds  and  orders  loved  the  man,  admired 
his  pulpit,  and  welcomed  him  to  their  altars  of  Avorship  and 
seats  of  instruction.  At  home  and  abroad,  the  pulpits  of 
Ijoth  hemispheres  and  in  many  lands  and  of  many  sects,  he 
has  filled — on  occasion,  one  most  inaccessible  to  a  i)reacher 
among  the  "  sects  "  and  to  a  Methodist  Bishop.  lie  has 
told  it  in  a  vein  which  shows  how  the  churchly  prejudice, 
irrepressible  even  at  Jerusalem,  amused  rather  than  annoyed 


ECCLESIASTICAL    RELATIONS.  243 

"him:  "The  Rector  of  the  Church,  a  converted  German 
Jew,  made  an  announcement  that  interested  me.  It  was, 
as  nearly  as  I  can  recall  it,  in  these  words  :  '  There  will  be 
^meeting  in  the  lecture-room  of  this  church,  at  half-past 
seven  o'clock  this  evening.  Bishop  Marvin,  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church,  in  the  United  States  of  America,  will  deliver  a 
lecture.  The  regular  evening  service  will  be  suspended.' 
This  Rector  is  a  delightful  man,  full  of  the  love  of  Christ, 
but  trammeled  1)V  the  exclusiveness  of  his  Church.  He 
"would  have  had  me  to  preach  in  the  main  audience-room, 
after  reading  the  service  himself,  but  our  Consul  had  told 
him  that  he  thought  I  would  enjoy  it  better  to  occupy  the 
lepture-room,  and  do  things  in  the  Methodist  style.  So,  at 
the  appointed  hour,  I  met  a  crowded  audience  and  lectured 
on  Roiii.  iii.  ol."  He  heard  the  resident  Bishop  preach 
from  the  sacred  desk  in  the  main-room  in  the  morning, 
having  no  prejudices  to  overcome  and  saying  of  him,  "he 
is  now  a  very  aged  man,  deeply  evangelical  and  ready  for 
his  chansre."  lie  enioved  the  lament  of  the  sermon  over 
"the  ritualistic  follies"  the  good  Bishop  saw  creeping,  he 
said,  into  "  our  beloved  Church," 

In  like  history  with  the  inaccessible  pulpit,  how  his  per- 
sonal fellowship  overleaped  the  close-communion  barrier  oc- 
curred at  the  English  Baptist  Mission  at  Calcutta,  in  the 
person  of  Dr.  Wenger,  one  of  the  oldest  Missionaries  in 
India:  "If  I  had  been  with  an  Apostle  I  could  scarcely 
have  venerated  him  more.  Noble  man  !  his  work  will  soon 
"be  done  ;  but  a  glorious  crown  awaits  him."  "Whether  in 
personal  fellowship  or  official  intercourse,  he  was  a  grand 
representative  of  the  true  brotherhood  of  Christians — a 
catholicity  of  spirit,  broad  as  the  world  he  traversed,  and 
girdling  the  earth  with  the  joy  of  the  Eucharist,  the  holy 
communion  :  "  "\Ye  took  coffee  early  and  walked  out  along 
the  lake,  by  the  summer  house  of  the  last  of  the  kinsrs, 
around  the  temple  of  Buddha  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 


244  BISIIOr   MARVIN. 

and  then  down  the  street  to  the  "Wesleyan  Chapel,  "\Ve  fell 
in  upon  the  hour  of  Shingalese  service,  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  Elias  Paul  Fonseka,  the  native  pastor  recently  or- 
dained Elder.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he  proceeded  to 
the  administration  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
Our  hearts  leaped  within  us  for  joy.  We  had  participated 
in  this  feast  with  the  native  Church  in  Japan  and  in  China, 
both  at  Shanghai  and  Soochow,  and  now  it  was  spread  be- 
fore us  in  the  very  heart  of  Ceylon.  AVe  approached  the  , 
table  with  the  lay  communicants,  and  witli  tlicm  took  the 
bread  and  wine  at  the  hands  of  the  pastor,  "  in  remem- 
brance of  Him."  It  was  a  hallowed  moment.  I  never 
felt  myself  nearer  to  the  Cross.  I  never  felt  more  deeply 
the  love  of  God  and  His  people.  These  men,  of  anotlier 
hemisphere  and  of  another  C()h)r,  were  one  with  me  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  I  was  one  with  them  in  heart  though  I 
had  never  before  seen  their  faces.     I  felt,  indeed,  that, 

'  Heaven  came  down  our  souls  to  greet, 
Auil  glory  crowned  the  merc3'-seat.' 

The  conofreiration  was  small  and  the  communicants  few,  but 
He  made  good  His  promise  and  was  '  in  the  midst  of  them.'  " 

In  his  relations  to  the  various  branches  of  Methodism, 
there  is  a  peculiar  histor3\  Towards  all  other  forms  of  it 
in  his  own  country,  except  for  a  time  towards  the  M.  E. 
Church,  he  was  stron<::lv  affiliated  in  sentiments  of  esteem 
and  sympathy.  Towards  that  Church  there  were  relations 
begun  and,  happily,  ended  in  peaceful  brotherhood,  but 
with  an  interval  of  wide  alienation  and  violent  conflict,  in 
which  he  was  pronounced  and  prominent. 

His  relations  to  the  subject  1)egan  at  the  session  of  his 
Conference  in  the  fall  of  1.S44,  held  at  St.  Louis.  It  was 
his  third  year  in  the  ministry  and  he  was  young  in  years,  in 
his  twenty-second  j^ear ;  but  he  gave  earnest  attention  to 
the  sul)ject  from  the  beginning.  The  speech  of  Mr.  Jami- 
son at  that  Conference,  heretofore  mentioned,  was  no  doubt 
on  the  question  j)ending  resolutions  to  send  delegates  to  the 


ECCLESIASTICAL    KELATIONS.  245 

called  Convention  of  the  Southern  Church  at  Louisville.   Jn 
this  lar2:o  Conference  there  -svere  only  thirteen  in  the  oppo- 
sition, headed  by  Jamison,  who  Avas  a  man  of  commanding 
ability  and  of  high  character  and  standing  as  a  preacher. 
The  import  of  the  occasion  raised  Marvin  from  his  seat. 
He  is  seen  standing  up  on  the  floor  of  the  Conference-room, 
an  ea^-er  listener  to  the  discussion.     The  action  taken  was 
well  considered.     What  of  its  purport  belongs  to  this  con- 
nection is  chiefly  that  it  did  not  contain  the  fact  nor  s])irit 
of  schism.     It  was  understood  and  expressed  in  the  resolu- 
tions that  separation  Avas  authorized,  and  at  the  same  time, 
declared  that  it  Avas  not  desired  but  deprecated,  except  as  a 
last  resort  for  security  under  the  protection  of  law  and  for 
the  preservation  of  Methodism  in  the  slave-holding  States. 
Marvin  Avas  represented  at  the  Louisville  Convention.     Its 
action  was  approved  and  accepted  by  the  vote  of  the  Con- 
ference at  its  succeeding  session  at  Columbia.     Besides  the 
corporate  vote,  there  Avas  individual  action  by  each  member, 
adherinir  North  or  South.     On  the  call  of  the  roll  MarA^n 
was  Avritten  doAvn  a  Southern  Methodist.     The  transactions 
at  St.  Louis  transpired  under  the  eye  of  Bishop  ]Morris,  AAdio 
remained  in  the  Northern  branch  of  the  divided  jurisdiction. 
His  name  to  the  record  of  the  proceedings  expressed  both 
Ills  official   and  personal  sanction  to  their  legitimacy,  and 
their  binding  authority  Avas  subsequently  proclaimed  by  liim 
in  terms  and  recognized  in  his  Episcopal  administration. 
The  old  preachers  of  the  Missouri  Conference  still  remem- 
ber the  stirrino;  address  of  Soule  at  Columbia  on  the  morn- 
ins:  of  adjournment.     His  clarion  A'oice  and  ponderous  ut- 
terances  still   ring  in   their    ears — the    Northern    man   and 
Southern  Bishop  sending  out  one  of  the  very  first    band    of 
Southern  Methodist  Preachers  to  their  old  Avork  under  their 
neAV  name,  and  assuring  them  of  the  soundness  and  supe- 
riority of  their  jVIethodism  and  the  sanction  to  their  Ministry, 
both  ecclesiastical  and  divine. 


24:6  BISlIOl'    -MAliVIN. 

]\I:irvin,  likewise,  had  early  coiincctiou  with  this  ques- 
tion in  his  pastoral  M'ork.  It  was  at  issue,  thoug-h  slightly,, 
on  Weston  Circuit.  His  api)()iiitiiu'nt  to  Ilannihal  Station 
by  lii.shop  Paine,  it  has  been  seen,  was  as  representative 
and  guardian  of  the  Church  on  the  issues  of  the  division. 
At  his  next  charge,  on  the  Monticello  Circuit,  b}''  instruc- 
tion of  the  Presiding  Elder,  he  took  under  his  care  the 
Methodist  Society  at  the  city  of  Quincy,  111.,  which  had, 
under  the  plan  of  separation,  sought  connection  with  the 
Southern  Church.  There  his  niinistrv  was  higlilv  accept- 
able  and  successful,  and  the  Church  was  greatly  strength- 
ened by  large  accession  to  its  numbers.  With  >vhat  pru- 
dence and  success  he  discharged  the  special  and  delicate 
trust  at  Hannibal,  Pishop  Paine  has  testified. 

The  sentiment  of  jNIissouri  Methodism  was  eminently 
conservative  and  the  peace  and  order  of  the  Church,  with 
only  here  and  there  insiguiticant  disaffection,  were  remarkably 
preserved,  till  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  in  1848,  at  Pittsburg,  Avas  taken.  Upon  that 
action,  in  the  rejection  of  the  fraternal  delegate  of  the 
Southern  Church  in  the  person  of  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  Bishop 
Marvin  adopted  the  law  of  non-intercourse  thus  initiated 
and  held  it  strictly  till  the  rejection  was  recalled  by  the 
overtures  at  Louisville  and  reversed  by  the  official  recogni- 
tion of  the  same  Southern  mossenc^er  at  Baltimore — sinofu- 
larly  preserved  in  life  to  extreme  age,  in  the  connections  of 
his  own  ntune  and  delegated  office  to  signalize  the  happy 
close  as  he  had  stood  related  to  the  unhappy  beginning  of 
the  most  remarkal)le  ecclesiastical  contest  known  to  the: 
history  of  the  American  Church. 

With  a  broad  catholicity  to  embrace  the  Church  univer- 
sal, he  was,  nevertheless,  a  decided  Methodist.  Among  the 
Methodists,  he  Avas  a  pronounced  Southern  Methodist.  That 
sentiment  Avas  put  in  a  characteristic  saying,  reported  by 
Gen.  Clinton  B.  Fisk:   "  lu  my  last  intervicAV  with  him. 


ECCLESIASTICAL    RELATIONS. 


247 


just  before  his  departure  for  the  South,  at  the  close  of  a 
service  at  Centenary  Church,  in  a  little  conversation  we  had, 
he  said  :  '  You  are  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  :  so 
am  I,  with  a  handle  to  the  name — /South.  I  shall  hold  on 
to  the  handle.'  " 


CHAPTER     XIII. 


FROM  1848  TO  1853. 

The  Conference  at  Weston,  18-18 — Monticello  Circuit — The  Circuit  Pr<>ach- 
er — As  a  revivalist — A  remirkable  couver.^iun — Pastoral  iidi'lity — 
"  Good  news  from  Aleck  Smith  '' — The  disciplinarian — St.  Charles 
Circuit — lu  the  social  circle— His  temper  and  bearing— His  junior 
preacher — Around  on  the  Circuit — Palmyra  Station — Bereavements — 
His  family  sctlled  at  "  the  Old  Place  "—St.  Charles  District— The 
Presiding  Elder — In  Quarterly  Conference — At  Quarterly  Meetings, 
"  in  order  to  preach  " — The  Danville  meeting— Remarkable  sermon — 
Richard  Bond — His  administration — The  lambs  of  the  flock — Testi- 
mony and  tribute — Louisiana  meeting— A  pastoral  visit  and  thrilling 
incident— In  the  Bishop's  Cabinet— Pastor  of  preachers— Presiding 
Elder  tutored — The  prophecy  of  his  Presiding  Elder's  record. 

^^TJpiE  session  of  the  Conference  for  1848,  held  at  Weston, 
fj^  was  a  pleasant  occasion  to  Marvin.  The  general  sum- 
mary of  the  ecclesiastical  year  was  gratifying.  In  spite  of 
the  Northern  ao:itation  and  its  increased  Yii>-or  durins^  the 
year,  the  return  of  numbers  showed  that  the  Church  had 
been  preserved  from  any  serious  inroads.  There  were  no 
cases  of  discipline,  no  deaths  and  only  one  location  ;  their 
ranks  strengthened  by  the  accession  of  nine  received  on 
trial  and  seven  into  full  connection.  Among  them  were 
some  with  whom  he  had  intimate  association  in  labors  and 
personal  friendship  in  after  years,  and  some  were  his 
"  boys  "  when  he  became  Presiding  Ehlor.  lie  was  there 
at  his  old  charge,  the  hospitalities  of  the  place  heightened 
by  happy  reunions  with  old  parishioners  and  loved  friends. 
The  religious  services  were   enjoyed  the  more   in  the  new 


FROM  1848  TO  1850.  249 

church  edifice,  he  had  projected  before  he  left  the  Circuit 
two  years  l)cfore.  The  Bi.shop  was  Andrew,  who  had  in- 
ducted him  into  the  full  itinerant  ministry  and  iriven  him 
his  first  ordination.  On  the  list  of  appointments  ho  Mas 
read  out  to  Monticello  Circuit.  He  was  returned  to  it  the 
year  following  by  Bishop  Paine,  at  the  Conference  held  at 
Fulton,  commencing  September  2()th.  During  his  member- 
ship in  this  Conference,  his  chief  pastoral  labors  were  in 
Northeast  Missouri,  principally  along  the  riyer  counties  of 
the  Mississippi  and  extending  to  its  southern  boundary  line 
at  the  Missouri  Riyer  and  westAyard  on  its  north  bank  in 
seyeral  counties.  Within  these  limits  he  continued  his  la- 
bors hy  appointment  to  the  St.  Charles  Circuit  at  the  Con- 
ference of  1851,  held  at  Fayette,  September  24,  Bishop 
Capers  presiding;  and  as  Presiding  Elder  of  St.  Charles 
District,  to  Ayhicli  he  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Paine  at  the 
St.  Joseph  Conference,  October  6,  1852,  and  reappointed 
to  it  September  28,  1853,  at  Palmj^ra,  by  Bishop  Andrew. 

Nearly  one-third  of  his  ministerial  life  in  the  ordinary 
pastorate  was  passed  on  circuits.  Ho  had  decided  prefer- 
ence for  that  work.  All  through  life  and  when  he  was  a 
Bishop,  he  has  declared  his  choice  on  a  list  of  appointments 
would  always  be  a  three  weeks  circuit.  He  was  accustomed 
to  magnify  such  a  charge — the  life  in  the  country,  the  stud}'^ 
on  horseback,  the  hospitable  homes,  the  simplicity  of  social 
conditions,  the  good  common  sense  of  the  people  and  in 
scriptural  knowledge  especially  the  superior  intelligence  of 
the  confrresations.  All  this  he  relished,  to2:ether  Ayitli  the 
greater  freedom  of  the  pulpit  and  commonly  the  greater 
appreciation  and  preyalency  of  the  Gospel  and  the  uncon- 
strained altar  work,  winding  up  the  year  with  the  round  of 
protracted  meetings  and  the  general  rally  of  the  Circuit  at 
the  camp-ground.  He  loyed  this  work  and  had  adaptation 
for  it  and  great  success  in  it.  Perhaps  the  largest  number 
of  the  sheayes  over  which  in  his  now  gathered  harvest  he  is 


250  BISHOP   MARVIX. 

rejoicing,  wore  reaped  at  the  country  basket-meeting  and 
the  camp-ground  of  tlie  Circuit.  Some  of  the  best  work  of 
his  ministry  and  brightest  chapters  in  the  revival  history  of 
his  ])ulpit  belong  to  his  Circuit  life — notably,  on  the  Mon- 
ticello  charge  during  his  two  years  there.  One  Mxdl  advised,. 
Rev.  Mr.  McMurray,  has  given  the  following  general  state- 
ment of  his  work  ou  that  Circuit:  "  To  Marvin,  perhaps, 
more  than  any  other  man  under  God,  does  Methodism  owe 
its  commandimi;  influence  in  Lewis  Countv.  During  his 
pastorate  on  the  Monticello  Circuit  a  meeting  of  remarkal^le 
l^ower  and  lasting  influence  was  held  at  a  school-house,, 
about  six  miles  west  of  Lagrange.  From  this  begiiming 
ofrew  the  Libertv  Church,  a  centre  of  ijodlv  inlluonces  ever 
since.  And  other  churches  have  been  l)uilt  in  noigliI)or- 
hoods  contisruous,  formin<i  now  the  greater  part  of  one  of 
the  best  circuits  in  the  Hannibal  District,  Mt.  Olivet." 
Canton  and  Lagrange  were  appointments  in  the  Circuit,  and 
subsequently  were  erected  into  Stations  and  served  by 
preachers  among  the  best  in  tlie  Conference,  (^uincy  was 
finally  al^andoncd,  l)ut  the  Church  h:id  a  season  of  great 
ofrace  and  refreshino;  under  his  lireachino-.  Li  the  two  vears' 
history  at  Monticello  \io,  a[)peared  first  most  prominently  as 
a  revivalist.  In  the  instruction  of  his  history,  which  in 
these  pages  goes  along  with  the  narrative,  his  method  may 
be  inferred  from  these  words  of  counsel  to  the  j)reacher 
from  his  own  pen,  on,  as  he  states  it,  how  to  promote  a 
revival : 

I  have  thought  that  a  few  suggestions  on  the  topic  given  at  the  head 
of  tliis  article  niiglit  be  useful. 

1.  Let  the  work  begin  in  his  own  soul.  Let  liini  1)iing  himself  to 
judgment.  Let  him  probe  liis  conscience  witli  such  (piestious  as  these  t 
Am  I  right  with  God?  Are  nij'  motives  right?  Do  I,  indeed,  seek  the 
glory  of  God?  Have  I  no  motive  of  pride  or  self-seeking  iu  what  I  do? 
Do  I  feel  the  danger  of  souls?    Have  I  daily  deep  communion  with  God? 

H'  the  result  of  this  self-examination  be  not  satisfactory,  he  will  know 
the  remedy.  Let  him  humble  hiui^elf  under  the  nnirhty  hand  of  G  'd.  It 
■would  be  well  for  him  to  communicate  freely  with  some  of  ttve  most  spirit- 


FROM  1848  TO  1853.  251 

ual  of  his  church,  and  seek  the  help  of  their  prayers.  Let  liim  make  time 
every  day  for  special  praj'cr  until  he  feels  that  he  can  and  does  prevail 
with  God.  But  no  half-work  nuist  be  done.  God  must  be  honored  by  a 
whole  sacrifice.  Nothing  must  be  kept  back.  A  full  consecration  must 
be  made,  and  he  must  be  ready  for  the  will  of  God,  even  if  it  should  lay 
him  low.  He  must  be  ready  for  dishonor,  if  by  that  means  God  may  be 
honored;  ready  to  be  counted  as  the  fllth  and  offscourinu;  of  the  earth. 

2.  Let  him  lead  the  Church  into  a  higher  life.  I  say  hmd,  for  he  can- 
not drive  them.  He  must  not  scold.  There  may  be  occasions  when,  if 
his  own  soul  is  right,  he  may  rebuke  with  authority.  But  if  he  is,  as  he 
should  be,  the  spirit  of  scolding  will  be  wholly  absent  there.  In  the  spir- 
itual life  he  must  be  on  advanced  ground  and  vjin  the  Church  to  a  more 
entire  devotion.  He  may  constrain  them  by  the  love  of  Christ.  The  work 
of  Christ  is  not  to  be  done  in  an  official  way.  It  must  be  the  result  of 
constraining  love  of  God  in  a  man's  own  soul 

Nor  must  this  work  of  bringing  the  Church  nearer  to  God  be  done  in 
view,  simply,  of  immediate  revical  effect.  I  have  often  been  pained  to  see 
what  seemed  to  be  mere  management  for  effect.  This  is  not  the  true 
spirit.  It  is  not  just  that  we  may^have  a  revival  now  that  is  the  true  mo- 
tive; but  that  we  may  be  the  Lord's  forever.  That  we  may  be  holy,  the 
servants  of  God  without  rebuke  to  the  end  of  our  lives,  must  be  the  object 
in  view.  Not  that  the  conversion  of  our  friend  is  to  be  left  out  of  sii^ht. 
By  no  means.  But.we  must  beware  of  falling  into  a  mere  paroxysm  of 
piety  for  a  revival  occasion.  We  must  look  to  a  sustained  and  permanent 
consecration. 

Let  God  send  the  revival  while  we  are  thus  in  the  attitude  of  waiting 
to  know  and  do  His  will.     We  will  be  nothing.     God  shall  be  all  in  all. 

Whenever  this  spirit  pervades  a  Church  there  is  a  revival  ahead. 

Comment  would  enfeeble  the  al)ove  forcil)le  statement 
of  the  philosophy  of  the  genuine  revival,  which,  in  its  his- 
tory, Marvin  has  said,  every  true  Methodist  Preacher  takes 
with  him  when  he  goes  to  his  work — "•  the  revival  is  in 
him."  As  not  in  his  words,  there  was  not  in  his  practice 
resort  to  the  tactics  of  sensationalism  in  any  of  its  forms, 
neither  in  the  drill  of  the  congregation  nor  artitices  of  pul- 
pit and  choir.  "  A  true  revival  is  never  gotten  up;  it  al- 
ways comes  down,"  he  said,  in  exposure  of  such  practices 
and  in  rebuke,  that  it  Avas  solemn  trifling  and  an  ultimate 
damage.  The  word  preached  was  his  weapon,  and  an  unc- 
tion of  the  Holy  One.  A  meeting  he  held  at  Cottleville, 
after  several  days  had  passed,  was  barren.     The  two  i)reach- 


252  lilSUOl'    .MAKVIX. 

ers  stood  at  the  fork  of  diverging  paths.  "  You  go  up  that 
path  and  I  Avill  go  up  this,''  it  was  said.  It  was  for  prayer 
and  coniinunioii  with  (Jod.  "That  morning  Marvin  preached 
as  I  never  heard  him  preach  and  the  power  of  God  was  in 
the  midst,"  says  the  other  preacher,  who  tilled  the  pulpit  at 
night.  I>oth  had  seals  to  their  ministr}^ — among  them,  one 
cured  of  scepticism  and  tilled  with  joy  in  believing.  There 
arc  multiplied  exam[)les  of  the  efficacy  of  his  pulpit  and 
altar  prayer,  prevailing  with  God  and  with  men.  He  used 
siniriu'*-  freelv,  but  not  with  contrivance  and  artful  device — 
it  was  a  spontaneous  soul-burst,  adding  to  the  word  of  the 
pui[)it  the  Gospel  of  Song.  In  the  above  cMract  it  is  indi- 
cated, what  was  the  tenor  of  his  preaching — both  "to  kill 
and  make  alive."  lie  had  use  for  the  law  "  as  a  school- 
master to  bring  us  to  Christ."  In  the  terrilic  imagery  of 
his  speech  Sinai  was  still  ablaze  and  the  bottomless  pit  sent 
up  the  smoke  of  torment.  The  Cross  its(df  was  interpreted 
as  a  surer  and  severer  token  to  the  unbeliever  of  wrath  re- 
vealed, declaring  God's  righteousness.  In  due  time  Christ 
is  disclosed,  as  he  said  it  of  a  revivalist  of  like  mind  and 
method  of  pulpit,  "  finding  the  sinner  smitten  and  helpless 
amidst  the  crags  of  Sinai  how  tenderly  he  picked  him  up 
and  laid  him  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross." 

In  view  of  contrary  methods  prevailing  in  his  last  years, 
it  is  known  how  pointedly  and  earnestly  he  insisted  both  in 
public  and  private  discourse,  upon  a  rugged  and  penetrating 
repentance  to  [)repare  the  way  of  faith  and  salvation — 
stronalv  deprecating  the  snare  of  Antinomian  laxity,  as 
descril)ed  in  the  quaint  words  of  Rutherford:  "They  get 
Christ  for  as  good  as  half  nothing  and  never  had  a  sick 
uight  of  sorrow  for  sin.  '/'//is  makes  loose  ivork.'"  His 
Avas  the  thrust  of  a  dec])  wound,  nor  was  it  healed  slightly. 
How  he  dreaded,  also,  the  false  and  l)astard  foundations  of 
sacramentarianism  in  all  its  forms  and  the  partial  healing  of 
the  half-way  converts  Avho  make  half-way  Christians.     He 


FROM  1848  TO*  1853.  ^53 

o-uardcd  this  point  closely  and  proclaimed,  in  constant  and 
earnest  admonition — "Ye  must  be  l)orn  again."  He  feared, 
and  said  lie  quaked  in  fear,  that  many  in  tlie  Church  knew 
nothing  of  conscious  pardon  and  personal  regeneration.  He 
was  tenacious  of  the  Methodist  "  mourner's  bench,"  as  it 
was  a  symbol  of  deep  awakening  and  pungent  contrition. 
Church  life  must  be  begun  right  and  whole-hearted  conver- 
sion at  the  start,  were  maxims  of  his  altar-work.  His 
l^reaching  was  toned  by  his  faith — it  was  intensely  realizing. 
Heaven  and  hell  were  realities.  There  was  in  himself  the 
shock  of  startled  sensibility  as  he  saw  the  danger  and  doom 
of  imperilled  souls.  His  faith  realized  for  them,  too,  the 
possible  glory  of  immortal  crowns  and  longed  for  souls  as 
jewels  in  his  own. "  The  vision  of  his  faitli  was  amazing. 
It  had  uncommon  power  of  witness  to  things  not  seen.  The 
love  of  Christ  and  souls  was  identical  in  his  heart  and 
turned  his  ministry  in  search  of  the  neglected  and  outcast, 
in  hedo-es  as  in  hio-hwavs.  Ho  had  confidence  in  his  Gos- 
pel,  its  power  to  save  the  chief  of  sinners  and  to  save  unto 
the  uttermost. 

All  this  characterizes  a  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  if  a  true 
one — his,  pre-eminently  ;    in    combination   and  fullness  the 
wisdom  of  the  sound  divine  joined  to  the  spirit  of  the  evan- 
gelist.    He  longed  and  labored,  prayed  and  preached  for 
revivals,  and  he  had  them.     They  Avere  powerful  l)ecause 
genuine  and  the  fruits  permanent  and  reproductive.     The 
school-house  at  Liberty  appointment  is  too   strait  and  is 
succeeded  by  a  commodious  house  of  worship.     The  place 
has  been  the  headquarters  of  Methodism  ever  since  in  the 
new  Liberty  Circuit.      In  the  adjacent  places  classes  are 
created  and  enlarged  for  another  circuit  in  the  following 
year.     Still  further,  out  of  the  original  territory  successors 
find  foundations  laid  and  remaining  for  two  stations.     That 
is  o-ood  circuit  work.       It  is  the  way  Marvin  subdivided  the 
laro-e  territory  he  traveled,  with  absence  from  his  family 


& 


254  BISHOP  MAi:vi\. 

several  wct'ks  at  a  time,  into  compact  and  convenient  work. 
It  Avas  ])y  joininsi'  many  to  the  Church  who  wci-c  also  "  added 
1()  the  Lord '" — the  enu-jiu'criiiir  of  revivals  rather  than  the 
i)ins(!  of  the  Board  of  Missions.  He  has  sin<::lcd  out  one;  of 
the  converts  of  the  i2.reat  meeting  at  Liberty  to  exemplify 
the  work  of  conserving  the  fruits  of  revival — sup[)lementing 
the  zeal  of  tlu;  altar  by  the  fellowship  of  true  brotherly  love 
on  the  part  of  the  members  and  on  the  part  of  the  minister, 
following  the  preaching  of  the  evangelist  by  the  tender  and 
faithful  care  of  the  pastor.  In  this  he  wa.^  always  careful 
and  painstaking — his  labors  not  over  Avith  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  but  new  and  more  arduous  and  delicate  work  just 
begun.  In  the  case  he  mentions,  the  zeal  that  put  a  help- 
less soul  on  its  feet  kept  it  from  falling.  It  is  a  thrilling 
narrative  and  adorns  and  j^yoints  a  jiassage  in  one  of  the 
most  admirable  discourses  of  his  Volume  of  Sermons. 
Smith  was  one  of  his  most  prized  converts.  The  story  of 
his  salvation  was  often  told  and  i)ut  in  pi'int  that  it  might 
l)e  more  widely  known  and  not  soon  die  out  in  the  memory 
of  the  Church.     It  is  committed  to  this  page,  also  : 

We  wore  holding  a  protracted  meeting.  At  one  of  the  morning  prayer- 
meetings  a  man  whom  I  luul  never  si'en  came  in  after  the  service 
had  commenced;  he  was  a  miserablc-loolcitig  object;  his  dress  was  of  the 
coarsest  material,  very  scanty  and  very  much  worn;  he  had  on  neitlier 
coat  nor  vest;  he  entered  with  a  sort  of  stealthy  movement,  and  s'link 
into  the  remotest  part  of  the  room,  crouching  down  rather  than  sea  iug 
himself.  After  the  meeting  closed  I  went  with  one  of  the  class-leaders  to 
dinner  As  we  rode  along,  he  said  with  much  feeling,  "Verily,  I  am 
guilty  concerning  my  brother,"  and  then  proceeded  to  tell  me  about  Aleck 
Smith.  He  I'.ad  never  been  f-een  at  church  before;  was  a  dissipated  man, 
addicted  to  low  vices,  and  had  been  repeatedly  under  suspicion  of  petit 
larceny.  "  [  felt,"  said  he,  "that  I  ought  to  speak  to  him  on  the  subject 
of  his  salvation ;  the  spirit  of  God  must  be  at  work  with  him,  or  he  would 
never  have  come  to  the  meeting;  but  his  character  is  so  bad  that  I  thought 
it  would  scarcely  be  woyth  while  to  apin-oach  him.  Yet  I  know  he  is  un- 
der conviction;  his  countenance  shows  it.  My  conscience  condenuis  me ; 
1  have  done  wrong,  I  have  allowed  an  opportunity  of  doing  good  to  pass. 
If  God  will  forgive  me  for  this  I  will  see  this  man,  if  I  have  to  go  to  his 
house."     But  at  night  Aleck  was  there  again;  he  came  in  early,  and  got 


FROM  1848  TO   18,13.  25,3 

back  into  a  corner.  Tliroii^xhoiit  t lie  service  his  head  was  bowed;  he  was 
"weeping.  No  sooner  was  the  call  made  for  those  who  desired  to  seek  God 
than  my  good  brother,  mindful  of  his  pledge,  and  in  earnest  to  save  a  soul, 
made  his  way  to  Ihe  niisei"alyle  man,  laid  his  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  and 
said,  "Aleck,  come  and  go  to  heaven  with  us."  Can  you  question  the 
resull? 

The  next  morning  the  poor,  contrite  penitent  came  and  brouglit  his 
iamily.  The  drooped  figure  of  the  wife  walking  up  the  road,  in  her  faded, 
limp  dress  and  linih^'r  sun-bonnet,  I  can  never  forget.  With  the  three 
daughters — the  eldest  verging  toward  young  woman-hood,  shaljby  and 
shamefaced — these  parents  came;  a  group  as  woe-begone  as  could  have 
been  found  in  twenty  miles.  The  long-suffering  wife  was  but  too  glad  to 
join  company  witli  her  husband  in  the  new  life;  and  the  susceptible  chil- 
dren— of  course  they  would  follow.  At  the  end  of  the  service  my  faithful 
class-leader,  who  had  come  with  his  family  in  a  two-horse  wagon,  said, 
"Aleck,  come  bring  your  wile  and  children;  get  into  my  wagon,  and  go 
honii;  with  me  to  dinner."  xVli!  what  a  stroke  of  policy  was  that!  But 
the  man  of  God  had  no  thought  of  policy— it  was  the  pure  prompting  of 
love  ;  a  generous  heart  is  the  most  consummate  strategist  in  the  service  of 
our  Master.  Poor  Smith!  it  was  the  first  time  any  man  of  respectability 
had  invited  him  to  dinner  for  many  a  year;  and  as  for  the  childi'eu,  they 
had  never  been  inside  of  a  decent  house. 

You  ought  to  have  seen  that  family  three  months  later.  What  a  trans- 
iormation  I  It  was  life  from  the  dead  in  more  respects  than  one.  But 
there  were  sinister  predictions  (  nough  about  jioor  Smith.  "  The  INIethod- 
ists  have  taken  a  touuh  job  this  time;  thev'll  have  one  backslider  now,  for 
-certain;  tlie  fellow  will  be  drunk  in  less  than  six  weeks,  and  stealing 
somebody's  pigs,  too!  "  Perhaps  the  prophets  of  evil  would  have  been 
glad  to  see  th  j  benevolent  labors  of  God's  people  defeated  ;  but  the  poor 
sinner  tliat  had  sought  shelter  in  the  fold  had  fallen  into  good  hands.  If 
he  had  come  into  a  fashionable  and  wo  Idly  church,  probably  the  worst 
predi^'tions  would  have  been  realized;  he  would  hive  found  no  efficient 
sympathy,  no  helping  hand.  Truly,  he  had  reason  to  thank  God,  for  the 
lines  had  fallen  to  him  in  pleasant  places;  these  simple-hearted  men  said, 
one  to  another,  "  We  mu-t  take  care  of  Smith  ;  we  must  keep  him  out  of 
temptation ;  we  must  give  him  work  at  fair  wages,  to  feed  his  family,  and 
to  keep  him  from  his  former  associations."  "  Yes,"  says  one,  "  I  want  a 
hand  for  a  few  weeks;  I  will  employ  him  immediately."  From  one  to 
another  he  went  among  the  brethren  that  year;  the  next  he  rented  a  little 
iarm,  and  soon  found,  wiat  he  had  never  b  'fore  dreamed  of,  that  he, 
even  he,  had  it  in  his  power  to  put  his  family  on  a  good  footing  with  the 
respectable  people  of  the  neighborhood. 

I  never  knew  a  more  faithful  man.  He  lived  in  good  odor  for  some 
time;  but  I  ccmfess  I  trembled  for  him  when  I  heard  he  had  started  for 
California;  would  he  have  strength  enough  to  stand  when  separated  from 


2Jli  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

those  friends  who  had  held  liim  up?  But  <iood  news  came  from  him  on 
the  plains;  lii"  was  thii  only  man  in  the  Ivain  who  had  family-prayers  in  his 
tent,  nijrht  and  morning;  no  fatigue,  no  stress  of  camp  duties,  coulil  ui- 
duce  him  to  omit  it.  Later  still,  good  news  came  back  from  Smith — the 
best  news  of  all— he  had  been  released ;  from  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains he  had  gone  to  be  with  his  Lord  forever.  He  died  i)raying  for  hi.'* 
family,  and  blessing  and  praising  God—"  a  sinner  savetl  by  grace." 

AVith  such  <rnice  and  ])()\V('i-  of  llu>  (iospel  Church  aiul 
culture  and  caro  of  the  Christian  I)r<>thcrh()()(l,  there  Avill  be 
oreut  revivals  and  trtu^  ones — fruits  that  shall  both  abound 
and  al)idc  Monticello  Avas  the  Pentecost  of  his  Circuit- 
preachinir. 

On  Ihc  St.  Charles  Ch'cuit  the  Rev.  S.  W.  Cope  was  his 
colleaouc.  From  a  full  narrative  of  personal  recollections 
the  followiuij:  incidents  are  taken.  Some  of  them  exhibit 
Marvin  in  the  social  circle,  characteristically.  What  is  not 
easily  done,  he  did — to  strike  the  dividing  line  between 
sour  irodliness  and  chaffy  lii>-htness.  AVhere  it  is  most  dif- 
ficult  to  do  it,  he  kept  the  path — on  the  Circuit  with  the 
more  frec^ucnt  and  freer  gatherings  of  i)reachers  and  neigh- 
bors at  protracted  meetings  and  in  the  intervals  of  the 
Church  services,  and  especially,  with  its  country  town  and 
village  store.  The  incidents  in  the  narrative  are  sani[)les  of 
his  genial  spirit  living  in  and  not  distiguring  a  saintly  char- 
acter and  a  sober  calling. 

Brother  Marvin's  first  appointment  for  tlie  town  of  St.  Charles  was 
announced  in  the  county  paper.  On  tlie  corner  of  tlic  notice  was  written 
for  the  amusement  of  the  Editor,  •'  The  ugly  man."  The  Editor  for  the 
amusement  of  his  readers  put  these  words  in  the  midst  of  the  notice  la 
bracl^ets:  "The  Rev.  E.  M.  Marvin  (the  ugly  man)  will  preach  at  the 
Methodist  Church  to-morrow  morning,  at  11  o'clock."  A  new  preacher, 
and  with  such  a  notice,  you  may  be  sure  he  hnd  a,  full  house.  It  was 
equally  large  and  attentive,  ever  afterwards.  Tills  little  incident  afforded 
many  occasions  of  plca-^^autry  to  brother  Marvin,  and  others.  He  often 
threatened  to  sue  brother  R.  for  having  such  a  notice  of  him  put  in  the 
papers,  laying  the  damages  at  ten  thousand  dollars.  And  on  one  occasion 
when  brother  R.  attempted  a  joke  on  the  junior  preacher,  expecting  broth- 
er Marvin  to  join  in  the  laugh,  he  was  much  surprised  to  lind  him  on  the 
other  side.     He  said,  brother  R.  "'  I  am  much  surprised  at  you.    Not  con- 


FROM  1848  TO   18r)8.  257 

tent  in  slanderiiii?  me  thi-ouLth  the  public  prints,  when  I  first  c;imo  to  the 
Circuit,  uow  y  lu  are  iilteinptin^j;  to  slander  Cope!''  Tlie  company  joined 
in  a  hearty  luunh  at  tlio  expense  of  brother  R.  and  greatly  to  my  relief.  In 
this  way  brother  M.  often  came  to  my  aid,  and  when  I  most  needed  help. 

Rev.  Wm  Patton,  was  our  Presiding  Eider  that  year.  On  one  occa- 
sion Brother  P.  in  the  presence  of  Brother  Marvin  and  others  called  my 
attention  to  wliat  he  considered  an  objectionable  hai)it  I  had  fallen  into 
of  clapping  my  hands  while  leading  in  public  prayer;  and  critieised  the 
supposed  wrong  with  some  severity.  Under  embarrassment  wliich  1  could 
not  conceal,  1  confes>^cd  my  error,  and  willingly,  and  at  once,  promised 
amendment.  On  the  Elder's  leaving  the  room,  brother  Marvin  said  to  me: 
"  Wliy  did  you  not  talk  up  to  the  Presiding  Elder?  You  ought  not  to  have 
allowed  him  to  have  floored  you  so  easy.  Why  did  you  not  tell  him  that  it 
was  your  riglit  to  praise  God,  not  only  with  your  moutli,  but  your  hands  as 
well.  That  if  you  did  not  praise  God  in  tliis  way,  that  the  trees,  and  the 
very  rocks  of  this  old  hill  (F.int  Hill),  would  clap  their  hands  and  praise 
Him.  You  must  learn  to  stand  up  in  your  own  defense  "  In  this  sympathy, 
coun-^el,  and  words  of  cheer  and  comfort,  may  be  seen  some  of  the  com- 
mendable traits  of  character  in  tliis  good  and  great  num. 

Brother  Mai'vin,  I  believe,  was  a  natural  born  critic.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say,  and  do  not  think,  that  he  ever  indulged  this  propensity  in  any  of- 
fensive way;  but  as  naturally  and  cirtainly  as  he  breaihed  the  air,  did  he 
ci  iticise  everything  he  heard,  or  which  passed  iu  review  before  him.  Let 
one  or  two  citations,  of  many  which  might  be  given,  suffice.  We  were 
tailing  a  stroll  in  the  woods  one  day,  when  I  spoke  of  the  "moun-taiu  e-us'' 
appearance  of  the  country.  Putting  his  hand  upon  my  shoulder,  he  said, 
"niountain-ous,  brother,  raountain-ous!  "  In  tlie  fall  or  early  winter  we 
held  a  meeting  of  ten  days  or  two  weeks  continuance  in  the  town  of  St. 
Charles.  It  was  cold  enough  to  have  more  or  less  fire  every  da}'.  We 
took  supper  to^etlier  at  the  College  one  evening.  The  President  pro  tern. 
and  Brother  Marvin  monopolized  the  conversation.  Tlie  students  and  I 
listened.  Near  the  close  of  supper,  the  President  asked  Brother  Marvin 
"What  kind  of  fire  shall  we  have  at  the  church  to-night?  "  Meaning  what 
kind  of  a  fire  — a  small  or  a  large  fire— but  he  left  out  the  article,  a.  With 
Brother  Marvin's  peculiar  manner  and  emphasis,  when  he  would  be  im- 
pressive, he  answered:  "1  do  not  know,  Brother  R.  I  suppose,  how- 
ever, this  common  red  fire  that  we  use  in  our  houses  is  gooil  enough,  un- 
less you  know  of  a  better  kind."'  The  students  saw  the  point  of  criticism, 
and  laughed  a  little,  to  the  evident  embarrassment  of  the  President,  who 
remarked:  "I  shall  think  twice  hereafter  before  I  speak  to  you."  This 
criticism  was  partly  in  retaliation  on  Bro.  R.  for  having  advertised  him  as 
the  "  ugly  man." 

At  the  same  meeting  was  another  event  worthy  of  special  note.  Brother 
Marvin  had  desired  to  know  that  his  preaching  was  the  direct  agent  and 
means  of  the  salvation  of  at  least  one  soul.     He  had  been  praving  for  this 
17 


258  nisiior  aiap.vix. 

iis  an  additional  evidence  that  he  wa"*  called  and  sent  of  flod  to  jireach  the 
Gospel.  The  relij;:ious  interest  had  1)  <  u  iueria^in;;  for  days,  unld  the 
largest  expectations  were  indulged.  At  this  juncture  Brotlier  M  preached, 
but  not  with  his  usual  liberty  and  without  the  desired  visible  results.  No 
one  came  at  the  call  of  the  preacher  for  the  prayrrs  of  the  Church  No 
additions  tliat  night.  Bro  Maivin,  I  remember,  was  greatly  discouraged, 
remarking  to  a  local  preacher  and  myself  as  we  left  the  church,  tliat  he 
feared  he  had  preached  a  sermon  tliat  ni:lit  wliich  tlic  Lord  had  no  use 
for.  Think  of  the  relief  and  joy  of  Brotlir  Marvin,  in  tin;  sociid  mi-cting 
iirxt  morning,  and  the  surprise  to  all  of  us  in  tlie  testimony  of  one  lliat 
tlie  sermon  tlie  night  before,  and  which  tlie  preacher  himself  tliimght  a 
failure,  had  been  the  means  of  her  salvati m.  Slie  tohl  us  tliat  slie  was 
converted  in  midst  of  the  sermon,  and  by  means  of  it,  and  was  so  fidl  of 
joy  thit  it  was  all  she  could  do  to  refiain  f.om  shouting  aloud  the  praise 
of  God  in  the  congregation.  Here;  was  the  answer  to  the  prayer  of  His 
servant  and  at  the  same  time  God  not  roi)l)ed  of  His  glory. 

It  was  a  year  of  marked  i)ro-perity.  (Jracious  revivals  ab  >unded 
throughout  tlie  Circuit.  We  took  our  lli-sionary  collections  privately;  in 
sums  great  or  small,  as  we  could  get  them.  Aside  from  the  cause  i:s»'lf,  I 
remember  that  I  had  this  incentive  to  work.  At  tlie  instance  of  Brother 
Marvin  we  made  a  race  to  see  which  could  raise  the  most  money.  At  the 
end  of  the  year  there  Avere  only  a  few  dollars  between  us.  He  ran  a-head 
<jf  me  in  the  preachimr,  but  I  outstripped  him  in  the  collecti<ins.  So  I  now 
remember  it.  We  took  small  amounts  from  all  the  children,  as'well  as 
the  larger  sums  given  by  the  parents.  We  appealed  to  friends  and  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  alike.  The  pastoral  work  — as  we  went  fr  ra  house  to 
bouse — was  made  the  occasion  of  these  appeals.  The  result  was  the 
largest  collection  taken  in  any  pastoral  charge  that  year,  excepting  Glas- 
gow Station. 

The  author  of  the  famous  Church  notice  mentioned  was 
met  a  few  months  ago  at  a  Conference  session  and  h;is  con- 
firmed the  story  of  tlie  eccentric  freedom  taken  Avitli  the 
Marvin  name  and  liow  many  more  times  than  is  above  re- 
lated the  "  ugly  man"  scourged  him  with  wit  and  impaled 
him  on  a  <rood  joke.  The  advertisement  was  in  an  amusimr 
connection  for  what  was  so  solenin  as  Marvin's  agony  for  a 
seal  to  his  ministry  and  the  seal  given  in  the  conversion  of 
the  most  excellent  lady  under  his  sermon.  She  had  been  a 
seeker  for  twenty  years,  and  in  the  light  of  her  joy  in  the 
Lord  and  of  gratitude  to  His  servant,  the  preacher  seemed 
to  be  transfigured  before  her.  It  is  not  an  unusual  phenom- 
enon of  the  change  of  heart  that  the  aspects  of  nature  are 


FKOM  1848  TO  1853.  259 

briii-lit  as  with  celestial  light.  ''  I  thouirht,"  she  said  in  re- 
lating the  story  of  her  conversion,  "Mr.  Mufviu  "svas  the 
prettiest  man  1  had  ever  seen."  It  was  interpreted  and  ac- 
cepted all  over  the  circuit  as  a  mark  of  the  genuineness  of 
her  conversion. 

Between  St.  Charles  and  Monticello  Circuits,  Palmyra 
Station  was  an  intervening  appointment.  It  was  one  of  the 
chief  pastoral  charges  of  the  Conference.  The  city  was 
rioted  as  a  wealthy  and  refined  comnmnity  and  the  member- 
ship was  large  and  embraced  leading  citizens  of  the  place 
and  surrounding  countr3\  The  charge  Avas  well  officered 
and  the  machinery  of  the  church  in  good  running  order. 
His  work  was  to  conserve  the  interests  of  a  well  established 
society  and  represent  its  pulpit  creditably  among  the 
Churches  of  the  community.  lie  was.  w'ell  known  from  his 
labors  at  Hannibal  Station,  the  adjoining  charge  ;  and  some 
of  the  members  were  converts  of  his  ministry  at  the  Hvdes- 
burg  camp-meeting.  The  year  was  a  time  of  great  personal 
sorrow,  marked  by  sickness  and  bereavement  in  his  father's 
family  and,  consequent  upon  it,  separation  from  his  own, 
his  wife  serving  during  the  whole  year  at  the  sick-bed  and 
in  the  house  of  mourning.  These  circumstances  induced 
the  request  for  a  pastoral  charge  nearer  home  and  terminated 
his  stay  at  Palmyra  at  the  end  of  his  first  year. 

At  the  close  of  his  first  vear  on  St.  Charles  Circuit  he 
was  put  in  charge  of  that  District.  He  succeeded  Wm. 
Patton,  wdio  had  signed  his  first  license  to  preach,  as  Pre- 
siding Elder  of  the  same  District  eleven  years  before.  He 
remained  on  the  district  two  years.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  second  year  he  came  home  from  the  session  of  the  Con- 
ference at  Palmyra  to  see  his  sister  Marcia  die  a  few  days 
after  his  return  and  for  the  ministries  of  that  sad  "  i>ood- 
bye"  and  sacred  burial.  It  was  in  October — ever  after  a 
memorial  month  and  sad  as  the  plaint  of  Phoebe  Carey's 
lines : 


2 GO  BISHOP    MARVIX. 

♦'  For  dying  so  slowly  and  sighinp;  so  lowly, 
Went  the  wind  down  tlie  valley,  all  dismal  and  clear; 
itnd  I  cried,  •  O,  October!   O,  fading  October! 
Tlie  saddest  and  gloomiest  montli  of  tlie  year.'  " 

The  elder  brother  and  his  entire  family  had  died  the  3'^ear 

before  ;  his  other  l)rotlier  was   settled  in  business  at  Troy, 

and  now  Marcia  <^one,  his  home  must  be  at  the  Old  Place 

for  his  own  and  his  wife's  ministry  to  father  and  mother. 

The  location,  besides,  was  convenient  for  the  travel  of  the 

District,    which    he    did    with    punctuality    and    performed 

abundant  and  successful  labors. 

The  first  appointment  to  the  District  was  made  by  Bishop 
Paine,  who,  from  the  first,  became  impressed  with  Marvin 
as  a  man  of  personal  force  and  good  administrative  ability. 
It  was  this  conviction  which  brought  jNIarvin  to  mind  when 
at  one  time  he  was  casting  about  over  the  Avholc  Church  con- 
nection for  a  man  to  send  to  Japan  to  found  a  jNlission  and 
represent  the  Church  and  conduct  its  operations  in  that  im- 
portant enterprise.  A  part  of  his  district  was  along  the 
"border  line,"  where,  it  may  be,  there  was  need  of  a 
watchful  superintendency.  The  Conference  Institution  of 
Learning,  St.  Charles  College,  was  in  its  bounds,  and  the 
second  year  it  was  put  under  his  charge  as  special  agent, 
as  well  as  a  part  of  his  administration  as  Presiding  Elder  to 
represent  its  claims.  There  is  no  other  feature  of  his  work 
of  peculiar  character.  'In  special  trusts  and  in  the  general 
work  of  his  otfice,  he  discharged  all  with  ability  and  accept- 
ability to  all  parts  of  the  District. 

His  presidency  in  the  Quarterly  Conference  is  represen- 
ted to  have  been  unpretentious,  easy  and  conciliatory,  and 
marked  by  prompt  and  expeditious  dispatch  of  business. 
That  part  of  his  work,  however,  in  which  ho  was  most  dis- 
tinguished at  that  time  and  which  was  most  acceptable 
was  his  pulpit — traveling  "  in  ortlcr  to  preach,"  Both  con- 
ditions of  the  requirement  were  fulfilled  with  unusual  devo- 
tion,     lie   did    more    than    visit  the   charge ;    he  traveled 


FROM  1848  TO  1853.  2G1 

through  his  district  lioldiiic:  meetins^s  and  romainino;  at  tho 
Quarterly  Meeting  for  many  daj's,  and,  in  sonic  cases,  sev- 
eral weeks  in  succession.  He  has  stressed  the  advantage  of 
this  function  of  the  Presiding  Elder's  ofHce — the  represen- 
tative character  of  its  pulpit  and,  when  the  office  is  nianncil 
iiccordinsj:  to  its  hiii'h  importance,  the  customarv  efficicnov 
of  the  pulpit  ministrations.  His  visits  are  special  occasions  ; 
the  conureoations  are  laro-e  as  well  as  select  assemblies  and 
opportunity  is  afforded  for  denominational  aggrandizement 
and  favorable  to  the  work  of  the  ministrv.  The  themes  of 
the  pulpit  on  such  occasions  may  deal  with  the  great  princi- 
ples of  Christianity  and  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Bible  and 
secure  an  interested  hearing.  The  protracted  services  and 
varied  exercises  awaken  peculiar  interest  and  the  quarterly 
visit  of  the  Polder  is  followed  by  a  toning  up  of  the  Church 
and  lavs  the  foundation  of  extensive  revivals,  oftentimes  be- 
gun during  his  stay  and  left  in  full  vigor.  Such  things 
characterized  his  visits  uniformly — never  in  town  or  country 
nor  in  any  charge  unwelcome  to  the  homes  of  the  people  or 
the  pulpits  of  the  Church.  His  personal  qualities  com- 
manded public  respect  and  endeared  him  to  all  hearts,  and 
he  was  the  superior  in  the  pulpit  to  any  of  his  preachers. 

In  the  general  and  ready  response  which  attended  the 
call  for  recollections  of  Bishop  Marvin  many  came  to  these 
jDages  from  that  distant  time.  They  refer  to  his  work  at 
various  and  widely  separated  places  and  illustrate  him  in 
■various  attitudes  of  a  wise  and  able  Presiding  Elder.  The 
following  is  from  one  of  the  preachers  under  him  on  the 
Danville  Circuit,  Rov.  Daniel  Penny,  at  present  a  superan- 
nuated preacher  of  the  ]Miss()uri  Conference.  The  sermon 
to  the  children  is  a  sample  of  his  talk  to  them  and  charac- 
teristic of  his  pastorate.  It  is  known  how,  to  the  last,  the 
care  of  the  children  occupied  his  attention  and  enlisted  his 
lieart  and  tongue.  Danville  was,  at  that  time,  a  i)rominent 
and  influential  community  and  the  site  of  a  flourishing  Ec- 


2i}'2  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

male  Sominarv.  Eev,  Dr.  Richard  Bond,  mentioned  in  the- 
narrative,  resided  there.  lie  was  a  member  of  the  Confer- 
ence l)ut  cmi)loyed  in  his  late  3''cars  as  Agent  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society.  He  came,  in  1841,  from  the  Baltimore 
Conference  and  was  greatly  beloved,  of  pnre  character  and 
hiirh  standinii"  as  a  minister  and  a  i)()lished  and  effective 
preacher  : 

In  the  year  ISns  I  was  in  charge  of  the  Danville  Circuit,  our  departed 
brother  ^Slarvin  b;ing  Prcsldhig  Elder  on  the  St.  Charles  District.  He 
held  a  Qiiarterl}' Meeting  at  Danville  of  two  weeks'  continuance,  preaching 
nearly  cverj'  sermon,  and  wilh  great  i)ower.  His  last  sermon  on  that 
occasion  I  remember  well,  as  remarkable  in  manner  and  effect.  He  began 
his  discourse  like  he  was  going  to  relate  an  anecdote  of  some  strange  maa 
a  long  time  ago.  The  children  were  deeply  interested  and  the  parents- 
were  wondering  at  the  singular  introduction,  for  he  had  not  yet  announced 
Ills  text.  In  a  short  time  it  was  evident  the  strange  personage  was  Christ. 
He  took  for  the  foundation  of  his  remarks  part  of  the  second  chaplcr  of 
Mark's  Gospel.  In  the  commencement  he  told  them  the  liouse  was  full, 
the  yard  was  full,  and  continued  in  such  a  strain  of  beautiful  simplicity  in 
de-<crihing  the  scene,  that  the  children  were  held  in  almost  brealhle>s  at- 
tention— while  to  the  elder  hearers  his  descriptions  Avere  so  vivid  they 
almost  imagined  the  Saviour  present.  Commenting  on  the  5th  verse, 
"  When  Jesus  saw  their  faith,"  ho  made  some  very  instructive  remarks  on 
the  words  "their  faith" — showing  the  faith  of  friends  and  the  Church, 
lielps  the  faith  of  the  penitent.  While  these  remarks  were  intended  mainly 
for  some  who  did  not  approve  of  friends  bringing  others  to  the  altar  of 
prayer,  yet  they  were  highly  encouraging  to  many  faithful  hearts.  His 
aim  on  that  occasion  was  evidently  simplicity.  But  who  ever  heard  him 
preach  Christ  without  that  divine  pathos  that  made  every  sentence  tell! 
It  was  so  at  this  time.  Towards  the  close  all  hearts  were  moved  ;  strong 
men  were  shaking  as  if  they  had  a  fit  of  ague  on  them.  Next  morning 
our  beloved  Elder  left.  Ever  jealous  for  the  honor  of  his  Master,  he 
feared  man-worship.  In  finishing  his  discourse  he  alluded  to  his  leaving 
in  the  morning;  and,  as  if  conscious  of  his  wonderful  popularity,  he  told 
lis  the  Saviour  himself  shrank  from  popularity  and  liad  to  retire  and  pray; 
and  when  his  disciples  told  him,  '•  All  men  seek  Thee,"  said  "Let  us  go 
into  the  next  towns."  And  who  will  say  but  our  departed  brother  closely 
followed  his  Master! 

The  effects  of  his  labors  were  felt  for  a  long  time— about  thirty-five 
conversions  and  forty-live  additions  to  the  Church.  ]\Iemory  recalls  that 
delightful  season  of  grace.  I  can  imagine  I  hear  the  Inneful  voices  of  Dr. 
K.  Bond  and  his  devoted  and  pious  wife  as  they  and  Brother  Marvin  sang 
the  Bishop's  favorite  hymn: 


•     FROM  1848  TO  1853.  263 

"  The  God  of  Abraham  praise." 
In  the  month  of  May  following;  he  was  again  in  Danville,  and  preached 
the  funeral  sermon  of  l)r   IJond.     Tliey  have  no  doubt  renewed  llieir  ac- 
quaintance in  llie  Paradise  of  God. 

The  following  report  with  incidents  of  his  uflministration 

and  luhors  comes  from  the  other  side  of  the  District.     It  is 

from  the  pen  of  a  layman,  Mr.  E.  1).,  of  Louisiana,  and  of 

an  old  Methodist  family  and  a  leading  citizen  of  that  place : 

My  earliest  acquaintance  with  the  late  Bishop  Marvin  was  after  he  had 
established  a  considei'able  reputation  as  a  preacher  and  orator,  and  wheu 
he  was  appointed  as  Presiding  Elder  of  the   St,  Charles  District.     My  re- 
lations to  the  Chnrcli  and  family  associations  brouj:ht  me  frequently  into 
his  company,  and  into  Church  business  relations  at  Quarterly  Conferences. 
la  the  transaction  of  official  business.  Brother  Marvin  was  prompt,  effi- 
cient, and  not  friendly  to  useless  discussion.     In  private  and  social  life,  he 
was  kind-hearted,  afl'able  and  affectionate,  but  dignitled  and  polite  to  all 
Avith  whom  he  came  in  contact.     He  possessed  easy,  simple,  and  graceful 
manners,  which  made  him  an  ornament  of  the  most  polished  society.     As 
a  pu'pit  orator,  there  were  few,  if  any,  more  gifted  in  the  Conference  with 
which  I  was  mostly  acquainted.     As  a  pulpit  spealcer,  so  far  as  mere  dis- 
play was  concerned.  Dr.  Richard  Bond  was,  by  many,  thought  superior  to 
Marvin,  and  yet  his  influence  on  a  congri;gation  was  not,  perhaps,  equal  to 
that  of  Marvin.     Tlie  latter  had  a  mannev  generally  very  solemn,  earnest, 
and  effective.    And  yet  he  possessed,  in  a  high  degree,  a  spirit  of  humor, 
wit,  and  sarcasm.   He  knew  how  to  govern  it  in,the  pulpit,  while  in  debate 
on  any  subject,  he  could  use  it  with  invincible  etfect.     If  an  opponent  in 
debate  provoked  him  to  it,  his  power  of  sarcasm  was  such  that  ids  antago- 
nist never  forgot  or  recovered  from  the  wound  so  long  as  he  lived,  with 
whatever  bravado  he  might  pretend  indifference  or  disregard  to  the  thrusts.* 
During  liis  Presiding  Eldership  he  held  a  meeting  at  Louisiana  of 
remarkable  interest  ajid  power.      It  was  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  of 
his  pulpit.    As  I  now  remember,  that  meeting  lasted  about  three  weeks, 
with  no  intermission  at  night  and  not  often  by  day.      Some  incidents  re- 
main in  my  memory.    During  the  entire  meeting  deep  solemnity  prevailed. 
There  was  but  little,  if  any,  of  the  efTorts  often  used  to  stir  up  artificial 
excitement,  but  a  continual  moving  of  the  deep  waters  of  grace.     It  re- 
sulted in  a  large  and  healthy  increase  of  the  Church  membership.     The 
Church  was  largely  attended  by  the  preachers  and  members  of  other  de- 
nominations,  among   whom   were   several   notably   revived    in   religious 

*This  contributor  has  furnished  extended  notes  respecting  various  de- 
bates conducted  by  Marvin  in  Northeast  Missouri.  Several  have  been  re- 
ported by  others  more  nearly  related  to  the  occasions.  Two  narrated  by 
himself  are  reserved  for  another  connection  in  these  pages. 


\ 


264  BISHOP   TdARVIX. 

experience.  A  Presb5'tcrian  brother  related  to  me  his  observation  of  the 
effect  of  one  sermon  of  Marvin's,  in  Avhicli  he  especially  directed  his  at- 
tention to  the  doctrines  of  inlidelity.  One  of  the  congregation  was  a  man 
of  middle  age,  well  connected  in  family  relations,  but  badly  infected  with 
infidel  notions.  •  He  attended,  however,  several  of  the  meetings,  and, 
though  striving  to  rcssist  tlie  attacks  of  his  conscience,  Ijecame  considjr- 
abiy  interested  in  the  sermon.  Wliile  Marvin  was  unconscious  of  direct- 
ing Ills  attacks  on  any  particular  castle,  the  man  ref .'rred  to  seemed  to 
take  it  all  to  himself.  Marvin  had  demolished,  one  after  another,  the  lies 
and  sophistries  of  Satan,  and  rem  )ved  the  false  under-pinning  of  the 
clever  infidel.  At  last  he  bronglit  him  down  to  Death's  door — tlien  i.i  a 
last  effort  to  save  himself  from  the  Gulf  of  Despair.  When  the  p readier 
pictured  the  sinner  in  his  last  extremity  turning  his  longing  eyes  towards 
llie  Bible,  which  he  had  so  often  rejected  and  condemned,  and  then 
clutched  at  as  if  he  would  seize  it  by  for(;e,  Marvin  clenched  tiie  B'.ble  in 
his  hands  and  declared  in  his  deep  and  sonorous  voice:  "No,  sir;  j-ou 
Lav'e  contemned  and  rejected  this  precious  Bible,  and  you  cannot  now 
seize -on  it  as  a  trophy  of  your  wicked  war!  "  The  eff^'ct  was  electrical. 
The  inlidel  man  afterwards  declared  tliat  as  Marvin  seized  tlie  Bil)le 
from  the  top  of  the  pnlpit  and  moved  away  it  seemed  as  if  tlie  cap  was 
lifted  from  the  opening  into  tlie  yawning  hell  beneath,  and  he  was  to  be 
turned  into  it  without  mercy.  In  his  agony  of  soul  he  cried  aloud  for 
mercy. 

Marvin  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  times.  As  a  whole 
character,  I  tiiink  there  were  but  few  more  perfect  men  than  Bishop  Mar- 
vin.    I  have  long  loved  him. 

The  followiiiiJ^  thrilliiiij::  narrative  belonos  to  the  same 
section  of  country  and  the  period  of  time  embraced  in  this 
chapter.  It  is  well  known  in  the  "West  and  was  rehitcMl  by 
Bishop  Marvin  to  Ilev.  Dr.  Sanmel  Kodgers  of  the  Balti- 
more Conference,  in  whose  words  it  is  ijiven  : 

He  had  mncli  of  what  men  call  tact;  but  which  in  his  case  seemed 
rather  spiritual  or  divine  suggestion.  Once,  in  the  West,  he  was  asked  to 
visit  a  gentleman  in  his  sickness,  who  was  equally  distinguished  for  learn- 
ing and  alheislic  views.  He  feared  to  go,  but  went.  He  entered  his  house 
after  a  long  ride,  and  introduced  himself  as  a  Metliodist  Preacher.  "  1 
wish  nothing  to  do  with  you,"  was  the  reply.  He  was  treated  scarcely  with 
common  civility.  Finally  the  gentleman  became  interested  in  him,  invited 
him  to  remain  to  dinner,  and  seemed  to  forget  the  hostility  with  wliich  he 
had  received  the  man  of  God.  At  last  they  were  about  to  separate.  The 
Bishop  said  he  was  accustomed  to  pray  with  those  he  visited.  "  You  can 
do  so,"  said  the  host.  "But,"'  said  the  Bishop,  "before  we  pray,  let  us 
settle  to  whom  we  pray."    "  I  pray,"  said  the  gentleman,  '•  to  the  principle 


/ 


FROM  1848  TO   1853.  2G5 

of  nature."  "Tlioii,"  said  the  Bishop,  "  I  cannot  pray ;  I  do  not  l<iio\v  liow 
to  pr:iy  to  a  principle.  I  can  pray  to  a  person,  and  guide  myself  by  a 
principle,  but  not  pray  to  it."  "Tlien,"  said  his  liosl,  "pray  any  how,  and 
to  whom  you  please."  He  did  so.  Many  years  passed,  when  a  fri.'ud  en- 
tered the  Bishop's  office  in  St.  Louis  to  say  "  Mr. is  dead,     lie  died 

a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  attributes  his  conversion  to  a 
prayer  made  many  years  ago  by  a  niaii  named  Marvin." 

Something  of  the  man  {iiui  the  officer  may  l)c  learned  by 
a  look  at  the  phui  of  his  district  and  the  roster  of  preachers. 
Since  the  year  1824,  when  Missonri  was  set  off  from  the 
Illinois  Conference,  the  j^rescnt  St.  Cliarles  District,  then 
under  the  name  of  Missonri,  has  .stood  first  on  the  Bishop's 
list  of  appointments — at  the  head  of  the  list  usuall}^  though 
not  always,  denoting,  also,  the  first  in  importance.  It  was 
so  in  fact  in  its  first  year  and  when  Marvin  was  sent  to  it. 
He  was  a  successor  and  compeer  of  John  Dew,  who  was  first 
Presidino;  Ehler,  and  of  the  Princes  of  the  Methodist  Israel 
in  whose  lines  of  travel  and  labor  he  followed — ^Monroe, 
Jesse  Green,  McAlister,  Edmonson,  Patton,  and  lledman. 
"With  the  exception  of  one  year  each  under  charge  of  Richard 
Bond  and  George  Smith,  the  District  had  been  in  the  hands 
of  those  six  Fathers  and  leaders  of  the  Conference  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  took  it  greatened  by  their 
wisdom  and  labors.  He  left  it  still  at  the  head  of  the  list 
and  enlarged  by  two  pastoral  charges  ;  not  taken  from  the 
territory  of  adjacent  districts  but  built  up  in  the  limits  of 
Ins  own. 

In  the  Conference-cabinet,  he  sat  at  the  council-board 
with  Bishop  Andrew  at  its  head  at  Palmyra,  and  at  Bruns- 
wick, Bishop  Kavanaugh.  In  that  Board  of  Counselors,  his 
District  was  called  first,  but  he  was  the  youngest  in  years. 
Holt,  his  classmate,  and  Caples,  his  bosom  companion  and 
his  ideal  of  a  princely  man  and  grand  preacher,  but  both  jiis 
:genior  in  age — only  twenty-nine  ^^ears  old  and  the  Presiding 
Elder,  not  on  frontier  work,  but  of  the  chief  district.  The 
others  lived  to  be  venerable  men  and  were  then  in  full  prime 


2G6  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

of  un:il):itcd  strength — Edwin  Ro})inson,  B.  S.  Ashb}',  ancl 
Andrew  Monroe.  The  liitter  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Con- 
ference at  its  organization,  in  1824,  and  in  1<S52,  at  th& 
right  hand  of  the  Bishop.  IIow  Bishop  Marvin  revered 
these  men,  he  has  said,  and  deferred  to  their  godly  wisdom 
and  experienced  judgment — "  the  old  men  for  counsel  and 
the  young  men  for  war."  But,  in  the  planning  of  the  work, 
he  has,  also,  shown,  in  his  history  of  Caples  in  the  Cabinet, 
how  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  courage  in  a  young  but 
gifted  Presiding  Elder  proposes  the  bold  adventure  to  con- 
quer a  situation,  w'hich  is  seen  to  1)e  important  and  urgent, 
but  environed  wnth  difficulties.  On  Weston  District  thero 
is  an  immense  intlow  of  population,  towns  are  springing  up, 
centres  of  influence  are  crystalizing,  the  conditions  of  social 
culture  are  in  incubation — everything  is  in  ferment  and  the 
leaven  of  Christian  truth  must  be  put  into  it,  and  ]\Ietho- 
dism  must  be  at  work  in  the  first  formative  stages,  if  it  shall 
be  iuwrouirht  into  the  institutions  and  forces  of  the  devel- 
oped  country.  The  St.  Charles  District  Avas  under  the  con- 
ditions of  an  older  country  than  the  Platte  purchase,  but 
still,  even  there,  outlying  fields  w(!re  found  and  inadecjuately 
served  comnmnities.  When  he  had  l)e(Mi  on  the  District  a 
3'ear,  in  the  plan  of  the  next,  two  pastoral  charges  arc  added, 
projected  out  of  what  had  been  done  the  one  year  and  what 
remained  to  be  accomplished  in  the  following;  sub-dividing 
St.  Charles  District  like  he  did  Monticello  Circuit — by  work- 
ing it  up. 

His  comment  on  Caples'  foresight  and  energetic  enter- 
prise shows  that  he  was  too  nuich  in  admiring  sympathy 
Avith  his  breadth  of  view  and  ardor  of  zeal  to  contest  with 
him  the  distribution  of  the  preachers  on  the  narrow  ground?* 
of  personal  pride  or  vanity  and  selfish  contention  or  any 
other,  than  what  was  wise  and  ex[)edient  as  contributing  to 
the  •n-owtli  and  stabilitv  of  the  whole  bv  the  due  care  of  its 
parts.     P>ut,  at  the  same  time,  his  own  district  was  his  par- 


FROM  1848  TO  1853.  207 

ticular  charije  for  care  and  concern.  There  may  l)o  a  lack 
at  this  pohit,  indicated  by  the  rousing  speech  of  one  of  the 
Bishops,  who  is  rc[)()rtcd  to  have  seen  a  Presiding  Elder  in 
the  Stationinir-rooni,  with  his  head  between  his  hands  and 
both  l)owed  on  his  knees,  asleep  or  praying,  and  said — 
"  Wake  up  !  brother.  Watch!  if  you  don't  look  out  there 
will  be  nobody  left  for  your  district ;  the  best  preachers  are 
nearly  all  taken  now."  Marvin's  district,  as  the  minutes 
show,  was  well  numned. 

There  is  another  notable  fact  on  the  minutes — there  are 
two  preachers  on  four  of  the  charges  of  his  district.  There 
is  no  such  fact  in  the  plan  of  any  other  district  in  the  Con- 
ference that  year  ;  nor  did  he  tind  the  fact  on  his  own  dis- 
trict the  year  before,  when  it  was  made  up  by  another  and 
he  was  first  appointed  to  it.  It  was  his  policy  of  adminis- 
tration. It  will  not  be  written  that  he  was  wiser  than  the 
older  Elders,  but  it  was  his  view  of  what  was  wise.  The 
questions  of  ministerial  supply  and  support  determined  the 
policy  and  justified  it — better  two  on  the  same  work  and  the 
second  man  a  single  preacher,  than  inexperienced  and  lame 
supply  or  poor  support  on  one  or  both  parts  of  the  divided 
circuit.  Besides,  the  young  preacher  Avas  not  })ut  in  charge 
before  he  was  educated  and  able  for  it.  lie  was  in  training, 
wisely — the  senior  preacher,  tutor  and  guide.  The  four 
young  preachers  on  the  District  were  his  "boys."  lie 
looked  to  them  and  after  them,  following  with  help  as  well 
as  satisfaction  their  course  into  the  his/her  ministrv,  and  on 
to  the  high  places  sonn?  of  them  reached — W.  M.  Newland, 
one  of  them,  dyino;  the  pastor  of  an  old  and  chief  charije  in 
the  Conference;  and  W.  G.  ^Miller,  another,  having  served 
several  best  stations  and  now  at  the  Conference  Collcije  in 
one  of  the  Professors  chairs  and  himself  moulding  young 
preachers.  Among  the  sAddcst  Avhen  he  died  were  those 
w^ho  had  been  his  preachers  and  who  first  knew  him  as  their 
Presiding  Elder  and  admired  and  loved  him  for  what  he  was 


268  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

ill  liiinself  and  what  he  had  been  to  them.  As  pastor  of  the 
l)reachei-s,  the  older  men  were  helped,  as  not  beyond  reach 
of  the  authority  and  influence  of  his  example  of  supreme 
devotedness,  as  well  as  his  superior  ability.  If  they  needed 
it,  they  were  sure  of  his  sympathy.  The  old  preachers — 
they  deserve  consideration,  was  an  earnest  and  constant 
sentiment.  One  such  at  the  Conference  of  1853  needed  a 
friend  in  the  Cabinet.  There  were  difficulties  in  giving  him 
the  appointment  which  would  accommodate  his  distressed 
circumstances.  ]\Iarvin  was  his  friend  and  advocate,  and 
his  plea — the  faithful  old  preachers  demand  and  deserve 
consideration.  "  I  will  be  responsible,"  he  said,  "for  the 
appointment.  Trust  it  to  me  that  he  is  well  received." 
This  in  the  Cabinet;  and  at  the  Circuit  almost  as  soon  as 
the  coming  of  the  preacher,  in  the  Quarterly  Conference 
and  at  the  tire-side  the  whole  weight  of  his  personal  in- 
fluence is  in  his  words:  "Receive  him  cordially;  stand  up 
to  your  preacher."  It  turned  out  in  that  case,  as  it  so  often 
happens,  the  preacher  that  needed  a  human  friend  was, 
through  Marvin,  God-sent.  There  was  a  great  revival  that 
year  on  Flint  Hill  Circuit. 

He  began  on  Grundy  ]Mission.  Oregon  was  a  crucial 
test.  Weston  opened  the  fields  of  Circuit  work  and  ]Monti- 
cello  realized  its  possil)ilities  of  usefulness.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  watchful  and  painstaking  pastor  and  popular  and 
powerful  i^ulpit  man  at  IIannil)al  Station.  In  sympathy, 
experience,  power — Mission,  Circuit  and  Station  tutored 
and  produced  Marvin,  the  Presiding  Polder,  wise,  effective, 
loved  and  honored.  In  this  history  is  there  not  training 
and  prophecy  of  a  Bishop  for  the  Cabinet  and  in  the 
churches  a  General  Superintendent? 


CHAPTER     XIV. 


IN    COXFEREXCE. 

Conference  relations— The  sessional-preacher— A  stranger's  first  view  of 
his  pulpit— Honor  and  liuinility— Mental  poison— Launius' funeral  ser- 
mon—Occasional-preacher— '-As  much  as  in  me  lies"— Camp-raeeting- 
preacher— First  Church  dedication — His  work  on  the  foundations— 
St.  Joseph  Station— General  Conference  delegate— At  Colnmbus,  1854 
— The  Nashville  Conference— Last  appointment  in  old  Conference — 
Caples  and  Marvin— The  College  speeches. 

YPTHE  history  of  the  ecclesiastical  year,  1854-5,  following 
^J^  Marvin's  Presiding  Eldership,  brings  the  narrative  to 
the  second  marked  stage  of  his  ministerial  life.  It  dates  his 
transfer  to  the  St.  Louis  from  the  Missouri  Conference. 
Other  and  last  labors  in  his  old  Conference  have  connection 
And  illustration  chieHy  in  the  relations  of  Marvin  in  Confer- 
ence. 

At  Columbia,  in  1845,  on  Tuesday  night,  ^Marvin  preached 
the  opening  sermon.  The  sermon  at  the  St.  Louis  session 
meant  a  test  sermon — his  pulpit  was  on  trial.  The  next 
was,  by  request,  founded  on  its  already  public  fame.  It 
began  his  relation  as  a  Conference-session  preacher.  Never, 
perhaps,  aftcrAvards  was  he  in  attendance  at  an  Annual  Con- 
ference and  did  not  preach.  The  daily  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Worship  is,  in  general,  a  characterization 
of  the  leadins:  members  of  the  l)odv,  in  a<2:e  and  honor  and 
especially  in  pulpit  reputation  ;  and  still  further,  in  their 
revival  zeal  and  power.  That  report  is  of  the  greatest  pop- 
ular interest.  "Who  is  to  preach  and  when  the  great  preachers 
are  to  hold  forth  are  eager  inquiries,  incident  to  the  sur- 


270  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

passing  public  interest  in  the  Church  services  rutlier  than  of 
the  Conference-room.     Tliis  was  particularly  the  case  at  the 
sessions  of  the  Missouri  Conference.     There  was  no  large 
city  in  its  bounds.     The  session  in  the  comparatively  small 
town  was  the  great  event  of  the  week,  monopolizing  univer- 
sal attention  and  drawing  a  large  attendance  from  the  ad- 
jacent villages  and  the  populous  rural  community  for  many 
miles  around.     This  circumstance  enhanced  the  excitement 
and  charm  of  its  session  in  many  respects — in  the  greater 
zest  of  hospitalities,  the  Uirger  personal  communion  of  the 
preachers  and  other  such  conditions,  which  have  made  the 
sessions  of  that  Conference  uniformly  and  proverbially  most 
pleasant   and    profitable   reunions.     The  religious  services 
were  remarkably  prominent  and  successful — in    instances, 
three  services  each  day  and  commonly  revivals  attending  or 
following  the  session.     A  predominant  spirit  of  the  Con- 
ference was  an  earnest  evangelism.     The   sermon  did  not 
lack  the  appreciative   and  audible  "Amen"   and  was  fol- 
lowed by  effective   altar-prayer  and  the  power  of  hearty 
song.    No  Conference  has  been  more  favored  in  its  sessional 
pul[)it — Caples  and  Marvin. 

The  preaching  of  Marvin  at  Conference,  especially  in 
the  former  years,  was,  in  tone  and  tenor,  the  spirit  and 
themes  of  the  evangelist.  Later,  his  sermons  were  shaped 
at  times  and  in  parts  by  the  audience  of  the  preachers.  The 
survivors  from  the  older  days  remember,  and  will  never  for- 
get, how  the  work  of  the  ministry  was  glorified  and  how 
thev  went  forth  to  the  tears  of  the  sowing  from  the  vision 
of  its  harvest,  pictured  in  the  Conference  sermon.  The 
vivid  view  was  carried  forth  Avith  them  as  an  abiding  re- 
ality ;  and  at  the  time  it  was  a  present  joy,  in  song  and  hal- 
lelujah anticipating  the  final  shout  of  harvest-home.  In 
that  Conference,  at  the  time  of  Caples'  and  Marvin's  i)reach- 
ing,  it  was  not  easy  to  ask  a  location.  Many  a  disheartened 
spirit  was  rallied  for  another  year  to  "  sow  in  tears."     His 


IN    CONFEPtEXCE.  271 

Confercncc-pulj)!!  was  one  (tf  liis  own  liclds  of  i)lantin^'-  and 
reaping — "  this  man  was  horn  tliere''  has  many  records  in 
the  Book  of  Life.  In  the  inspiration  created  hy  liis  Con- 
ference preachino;,  he  pr('acl)(Ml  all  the  rest  of  the  year  in 
•every  charge  and  entered  into  the  labors  and  harvests  of  all 
the  preachers. 

This  proniineuce  as  representative  of  the  Conference 
puli)it  wus  conceded  by  the  universal  suffrage  of  the  Con- 
ference and  was  a  token  of  honor.  It  is  uot  enough  to  say 
that  it  bred  in  him  no  vain  conceit  or  sense  of  self-impor- 
tance and  air  of  self-complacency.  A  stranger  would  not 
have  singled  out  the  great  light  of  its  pulpit  in  an  observa- 
tion of  the  i)reachers  on  the  Conference  floor  or  in  the  group 
iinmnd  the  door,  nor  in  the  company  passing  down  the  street 
— the  light,  like  the  luminary  that  is  high  in  the  heavens, 
but  sendino-  its  ravs  to  the  lowest  depths  and  athwart  the 
"broadest  spaces.  He  was  used  to  lay  his  head  on  the  bosom 
ofthe  old  men  and  many  a  time  his  arm  has  been  around 
the  neck  of  the  humblest  preacher.  In  fact,  a  stranger 
would  not  recognize  the  great  preacher  as  he  passed  up  the 
nisle  to  the  pulpit,  nor  hardly  when  he  opened  the  service — 
the  light  not  obscured  so  much  by  his  unprophetic  person  as 
hidden  under  his  unpretentious  humility.  The  Kev.  R.  G. 
Lovinir  tells  how  he  was  both  surprised  and  satisfied  with 
his  lirst  view  of  its  pulpit,  when  he  came  to  the  Conference 
by  transfer  from  one  of  the  old  Conferences  on  the  Atlantic 
Seaboard  : 

During  the  Conference  held  at  Fuyette,  Mo.,  in  the  fall  of  1851,  I  met 
for  the  first  time  the  members  of  tluit  body  On  tlie  ni-lit  after  my  arrival 
we  met,  in  tlie  large  cliapel  of  the  old  College  building,  to  hear  preaching. 
Bein'.r  a  stranger,  I  sat  near  the  centre  of  the  room.  Three  preachers 
walked  into  Ihe  pulpit— two  of  them  very  good  looking,  the  third  very  un- 
prepossessing in  appearance.  After  tlielr  prayers,  the  most  unpromising 
of  tlie  three  arose  and  read  the  hymn.  Thinks  I  to  myself,  he  won't  preach 
—he  i-;  only  opening  the  way  for  that  good-looking  preacher  behind  him. 
But  he  prayed  and  then  took  a  text.  I  felt  disappointed,  and  the  thou'jht 
came  into  mv  mind:  If  these  Missourians  can't  do  better  than  that,  they 


272  BISIIOr   MARVIN. 

}i;i(l  as  well  quit.  His  text  was  Ps.  ix.  17:  "The  wicked  shall  be  turnerT 
into  Ik'II  "clc.  lie  gi)t  al  >ii4  better  than  I  expectt'il,  ami  before  he  got 
through  I  becaiue  so  taken  tliat  I  wanted  to  know  who  he  could  be;  and 
so,  touching  the  man  next  m;-,  I  said  :  "  Who  is  that  preaching  so?"  He 
repliel,  "  It  is  Marvin."     "  Well,"  sai.l  I,    '  he  will  do.'' 

.  It  fulls  short  lo  s;iy  only  th:it  lie  was  fr(>e  from  the  vice 
of  tlie  "  itchiiii>"  ear."  He  held  it  in  abhorrence.  He  kept 
a  watchful  guard  against  the  snare  of  injudicious  praise  evea 
when  there  was  inixenuous  admiration.  AVhen  he  was 
the  pulpit-idol  on  his  district,  by  one  of  the  old  preachers 
this  is  rehited  :  "After  an  eloquent  and  deeply  instructive 
sermon  near  the;  close  of  the  meeting,  an  aged  brother,  un- 
able to  restrain  his  feelings,  made  an  eulogistic  remark  on 
his  sermon  at  the  dinner-table.  I  saw  a  shadow  gatlier  at 
once  on  Brother  Marvin's  countenance,  and  ({uick  as  light- 
nin"-  a  piercinj;  ijlance  shot  from  his  eve.  The  old  brother 
felt  the  silent  rebuke.  lie  felt  it  more  keenly  when,  aftv  l' 
dinner,  Bro.  ]\I.  took  him  aside  and  warned  him  against  such 
praise,  characterizing  it  as  mental  poison.  The  Bishop  was 
then  a  young  man  and  doubtless  exposed  often  to  the  temp- 
tation, but  happily  for  the  Church  and  the  world  he  escaped 
the  snare.     He  Avas  ever  humble." 

It  is  easier  to  refuse  the  open  proffer  of  this  poison  ; 
more  difficult,  to  exorcise  a  sense  of  consequence  from  the 
consciousness,  Avdiich  he  did  with  severity.  On  the  Sunday 
night  of  a  Conference  session,  at  Boonville,  Mo.,  as  if  as- 
sailed from  within,  also,  as  from  without  by  the  audience 
collected  by  his  fame  as  a  preacher,  abruptly  he  said  in  a 
first  remark,  "  1  never  aimed  or  wished  to  be  a  popular 
preacher;  but  my  great  desire  is  to  be  a  useful  preacher." 
"It  was  spoken,"  says  the  reporter,  "with  a  tone  which  in- 
dicated an  oppressed  feeling,  and  then  the  text  Avas  an- 
nounced and  was  followed  by  one  of  the  most  impressive 
sermons  I  ever  heard.'  The  funeral  sermon  of  a  master 
workinan  in  the  Conference  was  to  be  preached  by  this  mas- 
ter in  its  pulpit — the  singular  exordium  was:     "What  liiis 


IN   COXFEUEXCE.  273 

brouu'lit  tills  vast  crowd  hero  to-iiiijlit?  I  would  not  "ivc  a 
red  cent  to  preach  to  you  !  "  It  was  the  fuaeral  sermon  of 
Lanuius  at  the  St.  eToseph  Conference  in  1H')2.  The  infor- 
mant adds  :  "  He  arose  (I  can  almost  see  him  now)  with 
that  cahn  and  placid  countenance  and  those  words  on  his 
lips  as  ho  looked  out  on  the  vast  multitude.  Oh  !  I  saw 
God  in  that  man,  that  night.  Under  the  sermon  the  multi- 
tude were  sometimes  still  as  death  and  then  bathed  in  tears  ; 
and,  Avhile  he  was  concluding,  shouts  of  triumph  went  up 
from  scores  of  exultant  Avorshipers." 

Besides  his  i)rominence  on  the  special  occasions  of  the 
Conference,  in  the  intervals  of  its  sessions  and  much  and 
widely  through  its  bounds,  he  became  an  occasional-preacher. 
This  service  was  often  arranged  at  Conference,  and  j^articu- 
larlv,  after  the  appointments  were  read  out,  with  the  part- 
ing hand  the  promise  to  help  at  some  of  the  meetings  and 
especially  to  attend  the  camp-meeting  on  some  brother's 
circuit  or  dedicate  the  new  church  that  would  be  finished 
during  the  year.  Often  the  report  came  of  a  great  revival 
ill  progress  and  a  Macedonian  call  to  him.  There  never  was 
a  more  obedient  servant  to  such  visions.  In  all  his  ministry 
he  was  absent  from  his  own  })astoral  charge  much  in  help  to 
others.  This  was  incident  to  the  good  brotherhood  which 
has  been  a  marked  feature  of  his  native  Conference  and  in- 
cident to  his  own  native  general  Methodist  Preacher-brother- 
hood. Every  preacher  knew  they  could  expect  help  from 
Marvin,  if  it  could  bo  given — looked  for  in  Macedonia  if 
there  were  no  hindrance  like  that  of  Bithynia.  He  was  not 
indifferent  to  his  own  charge  and  did  not  neglect  his  own 
work.  Such  service  he  charged  liimself  with  as  over  and 
above  the  schedule  time  and  th(!  manual  of  discipline  and 
labor  in  his  own  church.  What  Avas  the  device  of  Bishop 
Capers'  Episcopal  seal  was  engraved  on  his  heart — "as 
much  as  in  me  lies."  It  was  printed  there  in  the  charge 
and  vow  of  an  Elder.     He  has  said  somewhere  what  likened 

him  to   one  of  his  Episcopal  predecessors,  Bishoj)  Enoch 
18 


274  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

George,  that  the  first  place  in  the  Church  pa})er  he  looked 
at  was  the  column  of  news  from  the  Churches.  lie  iruarded 
his  own  post,  but  he  had  an  interest  in  the  battle  all  along 
the  line.  He  was  eminently  a  conncctional  man — the  spirit 
of  it  was  in  him  and  it  directed  his  labors  as  his  ability  de- 
veloped for  service  and  his  fame  widened  the  call  for  it.  It 
sent  him  at  first  only  across  the  line  into  the  adjoining  cir- 
cuit ;  afterwards  into  every  part  of  the  Conference,  and  at 
last  on  the  grand  round  when  the  Districts  of  his  Episcopal 
ColleaiTues  stood  in  the  oriirinal  place  of  the  circuits  of  his 
brethren  of  the  Missouri  Conference.  Higher  than  all,  as  a 
chosen  vessel,  there  was  a  providential  mission  to  wide  fields 
and  high  labors.  It  was  appointed  to  him  in  tlie  Divine 
thouiiht,  and  the  call  of  the  brethren  Avas  the  instrument  of 
God's  purpose,  like  the  great  Teacher,  "that  he  should 
preach  the  Gospel  in  other  cities  also." 

That  history  had  an  early  beginning — the  fact  and  the 
distinction  of  it,  in  good  service  as  well  as  high  honor.  .  Its 
first  chapter  begins  at  the  Pcery  Camp-ground,  and  reads 
like  a  chapter  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  He  had  been 
sent  for  and  came.  The  prayers  of  the  Mother  of  the 
Peerys,  a  life-time  seeker,  had  come  up  as  a  memorial  be- 
fore God.  The  boy-preacher  from  over  on  Grundy  ISIission 
was  the  Lord's  messenger,  bringins;  to  her  ear  and  heart 
Avords  by  which  she  was  saved.  There  he  first  appears  as 
the  Canip-meeting-preacher.  Caples,  in  the  absence  of  Red- 
man, the  Presiding  Elder,  was  the  governor  of  the  meeting. 
He  preached  at  11  o'clock,  and  "for  the  second  sermon,  on 
Sunda}' ,  the  preacher  in  charge  nominated  Marvin.  He  was 
hunted  up  and  found  sitting  out  by  a  camp-fire,  all  alone 
and,  as  it  appears  in  Caples'  coloring,  very  forlorn.  "I 
didn't  think  there  was  anything  in  him,"  as  he  told  the 
story  to  their  common  friend.  Rev.  JNIr.  Holmes,  with  this 
ending :  "After  hearing  him,  I  concluded  that  my  own  per- 
formance in  the  forenoon  was  so  completely  overshadowed 


IN  CONFEKENCE.  275 

"by  Marvin's  sermon  tluit  I  was  ashamed  of  it."  The  collo- 
quy at  the  camp-fire  was  siixiiiticant — simply  :  "  Brother 
Marvin,  will  3'ou  preach  at  three  o'clock?"  The  answer 
only  a  siiiii;le  and  prom})t  word — "Yes."  That  all,  l)ut  his 
heart  and  his  life  were  in  that  monosyllable.  It  meant 
more  than  that  he  was  willing  to  preach.  It  meant  that  he 
loved  to  preach.  It  meant,  also,  that  he  was  there  to  help 
— that  was  in  the  fellowship  of  his  Conference  relations  and 
in  his  Book  of  Discipline.  Again  and  again  and  more  and 
more,  it  is  seen  how  that  great  "  little  book  "  entered  into 
his  history,  shaped  his  ministerial  character  and  contributed 
to  its  greatness.  Never  in  any  life  has  there  been  a  more  ac- 
curate and  a  more  complete  reprint  of  the  Methodist  Disci- 
pline— in  the  present  connection  this  :  "  Observe  !  it  is  not 
your  business  onl}'^  to  preach  so  many  times  and  to  take 
care  of  this  or  that  society  ;  but  to  save  as  many  as  you 
€an." 

It  is  part  of  the  connection  of  the  same  history  that  he 
•was  a  preacher  at  Church  dedications.  That  afterwards  be- 
came a  lariie  and  distiniiuishcd  record  of  ministerial  service, 
when  he  became  a  Bishop.  Then  it  was  a  part  of  his  busi- 
ness as  incident  to  the  Episcopal  office.  It  began  as  a  record 
of  "  labors  inore  abundant."  The  first  such  occasion  be- 
longs to  the  3'ears  at  Hannibal  Station.  The  selection  was 
not,  it  will  be  observed,  in  the  case  a  first  choice.  The  peo- 
ple, at  that  time,  in  Bowling  Green  Prairie  knew  of  the  elo- 
quent pulpit  of  his  predecessor;  not  so  much  of  Marvin's. 
But  it  was  known  to  the  Circuit  preacher  what  reserve 
power  there  was  in  him — ecjual  to  any  call,  and  able  for 
mastership  in  any  to  come,  as  it  had  been  for  all  that  had 
gone  before.  lie  had  a  new  reputation  to  make,  and  he 
made  it — at  once.  The  incident  comes  from  his  early  ad- 
mirer, Rev.  C.  I.  Vandeventer: 

A^  the  Conference  of  1840  Brother  Marvin  was  appointed  to  the  Han- 
nibal Station,  and  I  was  appointed  to  the  Bowling  Green  Circuit,  about 


276  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

f 

thirty  miles  distant.  During  tliis  j'ear  we  iiad  a  new  churcli  to  dedicate 
in  my  Circuit,  and  tlie  bretlircn  desired  the  services  of  the  eloquent  Dr. 
Geo.  C.  Liuht  on  the  occasion.  I  wrote  to  him  in  tlioir  behalf;  but  he 
could  not  attend.  Failing  in  this  direction,  tiie  matter  of  securing  the 
presence  of  some  one  else  was  turned  over  to  me.  I  wrote  to  Brother 
Marvin,  and  obtained  his  promi-;e  to  come;  which  he  did,  and  dedicated 
tlie  house  on  a  beautiful  Sal)b:ith  in  May  1847.  Only  one  person  in 
the  comuuinity  (except  tlie  writer).  Rev.  William  Bariiett,  at  that  time 
a  liical  preacher  in  the  Circuit,  had  ever  seen  him,  and  but  few  had  even 
heard  of  him,  for  he  was  almost,  at  that  time,  unknown  to  genrral  fame. 
The  neighborhood  was  composed  larixely  of  intelligent  Virginians,  wiiose 
conceptions  of  ministerial  ahilit>j  and  difjnitij  were  after  the  model  of  "  Dr. 
Smith  and  Parson  Early;"  and  when  the  strange  young  preacher,  who 
was  to  dedicate  the  church,  came  and  passed  throuiih  the  dense  crowd  into 
the  liouse,  the  eves  of  many  were  turned  upon  him,  while  there  was  a 
manifest,  but  not  easily  described,  look  of  disappointment,  if  not  something 
more.  But,  the  introductory  services  being  ended,  the  preacher  had  not 
advanced  more  than  twenty  minutes  in  his  discourse  till  eveiy  head  was 
up  and  mauy  faces  were  beaming  with  delight  and  joy.  The  sermon  was 
a  success.  It  was  followed  in  the  afternoon  by  another,  on  the  subject  of 
Justification  by  Faith;  wliich  a  good  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
present,  said  he  would  give  ten  dollars  to  have  published  in  pamphlet 
form  for  the  benefit  of  his  family.  I  m;iy  add,  that  no  minister  of  our 
Church,  or  of  any  Church,  was  ever  afterward  in  that  community  honored 
and  loved  more  than  Brother  ^larvin. 

By  the  same  informant  an  incident  has  been  traced  con- 
necting the  history  of  his  general  hibors  in  the  Conference 
with  what  is  now  one  of  its  most  i)romincnt  charires.  It 
occurred  in  his  fourth  year — then,  the  place  what  is  described 
below  and  now,  the  city  of  St.  Josci)h,  the  largest  in  the 
l)ounds  of  the  Conference.  The  log  church,  where  Marvin 
held  his  meeting,  has  given  place  to  the  elegant  House  of 
Worship,  with  its  strong  membership  and  crowded  congre- 
gations and  all  the  appointments  of  a  first-class  station.  If 
not  strictly  the  founder  of  that  (.hurch,  he  was  engaged  in 
laj'ing  the  first  course  of  edification  upon  its  corner- 
stone. The  feeble  society  was  built  up  in  faith  and  heart 
and  hope.  "  During  the  winter  he  visited  St.  Joseph,  then 
better  known  as  the  I)Iack  Snake  Hills  or  Kuhidoux's 
Landing,  and  but  little  more  than  an  Indian  trading  post. 


IN  rONFEKENCE.  277 

He  preticliecl  in  the  old  loi^  church,  the  first  and,  for  sotne- 
time,  the  only  place  of  religious  worship  in  the  town.  The 
Avcather  was  extremely  cold,  but  the  nieeting  is  mentioned 
as  having  been  a  specially  profitable  one  ;  and  the  few  re- 
maining members  of  the  Church  of  that  day  yet  speak  in 
iirdent  tarms  of  the  spirit  and  manner  of  Brother  Marvin's 
ministry  and  recall  with  pleasure  his  visit  to  them  in  those 
early  times.''  In  all  sections  of  that  large  and  flourishing 
Conference  and  at  chief  places  of  strength  and  centres  of 
Methodism,  the  workmen  are  now  building  upon  founda- 
tions which  were  laid  or  streng'thened  by  his  hand.  It  was 
the  value  of  his  work  that  it  was  abiding,  leaving  memorials 
in  the  fruits  of  his  pulpit  and  in  the  grateful  and  loving  re- 
membrance of  the  survivors  of  the  oriiTfinal  societies.  One 
who  entered  the  Conference  a  few  years  later  than  himself 
writes  of  the  observation  in  his  own  Avide  travel,  Avhich  has 
covered  largely  the  fields  of  jNIarvin's  labors  :  "I  am  now 
on  his  old  district,  and  here  and  wherever  I  have  gone  in 
the  bounds  of  the  Conference  I  have  found  his  name  fis 
precious  ointment  among  the  people  and  seen  the  broad 
track  of  his  labors." 

The  history  contained  in  the  foregoing  pages  opened  the 
path  to  the  position  he  filled  as  representative  of  his  Con- 
ference in  the  Chief  Council  of  the  Church.  It  dates  from 
the  second  election,  in  1S54,  after  his  eligibility  and  in  the 
third  General  Conference  of  the  Southern  Church,  held  at 
Columbus,  Ga.  He  was  chosen  at  every  succeeding  election 
in  his  Conference,  except  at  the  last,  during  his  membership 
of  the  St.  Louis,  in  18(15,  w'licn  he  was  away  in  the  South 
and  had  been  absent  the  entire  preceding  quadrennium. 

It  constitutes,  also,  the  honor  of  the  high  station  to 
which  he  was  advanced,  that  it  was  the  outgrowth  of  per- 
sonal w^)rth  and  official  fitness.  The  step  leading  to  it  was 
the  eminence  to  which  he  had  attained  as  in  fact  a  repre- 
sentative man — in  the  ability  of  the  pulpit,  in  the  wisdom 


278  BISHOr  MARVIN. 

of  the  Council-chanibcr,  in  the  personal  force  of  the  man. 
Such  a  character  belonged  to  him  and  was  recognized  and 
honored — this  the  true  history  of  his  elevation  and  apparent 
in  the   history  of  the   elections.     At  the  first,  selected  in 
company  with  two  of  the  fathers  in  the  Conference,  Wm. 
Patton  and  B.  S.  Ashby — recommended  not  by  age  in  years 
but  by  "his  old  head  on   young  shoulders,"    having  just 
passed  his  thirtieth  year.     Caples  was  the  remaining  dele- 
gate— these  two  younger  men  being,  in  their  delegation,  the 
representatives  of  the  Conference  pulpit  and  carrying  th& 
energy  of   enterprise  and  the   push  of  progress   from  the 
Bishop's  Cabinet  at  Conference  to  the  Standing  Committee- 
room  in  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council.     His  promotion 
in  this  office  was  in  no  wise   due  to   adventitious  aids — not 
to  the  accident  of  pastoral  residence  as  the  representative 
of  a  section  of  a  Conference  but  for  cause,  as  of  ability  to 
represent  the  whole  ;  not  for  the  length  but  value  of  minis- 
terial service  ;  and  certainly  not   due  to   artifice  as  not  to 
accident.     Personal  popularity  was-  related  to  the  election^ 
as  both  were  the  creatures   of  personal   merit  and  had  a 
basis  in  the  instinctive  admiration  of  the  Christian  heart  for 
Christian  heroism  and  of  the  heart  of  a  Methodist  Confer- 
once  for  the  s[)irit  and  life  of  a  true  ]Methodist  Preacher, 
In  his  last  election  there  is   striking  corroboration   of  the 
purity  of  the  ballot — a  transfer  in  the   St.  Louis  Confer- 
ence, which,  at  its  first  election  after  he  came  into  it,  put 
hiin  forward  as  a  fit  representative  and  a  best  selection. 

The  session  of  the  General  Conference,  at  Columbus, 
was  crowded  with  business  and  is  marked  by  important 
transactions — the  election  of  three  Bishops,  the  location  of 
the  Puldishing  House  at  Nashville,  and  material  changes  in 
economy  and  jurisprudence  adopted  or  initiated.  Missouri 
was  particularly  interested  in  princi[)al  questions.  In  the 
person  of  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Boyle  it  proposed  a  man  for  the 
Episcopacy,  to  be  resident  on  the  West  bank  of  the  Missis- 


IN  CONFERENCE.  279 

sippi,  :ind  inukiiig  strenuous  claims  for  the  location  of  the 
Publishing  llou.se  at  8t.  Louis,  then  fixed  in  its  destiny  as 
the  great  commercial  metropolis  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
Marvin  took  his  seat  for  the  first  time  within  the  Inir — per- 
haps, the  youngest  menil)er  of  the  body.  What  part  ho 
took  in  the  pro(;eedings  nuiy  be  inferred  from  what  is  sug- 
gested by  his  mention  of  the  position  and  bearing  of  his 
colleague,  also  a  young  mau  and  for  the  first  time  sent  as  a 
principal  on  the  list  of  Missouri  delegates.  Of  Caples  he 
said  :  "  lie  took  no  very  i)rominent  part  in  the  discussions 
nor  in  the  business,  feeling  himself  to  be  one  of  the  younger 
men  of  that  great  representative  assemblage  of  the  Church. 
He  was  growing  into  this  body,  however,  as  he  had  grown 
into  the  business  of  his  own  Conference.  At  Colum])us,  he 
preached  one  or  two  sermons  in  a  small  church  with  good 
liberty."  lie  adds  a  prophecy  of  the  future  career  of  his 
friend,  which  was  defeated  by  untimely  death  at  the  hand 
of  a  fearful  accident.  It  was  fulfilled  in  his  own  career : 
"  He  never  thrust  himself  into  affairs.  By  another  session 
he  would  have  been  active  and  prominent,  for  there  was  the 
power  in  him.  He  would  not  have  done  this  by  any  effort. 
It  would  have  come  to  pass  in  the  most  natural  way."  He 
was  observed  and  known  in  the  Committee-room  rather  than 
on  the  floor  of  the  Conference  session — there  and  in  one  of 
the  humbler  pulpits  of  the  city.  Among  recollections  of 
him  in  this  modest  and  narrow^  limit  of  intercoui'se  is  testi- 
mony that  he  impressed  himself  as  a  man  of  mark.  One 
such  reminiscence  furnished  for  this  page  connects  a  vote 
for  him  at  New  Orleans,  in  186(5,  with  the  ineffacable  mem- 
ory of  him,  in  personal  intercourse  and  official  relations,  at 
Columbus,  in  1854. 

The  writer  knows,  by  personal  observation,  his  course  at 
the  succeeding  General  Conference  at  Nashville,  then  repre- 
senting the  St.  Louis  Conference.     His  work  was  expressed 


280  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

ill  the  report  of  the  standing  committee  and  by  a  silent  vote 
on  the  floor  of  the  Conference.  AVhal,  if  anything  promi- 
nent, were  his  pulpit  ministrations,  it  is  not  recollected.  He 
was,  however,  a  faithful  and  busy  Committee-man  and  was 
"  growing  into  the  body." 

His  last  labors  in  the  Missouri  Conference  were  in  be- 
half of  its  Institution  of  Learning — St.  Charles  College. 
He  was  aa'ent  for  it  durinij:  his  second  year  on  the  District. 
His  next  and  last  appointment  was  to  that  agency  exclu- 
sively. Its  history  is  reserved  for  the  following  cha[)ter.  In 
the  general  business  of  the  Conference,  the  educational  in- 
terests of  the  Church  engaged  and  intere'sted  his  attention. 
The  only  set  speech,  which  has  been  reported  to  these  pages, 
was  in  advocacy  of  the  Church-school.  In  Conference  he 
was  rather  a  Committee-man  than  a  speech-maker.  The 
occasion  reported  by  several  contributors  was  on  a  visit  to 
his  old  Conference,  at  its  session  in  1857,  at  St.  Charles. 
He  was  then  representing  St.  Charles  College.  Its  endow- 
ment in  part  was  for  the  exclusive  use  of  educating  young 
men  preparing  for  the  ministry  in  the  Methodist  Church. 
He  ui'iied  the  claims  of  the  Colleo;e  on  that  ground  and  ad- 
vocated  the  Biblical  chair  in  the  Church-school.  The  speech 
was  masterly  and  impressive.  Caples  did  not  object  to  an 
educated  ministry,  but  anything  in  the  shape  of  tlie  Theo- 
logical Seminary  training  was  an  abomination  to  liini.  He 
at  once  took  the  floor.  Marvin  has  reported  the  speech  ; 
others,  its  history  and  effect.  He  let  off  his  battery  against 
"  preacher  factories."  There  was  a  glowing  eulogy  of  the 
training  of  the  ]\Iethodist  Itinerancy — "  the  College  on 
Horseback."  The  young  preachers  were  the  students  ;  the 
edifice  "  all  out  of  doors  ;  "  and  the  libraiy  in  one  end  of 
saddle-bags.  He  read  the  roll  of  the  Alumni,  Lovick  Pierce, 
Soule,  Bascom,  Kavanaugh.  Marvin  was  sitting  on  a 
front  seat,  in  full  view.     He  was  the  idol  of  the  Confer- 


IN  CONFERENCE. 


281 


eccc.  roiiiting  to  him — "  There,"  cried  Caples,  "there  \h 
another  !  "  II.  S.  Wiitts,  seated  beside  liiin,  hunched  iMur- 
vin  and  cried,  "Amen  !  "  The  Conference  roared  in  merri- 
ment. Bishop  K.,  iu  tho  chair,  shook  his  sides.  Marvin 
was  floored. 


fj. 


1] 


PI 


9. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


COLLEGE    AGENT. 

The  regular  work— Always  effective— College  Agent — The  Church  and 
School — His  sentiment- Strikingly  illustrated— College  Pre  idoncy  of- 
fered and  declined — St.  Charles  College— J.  H.  Fielding,  first  Presi- 
dent— The  Collier  bequest — Appointment  to  Agency — Its  wi>dom — 
Predecessors — Leading  patrons — Success — Biblical  School — His  theo- 
logical professorship — First  and  only  class  and  lecture— Tiie  Educa- 
tional Convention  in  18o2— An  episode,  Caples  and  Marvin— Status  of 
St.  Cliarles  College— Historical  lesson. 


^■HE  last  appointment  of  Marvin  in  the  Missouri  Con- 
ference connects  his  name  officially  with  the  only 
part  of  its  work  he  had  not  filled — the  College  Agent.  It 
is  not  properly  an  exception  that  he  was  never  Sundaj^- 
school  Agent — such  appointment  having  little  existence 
in  Missouri  at  that  day.  It  scarcely  ever,  perhaps,  has  any 
real  existence  ;  in  the  usual  if  not  the  universal  fact,  a 
fiction  on  the  list  of  charo;es  and  a  fiii'ure-head  on  the  roll 
of  laborers.  In  all  this  history  Marvin's  name  never  ap- 
pears on  the  overseer's  book  on  the  roll  of  ecclesiastical 
cripples  or  sinecurists ;  in  a  good  providence  never  a 
warder  in  the  Conference  hospital  nor  retired  on  half-duty  ; 
and  by  choice  and  in  fealty,  always  true  to  itinerant  vows 
and  steady  in  the  regular  work.  It  will  appear  hereafter 
what  were  his  views  concerning  Sunday-school  education. 
It  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  an  acceptable  appointment  to 
exchange  the  pulpit  of  First  Church  in  St.  Louis    for  a 


COLLEGE    AGENT.  283 

Sunday-school  Agency.  He  would  have  done  the  work  and 
done  it  well — niakhig  full  proof  of  that  inini.«try  a.s  of  all 
others.  More  especially,  he  would  not  have  engaged  in  it, 
except  as  a  legitimate  part  of  his  ministerial  office.  As  an 
important  part  of  it  in  his  judgment — feeding  the  Lambs — 
he  would  have  undertaken  it  both  cheerfully  and  cui-nestly, 
with  heart  and  hope.  It  lies  in  the  fields  of  the  pastoral 
Avork  of  the  Church  and  where  the  soil  is  virgin  and  the 
sowing  is  best  assured  of  a  crop  and  yields  most  fruitful 
harvest. 

Among  the  instruments  of  culture  in  youthful  piety  is 
the  denominational  school.  Parents,  if  wise,  will  prefer 
such  schools.  The  Church  must  furnish  them.  From  the 
first  and  to  the  last,  Marvin  was  zealously  enlisted  in  the 
educational  Avork  of  the  Church.  He  admonished  solemnly 
in  respect  to  family  religion.  He  was  remarkal)ly  the 
advocate  and  patron  of  Sunday-schools.  It  was  in  the 
same  line  of  things  that  he  became  College  Agent.  It  was 
to  conserve  the  fruits  of  home-culture  and  the  Church-nur- 
scvy — to  erect  the  environment  of  the  Church  around  youth 
at  the  period  when  it  is  most  wayward  and  most  exposed  ; 
to  throw  into  the  sciences  of  human  learning  the  leaven  of 
Christian  truth  ;  and  to  make  provision,  that  the  piety  at 
home  shall  not  l)c  lost  at  College,  and  coming  there  Christ- 
ian shall  not  go  away  infidel  or  profane. 

The  Minister  of  the  Gospel  does  not  sink  his  office  in  the 
CoUeire  President — in  that  ofiice,  combining  the  Christian 
teacher  with  the  patron  of  science  ;  and  in  that  connection 
ot  liis  position,  a  sentinel  of  the  Church  and  on  guard  to 
Christianity,  It  was  not  as  a  friend  of  human  learning, 
Avliich  he  was,  but  as  Pastor  of  the  Lord's  sheep  and  espe- 
cially of  Christ's  lambs,  that  he  became,  by  choice  and  with 
zeal,  a  Colleixe  As-ent,  In  his  view  and  in  fact,  the  combi- 
nation  is  congruous — the  preacher  and  the  denominational 
school-man.     In  his  appointment  at  first  he  was  both — Pre- 


284  BISHOr  MAKVIN. 

sidino:  Elder  of  the  District  and  Ajrent  for  St.  Charles  Col- 
lege.  The  Episcopal  or  Conference  appreciation  of  the 
magnitude  ot  its  importance  is  apparent  in  the  next  year's 
api)ointment — taken  off  the  District  and  left  in  the  Agency, 
lis  his  exclusive  work.  The  same  thing  is  indicated  in  the 
appointment  of  Caples  as  Agent  for  Plattsburg  and  Weston 
High  Schools.  Though  he  was  not  taken  off  the  District, 
yet  the  District  -svas  reduced  to  four  charges,  and  those  im- 
mediately surrounding  the  sites  of  the  schools,  with  a  view 
to  si)ecial  labors  in  their  behalf. 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  as  the  sentiment  of  this  page, 
that  the  chair  of  a  College  President  in  honor  or  usefuhiess 
is  above  the  pulpit  of  a  preacher  ;  or  that  College  work  has 
a  function  equal  in  dignity  and  influence  to  that  of  the  full 
Christian  pastorate  ;  nor  that  it  is  allowable  to  a  Confer- 
ence as  a  rule  of  action  or  maxim  of  policy  to  subordinate 
the  direct  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to^the  claims,  important 
as  they  are,  of  its  Seminaries  of  Learning — the  one  princi- 
pal and  the  other  auxiliary  ;  respectively,  divinely  ordained 
on  the  one  hand  and  at  most,  on  the  other,  a  human  regula- 
tion. Such  is  not  the  interpretation  intended  on  this  jiassage 
in  his  history.  It  was  not  Marvin's  sentiment,  however  highly 
he  estimated  the  work  of  the  College  Faculty,  and  his  own 
work  in  behalf  of  the  Conference  Institutions  of  Learning, 
speaking  of  his  Agency  for  St.  Charles  College  as  the  two 
best  year's  work  of  his  life.  His  view  of  the  relative  im- 
portance and  claims  of  these  two  departments  of  ministerial 
service  and  in  general,  as  between  the  regular  work  and  the 
special,  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  an  incident  in  his  St. 
Charles  College  history. 

The  incident  is  narrated  by  Mr.  D.  K.  Pittman,  one  of 
the  original  and  most  prominent  members  of  the  Board  of 
Curators  of  St.  Charles  College.  The  issue  is  direct.  The 
testimony  is  impressive — of  the  work  of  the  ministry,  the 
pulpit  and  pastorate,  the  most  prized,  the  best,  the  highest: 


COLLEGE  AGENT.  285 

An  instance  of  his  faith  and  consecration  was  developed  while  sta- 
tioned at  Centenary  Church.  He  was  elected  President  of  St.  Cliarles 
College.  I  called  at  his  study  to  see  him,  and  he  requested  me  to  come  to 
his  room  after  supper.  I  did  so.  He  wanted  to  consult  me  upon  the  pro- 
priety of  his  accepting  the  Presidency.  He  said :  "  You  know  hosv  much 
I  am  away  from  my  family,  and  how  much  I  am  devoted  to  tliom.  If  [ 
g.)  to  St.  Charles  I  shall  be  with  them  all  the  time,  and  the  compensation 
will  be  much  better;  but  I  shall  have  to  give  up  the  regular  pa-torate  to 
which  I  am  called."  After  much  free  and  unrestrained  conversation,  the 
question  revolved  itself  into  one  of  conscience;  and,  therefore,  I  could 
not  presume  to  dictate ;  but,  as  I  was  in  the  act  of  leaving,  he  said :  "  Call 
at  my  office  in  the  m  )rning  before  you  leave  the  city  and  I  will  give  you  a 
delinie  answer."  In  the  most  emphatic  manner,  he  added:  "  I  will  not 
clo^e  my  eyes  in  sleep  until  I  know  what  the  will  of  the  Lord  is."  The 
next  morning,  on  myway  to  the  depot,  I  called  at  his  office,  and,  without 
ceremony,  asked  what  report  I  should  make  He  answered  :  "  Tell  the 
brethren  I  w;ll  not  give  up  my  regular  work  for  all  the  Presidencies  iu  the 
land  "     It  was  uttered  in  the  most  solemu  manner. 

At  the  very  time,  however,  he  declined  the  Presidency 
of  the  College  he  was  its  acting  Agent,  and  h;id  been  for 
six  years  and  continued  such  till  he  went  South  during  the 
war.  The  facts  are  to  be  interpreted  by  his  views.  On 
principle  and  by  preference  the  regular  work  in  the  pastoral 
relation  directly  and  most  widely,  was  esteemed  his  vocation 
and  life-work.  But  the  denominational  school  he  estimated 
as  a  necessary  auxiliary  in  the  machinery  of  the  Church — . 
at  all  times  demanding  fostering  care  ;  and  in  emergent  cir- 
cumstances, justifying  the  detail  of  the  best  talent  and  the 
labor  of  the  strongest  arm.  The  educational  work  of  his 
ministry  has  such  import. 

St.  Charles  College  has,  in  many  respects,  a  peculiar 
and  interesting  history.  It  is  the  oldest  Protestant  College 
West  of  the  Mississippi  River.  Its  ori.jj^in  connects  it  with 
the  first  general  and  marked  educationtd  movement  of  the 
Church,  oriixinatino;  in.  the  action  of  the  General  Conference 
in  1820.  The  sentiment  of  that  Conference  in  its  favor  was 
very  pronounced,  and  was  responded  to  with  enthusiasm 
throughout  the  Connection.  AVithin  about  a  decade  Wes- 
leyan   University   was    established   for   the   New   England 


286  15ISHOP  MARVIN. 

States  ;  and  for  the  KcA^stone  State,  Madison  College  ;  and 
Randolph  Macon,  Lagrange,  and  Augusta  Colleges  for  the 
Atlantic  Seal)oard  and  the  South  and  West.     In  the  more 
distant  West,  McKendree  College  Avas  established  on  the 
East  of  the  Mississippi,  and  on  the  West,  St.  Charles  Col- 
Icire.     In  I80G  it  was  formally  opened,  with  John  H.  Field- 
ing, brought  from  the  Chair  of  ]\Iathematies  at  Augusta,  as 
its  first  President.     The  enterprise  was  projected  as  early 
as  1832  or  1833,  and  was  founded  on  the  charity  of  ]\Irs. 
Catherine  Collier,  a  noble  Methodist  matron.     She  was  the 
mother  of  the  late  George  Collier,  well  known  as  a  leading 
and  one  of  the  most  wealthy  citizens  of  St.  Louis.     Li  for- 
mer years  of  his  life  his  residence  and  business  had  been  at 
St.  Charles.     As  expressed  and  limited  in  their  last  wills, 
respectively,  it  was  the  intention  of  mother  and  son  to  es- 
tablish a  Christian  and  Methodist  School  and  to  promote  an 
educated  Protestant  Ministry  of  the  Gospel.     The  mother 
died  first.     By  her  will,  dated  August  31st,  1833,  and  pro- 
bated August  26th,  1835,  she  bequeathed  five  thousand  dol- 
lars to  her  son  in  trust  for  the  contemplated  school — the  use 
of  two  thousand  dollars  being  limited  primarily  to  the  educa- 
tion of  young  men  preparing  for  the  ministry  in  the  Metho- 
■dist  Church.     Upon  this  original  financial  basis  the  Confer- 
ence, in  counsel  and  co-operation  Avith  j\Ir.  Collier,  resolved 
to  establish  the  College,  and,  in  183G,  appointed  Jesse  Green 
its  Ao-ent  to  raise  funds  for  the  building  and  additional  en- 
dowment.     At  the  death  of  the  son,  in  July,  1852,  he  be- 
queathed to  it  ten  thousand  dollars,  conditioned  upon  the 
like  sum  being  raised  by  the  Church  within  ten  years  from 
the  date  of  his  death.     This  led  to  the  appointment  of  Mar- 
vin to  the  Agency  for  the  College  in  the  following  year. 

The  acceptance  of  the  Agency  on  his  part  Avas  demanded 
by  the  opportunity  of  the  hour  for  a  great  advantage.  The 
proposal  of  the  George  Collier  bequest  was,  in  that  da}^ 
comparatively  a  nmnificcnt  largess.     Although  he  was  not 


COLLEGE  AGENT.  2^7 

nt  the  time  ;i  church-man  nor  at  any  time  a  Methodist  com- 
municant, it  remains,  indeed,  to  tliis  day  the  largest  individ- 
ual contribution  to  the  cause  of  education  in  the  hands  of 
Missouri  Methodism.     Is  was  timclv  aid  and  encourairement. 
The   condition   of  the  College   Avas   emergent.      After  tlic 
death  of  Mr.  Fielding,  the  first  President,  in   1844,  it  did 
not  prosper.     Before  his  death  it  had  become  greatly  em- 
barrassed by  poverty,  and  more  by  disaffection.     His  am- 
bition and  Ills  ho[)e  maintained  an  heroic  struggle  amid  all 
its  reverses  ;  as  said  in  his  obituary,  consecrating  to  it  not 
only  his  talents  but  private  resources.     These  lines,  by  the 
writer,  are  responsive  to  the  wortls  of  his  biographer,  ex- 
pressii'g  assurance  of  the  witness  that  all  his  pupils  will 
bear  to  his  professional  ability  and  the  affectionate  venera- 
tion in  which  he  was  held  by  them.     He  was  a  dignified  and 
amiable  gentleman,  eminent  in  extensive  and  varied  scholar- 
ship and  rich  stores  of  knowledge,  ti  sweet  spirited  Christ- 
ian, and  a  sound  theologian.     His  sermons  were  specimens 
of  fine  literary  taste,  and  written  with  precision,  purity  and 
elegance  seldom  surpassed.     As  an  o.^cer,  if  there  was  any 
defect,  it  was  in  administrative  ability  ;   and  that,  not  in 
lack  of  the  wisdom  of  knowledge  and  experience,  but  of  ex- 
ecutive force.     Had  all  other  hindrances  to  success  been  out 
of  the  way,  its  poverty  Avas  an  inevitable  stoppage.     Not- 
withstandins;  all  his  unabated  and  self-sacrificin<r  devotion, 
the  fortunes  of  the  College  had  Avaned.     They  were  aban- 
doned by  his  successor.  Rev.  I.  Ebbert,  after  a  fruitless  ef- 
fort  during  thi-ee  rears.     The  name  of  the  College  and  its 
Presidential  a[)pointment  disappeared  from  the  Conference 
minutes  in  1848.     It  did  not  reappear  till  185f),  under  the 
Pi-esidency  of  Rev.  Dr.  "W.  II.  Anderson,  now  of  Weslevan 
University,  at  ^lillersburg,  Ky.  ;  and  then,  on  the  faith  and 
in  the  push  of  Marvin's  Agency.     This  history  indicates  the 
breach  into  which  he  threw   himself.      It   shows,  also,  Avhat 
difficulties  environed  the  undertaking,  delaying  so  long  the 


288  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

financial  consummation  and  enhancing  the  credit  of  its  suc- 
cess. 

His  agency  was  limited  to  a  narrow  area.  There  were, 
in  fact,  rival  school  enterprises.  Caples  was  in  the  field  for 
District  High  Schools  in  the  Northwest.  In  Central  Mis- 
souri the  interests  of  Howard  High  School  monopolized  the 
attention  of  the  Church.  His  ticld  was  thus,  for  the  most 
part,  confined  to  Northeast  Missouri,  which,  comparatively, 
was  not  the  richest  section  of  the  Conference.  From  the 
be"-imiin<T  the  city  of  St.  Louis  had  been  looked  to  and  had 
furnished  the  largest  part  of  the  pecuniary  resources  of  the 
College.  But,  at  that  time  and  for  many  past  years,  there 
was  at  that  point  comparative  indifference  and  even  aliena- 
tion, wide  spread  and  obstinate.  For  the  time  and  under 
the  circumstances  his  success  was  signal.  In  the  second 
year  only  of  his  Agency  Avas  it  his  exclusive  work.  In  all 
other  years  it  was  superadded  to  his  regular  pastorate.  He 
prosecuted  it  diligently  and  patiently,  and  did  not  surrender 
the  undertaking  till  the  conditions  of  the  Collier  bequest 
had  been  fully  met  and  the  College  put  in  possession  of  the 
additional  twenty  thousand  dollars  of  endowment.  It  re- 
mains intact  to  this  day — said  to  be  the  only  instance  of 
such  fortune  in  the  history  of  the  Colleges  in  the  State  and 
rare  in  the  fortunes  of  Western  Colleges. 

The  wisdom  of  the  Board  of  Curators  is  seen  in  the  se- 
lection of  their  Agent ;  and  of  the  Conference,  in  his  ap- 
pointment to  that  emergent  enterprise.  That  Board  had  in 
its  membership  some  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the  State  and 
of  the  wisest  and  most  influential  men  of  the  Church — wise 
not  to  choose  a  feeble  man  for  a  great  work.  Their  trust 
was  so  important  as  to  be  instituted  ;  and  for  that  reason, 
its  importance  justifying  a  specaal  representation  and  for 
the  same  reason,  the  most  efficient  advocacy.  The  Confer- 
ence was  thus  wise,  as  a  look  through  the  minutes  will  show. 
Marvin  in  his  Agency  was  successor  to  Green,  Kedman,  and 


COLLEGE    AGENT.  289 

Monroe.     Tlis  ininuMliatc  predecessor  excepted,  who  was  a 
young  man  and  not  a  nienilx^r  of  the  Conference,  the  former 
Agents  were  all,  like  himself,  taken  from  Presiding  Elder's 
Districts — men  of  pulpit  ability,  administrative  talent  and  of 
individual  force.     They  had  also  wide  acquaintance  and  per- 
sonal inlluence  in  the  bounds  of  the  Conference.    Green  had 
filled  an  adinterim  term  in  the  second  year  of  the  St.  Louis 
^lethodist  pulpit  and  commanded  respect,  both  for  his  per- 
sonal character  and  his  eminent  native  talent,  and  especially 
for  his  heroic  ministry.    Redman  was  a  most  companionable 
man,  a  good  declaimer  and  cai>al)le  of  argument  on  a  spe- 
cial topic.    His  itinerancy  dated  from  1820 — stretching  from 
"White  River,  in  Arkansas,  Avhere  it  begun,  to  where  it  ended 
on  the  Upper  Misscmri,  after  traveling  every  District  in  the 
Conference,  except  one.     jNIonroe,  the  Agent  for  seven  con- 
secutive 3'cars,  in  his  St.  Louis  pulpit  as  Station-preacher 
and  Presiding  Elder — there,  Avhere  most  help  was  looked  for 
and  came — attracted  to  his  audience  such  men  as  Bates  and 
Geyer  and  Gamble,  men  who  became  respectively  Gover- 
nor, L^nited  States   Senator,  and  Cabinet  Secretary.     The 
endowment  of  a  College  is  not  a  popular  subscription.     It 
must  come,  if  at  all  and  for  the  most  part,  from  the  few  ; 
and  the  many  wait  to  follow.     An  Agent  is  powerless  with- 
out a  oreat  leader.     These  men  drew  such  to  them.     Mon- 
roe  had  his  Collier;  and   Caples  his  Swinney  and  Davis; 
Marvin  had  his  Polk  and  Ilendrix  at  Central  College,  and 
at  St.  Charles,  Pittman  and  Cunningham  and  Overall. 

The  two  grandest  Agents  in  the  fields  of  ISIissouri  Meth- 
odist  enterprise,  or  in  any  other,  perhaps,  were  Caples  and 
Marvin.  In  the  actual  record  thoir  methods  wxre  different ; 
but  each  was  capable  of  the  methods  and  achievements  of 
the  other.  The  occasion,  in  Marvin's  Agency,  did  not  call 
for  or  allow  the  ad  captandum  of  the  address — -'that's  my 
colt ;"  or  "  the  story  of  the  Puckers."'  That  style  was  im- 
perative to  get  a  hearing  among  the  crowded  enterprises  of 
lU 


290  BlSHOl'  MARVIN. 

!i  new  country,  or  to  irot  a  tlollnr  where  there  Avcre  a  thou- 
sand calls  for  every  dime.  The  Aij::ency  of  i\Iar\in  was  in  a 
different  field,  where  people  were  less  impressible  and  nn)re 
inaccessible  tlian  the  miscellaneous  crowd  at  a  Camp-meet- 
inir  or  a  country  conixre2:ation — in  St.  Louis  chieHv,  where 
Caples  got  a  poor  hearing  and  left  feeling  discomfited. 
Besides,  his  was  not  a  new  l)ut  an  old  enterprise  and 
the  situation  could  not  bo  captured  by  the  surprise  of  a 
coup  d'etat — an  old  one  and  a  crip[)led  one,  with  need  to 
explain  and  to  remove  i)rejudiccs  ;  all  demanding  the  inter- 
view at  the  office  and  counting  room  and  the  talk  of  Marvin 
at  the  fireside.  The  method  had  less  dash  but,  in  the  case, 
was  more  effective.  It  was  dull  and  slow  but,  in  Marvin's 
persistent  hand,  it  was  sure.  In  Caples'  field  the  people 
had  to  be  educated,  which  he  did  grandly.  He  sowed  the 
seed.  Bishop  Marvin  has  said,  of  Dr.  Smith's  harvest  in 
large  measure  about  ten  years  after.  But  Marvin  could  not 
go  where  his  prede;  e^sors  had  not  been  and  had  not  lectured 
pu])licly  and  privately.  It  was  his  chief  work  to  reap,  and 
in  actual  and  certainly  in  al)iding  pecuniary  results,  per- 
haps, his  Agency  was  the  most  renmnerative.  The  College 
bonds  gotten  by  Caples  were,  no  doubt,  much  discounted 
during  and  by  the  war.  ]\Iarvin's  twenty  thousand  were 
and  are  still  securely  locked  up  in  Missouri  Sixes. 

He  was  Agent  during  three  successive  years.  After  the 
expiration  of  his  Agency  by  formal  appointment,  he  con- 
tinued to  hold  intimate  relations  to  the  College,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  its  Board  of  Curators.  Active  labors  in  its  behalf 
and  an  earnest  advocacy  extended  through  tvw  years. 
Amon<'-  other  forms  of  patronage  is  the  incident  of  his  ac- 
cepting  the  chair  of  a  theological  professor.  The  signal 
success  of  his  Agency  had  revived  the  hopes  of  the  friends 
of  the  College.  Various  measures  were  adopted  to  advance 
its  usefulness  and  secure  its  popularity  and  permanency. 
Amouir  them  was  the  establishment  of  a  Biblical  School. 


COLLEGE    AGENT.  201 

That  measure  had  the  ei)dor.senieiit  of  tlie  General  Confer- 
ence, Avhieh  had  rcconiniended  tliat  it  be  introduced  into  the 
Colleges  of  the  Connection,  The  better  education  of  the 
pulpit  was  a  popular  sentiment  and  much  public  favor  and 
sup[)ort  were  given  to  the  movement.  Marvin  took  great 
iilterest  and  an  active  part  in  il.  At  the  time  he  was  pastor 
at  Centenary,  with  its  heavy  labors  on  his  hands.  lie  con- 
sented, however,  to  undertake  the  additional  lal)ors  of  the 
Biblical  Chair,  to  which  he  had  been  elected.  His  purpose 
•was  defeated.  He  made  only  one  visit  to  the  class  and 
gave  it  at  the  same  time  his  inaugural  and  valedictory. 
What  eminence  he  might  have  attained  as  a  theological  doc- 
tor the  curious  may  conjecture.  What  is  reported  below  of 
the  one  lecture  is  rather  sound  and  godly  advice  from  the 
desk  of  a  Pastor  of  the  Preachers.  The  theolooical  in- 
struction  was  characteristic  and  significant — in  remark  on  a 
course  of  study,  the  closing  word:  "Young  gentlemen, 
study  the  Catechism  !  "  His  first  and  only  class  turned  out 
well.  The  rest  of  the  story  is  told  by  one  of  the  number. 
Rev.  J.  E.  Godbey,  now  his  successor  at  First  Church,  St. 
Louis  : 

Tho  first  time  I  saw  Bro.  Marvin  was  in  tlie  winter  of  18G0.  I  was 
then  a  student  at  St.  Charles  College,  and  one  of  a  class  of  six  \oung  men 
who  were  preparinj?  for  the  ministry.  The  other  members  of  the  class 
were  Jones  F.  Ilaijler,  now  of  the  Southwest  Missouri  Conference;  Thos. 
R.  Kendall,  of  the  Missouri  Conference;  Wm.  H.  Leith,  of  the  Mississippi 
•Conference;  M.  R  Goheajjen,  of  the  Illinois  Conference;  and  J.  S.  Fra- 
zier,  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference. 

We  were  informed  that  arrangements  had  been  made  witii  Rev.  E.  M. 
Marvin,  then  pastor  of  Centenary  Church,  St.  Louis,  to  visit  the  College 
once  a  month  and  deliver  a  lecture  to  our  class.  He  came  but  once.  The 
care  of  a  small  Mission  Church  had  been  added  to  his  charge,  and  he  was 
unable  to  di>  the  work  at.  the  College  which  was  expected  of  liim. 

I  think  the  class  will  never  forget  hi-;  one  visit  and  lecture.  After 
giving  us  some  instructions  in  regard  to  our  course  of  study,  and  the  best 
methods  of  studying  the  Word  of  God,  he  spoke  to  us  especially  of  the  ob- 
ligations of  a  Christian  minister  and  the  spirit  and  purpose  with  which  he 
should  pursue  his  vocation.  The  mini-try  of  the  Gospel,  he  said,  was  to 
i)e  a  vocation  as  distinct  from  a  profession.    No  man  should  enter  upoa 


292  BISHOr  MARVIN. 

siicli  a  work  except  as  constrainerl  by  liis  conscience,  under  the  deep  con- 
vicUon  that  it  is  the  one  work  wliicli  God  would  liiive  Inm  do,  and  wliicli 
lie  cannot  refuse  to  do  but  at  tlie  peril  of  liis  soul.  Devoting  himself  to 
work  under  such  a  conviction,  no  question  of  large  apparent  usefulness  or 
lu^h  attainment  in  reputation  as  a  minister  should  ever  affect  his  mind. 
He  should  be  willint^  to  l)e  tlie  humbk'st,  most  obscure,  and  least  efhcient 
of  all  Christ's  miui.-ters,  if  only  couseious  still  of  following  the  divine  call. 
In  the  call  to  the  ministry  recognize,  he  said,  that  the  Master  has  put 
into  your  hands  the  most  important  trust  and  laid  upon  you  the  most  sol- 
emn chai'ge  and  obligations.  Waste  no  time.  Neglect  no  talent.  Labor 
for  the  salvation  of  your  own  souls.  It  demands  the  utmost  diligence  and 
continual  i)rayer.  Aspire  to  be  and  to  do  all  that  fJod  and  nature  have  fit- 
ted you  for.  N  ver  measure  your-elf  by  another.  Never  coinpa'-e  yourself 
with  others,  but  with  the  standard  of  duty  and  privilege.  Never  desire  ta 
excel  nor  aspire  t )  be  greater  t!ian  another.  Bj  humble.  Do  your  nt- 
mist  to  be  a  great  preacher  and  i)ray  God  that  every  other  preacher  in  his 
Ciiuicli  may  be  greater  than  yourself. 

There  are  several  other  interesting  epi.sode.s  connected 
with  hi.s  St.  Charles  College  history.  One  relates  to  the 
financial  result  of  his  Agency,  happening  on  his  return  to 
Missouri  after  the  war.  It  is  of  reniark;il)le  import  and 
will  ai)i)ear  in  its  proper  i)lace  and  connection.  Another 
has  been  mentioned  l)y  himself.  It  is  of  historic  value,  re- 
lating to  the  proceedings  of  the  P^ducational  Convention^ 
held  at  St.  Louis,  in  1<S")2,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  It 
was  called  to  consider  the  project  of  a  new  and  hirge  edu- 
cational enterprise — ''a  iirst-class  College,"  Avhich  was 
adopted  with  the  [)rovis()  that  it  sliould  not  go  into  opera- 
tion until  a  cash  endowment  of  at  least  lifty  thousand  dol- 
lars was  secui-ed.  The  contest  was  over  the  question  of 
location.  St.  Char  es  and  Fayette  were  the  only  two  com- 
peting places  and  to  which,  respectively  and  julversely, 
Marvin  and  Caples  were  committed  by  personal  feeling  as 
well  as  candid  convictions  concerning  their  availability  for  a 
College  site.  The  one  was  an  U[)[)er  country  man.  The 
men  of  that  section  were  in  the  heat  and  Hush  of  new-born 
,school-enteri)rise.  They  Avere  rtdlied  in  force  under  that 
impulse  and  tlu;  zeal  of  sectional  parti.san.ship.  They  would 
count  in  the  vote  if  not  in  the  debate.     Caples  was  at  the 


COLLEGE  AGENT.  203 

head  of  u  lariio  followinir.      The;   SouLIutu   half  of  the   St. 
Louis  Conference  had  little  intorost  in  tlie  question  and  not 
much  representation  in  the  body  ;  the  other  half  Mas  allied 
territorially  to  Fayette.    The  Convention,  held  in  St.  Louis, 
was  near  the  seat  of  the  old  College  ;  hut  though  there  were 
staunch  and  strong  advocates  for  it  on  hand,  there    Avas 
not  an  enthusiasm,  collecting  the  crowd  and  securing  the 
outside  pressure.      ]Marvin  had  l)een  thinking  only  of  his 
speech,  and  how  St.  Charles  College  had  the  advantage  on 
the  merits  of  the  argument.     All  the  spectators  and  mem- 
bers recognized  these  two  men  as  the  champions  in  the  de- 
bate and  fortunes  of  the  hour.      The  })roposed  great  institu- 
tion which   Avas   to   unite   the    resources    and    combine   the 
patronage  of  the  two  Conferences  in  Missouri,  was  to  take 
name  accordingly — Central  College.     The  advocate  of  Fay- 
ette stressed  the  territorial  argument,  which  was  met  by  a 
susrcestion  of  other  than  jreograijhical  centres — centres  of 
trade  and  influence  and  population.     In  masterly  discussion 
the  claims  of  St.  Charles  College  were  urged — in  sentiment, 
its  primacy  of  origin  and  the  husbandry  of  the  tears  and 
toils  of  the  zeal  of  the  past  years,  which  awaited  only  the 
juncture  of  a  new  and  coml)ined  rally  to  its  support  to  rea- 
lize the  hopes  of  its  founders  and  compensate  the  larger 
outlay  upon  it  of  care  and  money.     The  stress  of  the  speech 
was  upon  the  sanctity  of  the  public  pledges  of  the  Confer- 
ence which  had  committed  the  Church  to  St.  Charles  Col- 
lege.    Caples  had  the  advantage  of  reply.     He  did  not  make 
answer  to  araument.     He  made  fun.     He  irained  the  dav. 
Marvin  good-naturedly  confesses  the  defeat  Avith  the  above 
explanation  of  the  way  of  it:   "I  made  an  elaborate  speech, 
expected  an  answer  and  was  prepared  for  it.     The  other 
party  looked  to  Mr.  Caples.     He  met  the  emergency  not  by 
facts  and  arguments  but  by  ridicule.     He  raised  a  laugh  at 
my  expense.     I  had  nothing  to  reply  to.     They  took  the 
vote  and  I  was  floored."     Caples  saw  the  confusion  and 


294  15ISIIOP  MARVIN. 

chairrin  of  his  friend  ;  and  after  adjournment  confessed  his 
strategy:  "Ah!  old  fellow,"  said  he,  "did  you  think  I 
was  iroinir  to  work  on  your  timbers?  I  had  too  much  sense 
for  that.  Mv  only  show  was  to  nibble  your  roi)es."  "It 
was  said,"  adds  Marvin,  "followed  by  that  laugh  of  liis, 
half  exultant  and  half  humorous.  I  said  something  about 
nonsense  being  at  a  premium  in  this  grave  body  charged 
Avith  vital  interests  of  the  Church.  He  replied  that  1  must 
console  myself  as  John  Randolph  did,  referring  to  an  anec- 
dote he  had  seen  to  this  effect :  Kandolph,  being  defeated 
in  a  Congressional  contest  after  one  of  his  greatest  speeches, 
met  his  servant  and  relieved  himself  by  saying  to  that 
friendly  auditor :  '  We  carried  the  day  in  the  argument, 
but  they  got  the  advantage  in  the  voting.'  " 


^ 


►Y, 


s 


CHAP  T  E  R     XVI. 


IN    ST.    LOUIS. 

Centenary  Church  "to  be  supplied"— Rov.  James  Sewcll— Marvin  his 
successor— Incideuts  of  tlie  appointment— His  transfei-  to  the  St.  Louis 
Conference— Appointment  by  the  Bi>hop  to  that  Cliarge— The  situa- 
tion—Dr.  Boyle  at  Fourth  Street  in  18 12  and  Marvin  at  Centenary  in 
1855,  similar  work— Separation  from  his  old  Confereuce— Continued 
as  Asent  for  St.  Chark'S  College— The  sentim-ut  against  transfers  in 
St.  Louis  Conference— Incidents-Marvin  cordially  received— Confer- 
ence associations -Preaching— Work— Five  per  cent,  pl.in— Book  de- 
pository endowment— Centra  College— United  Methodism  in  the  city 
—Church  extension— City  Mission— Preacher.s'  meeting. 

^•N  the  minutes  of  the  St.  Louis  Couferenco  for  1854, 
J^  Centenary  Church  appears  on  the  list  "to  be  sup- 
plied." At  tiie  first  Quarterly  Conference,  Dec.  29,  l-S.U, 
a  resolution  was  passed  expressing  the  pleasure  of  the  body 
at  the  information  received  of  the  willingness  of  Rev.  James 
Sewell  to  come  West  and  inviting  him  to  Centenary.  This 
was  the  first  transfer  to  St.  Louis  from  over  the  mountains. 
Just  twenty  years  after  another  Baltimore  preacher,  W.  V. 
Tudor,  was  sent  for,  coming  by  the  way  of  Carondelet 
Church,  New  Orleans.  He  gives  this  introduction  in  these 
pages  to  his  old  friend  : 

I  knew  Father  Sewell  well.  He  was  the  most  humorous  character  I 
ever  met;  a  man  of  the  mo>t  subtle,  insinuating,  fifth  rib-tickling  humor. 
I  heard  him  say  once  on  the  Baltimore  Conference  floor,  after  an  animated 
and  excited  debate  of  two  speakers,  during  the  discu-^sion,  that  "one  was 
a  little  too  briery,  and  the  other  was  a  little  too  ti  'ry."  He  followed  me 
once  in  Wesley  Chapel.  Baltimore,  with  an  exhortation  after  my  sermon 
on  Noah,  and  said  in  effect:  "  I  used  to  wonder  why  it  was,  when  those 
Antediluvians  saw  the  flood  actually  coming,  they  did  not  turn  oUl  Noah 
out  of  the  Ark  and  turn  themselves  in,  or  else  turn  the  beasts  out  and 


296  BISHOP   MAUVIX. 

turn  theinselvos  in.  But,  as  I  read  on  down  the  page,  I  saw  why  they  did 
not  do  so,  for  it  reads:  'and  t'.ie  Lord  shut  him  in,'  and  of  course  if  lie 
shut  him  in.  He  shut  them  out."  And  tlien  he  would  cliuckle  all  over  in 
a  quiet  way.  1  remember  distinetly,  when  he  returned  to  Baltimore  from 
St  Louis,  to  have  heard  him  s  ly  ou  tlie  Conference  11  lor,  exi)laininuc  his 
transfer  and  re-transfer:  "  Jimmie  Sewell  turned  Bishop  and  appointed 
himself  to  St.  Louis,  and  then  he  turned  Bishop  once  more  and  appointed 
himself  back  a^ain." 

He,  tlicrcfoi'o,  appeared  in  character,  when,  as  reliably 
reported  by  an  eye  witness,  he  walked  into  Centenary 
Church  and  finding  the  congregation  apparently  waiting, 
stopped  in  the  aisle  and  holding  up  his  watch  for  the  light 
to  fall  on  its  face,  said  loud  enough  to  l)e  heard  all  over  the 
room — "Humph!  late,  I  declare — too  bad!  too  bad!" 
He  came.  He  looked  round.  He  went  back.  On  the 
record  of  the  Second  Quarterly  Conference,  March  3:), 
1855,  he  is  named  as  Preacher  in   Charge   and  named  no 

more. 

On  a  Saturday  in  Juno  the  preacher  in  charge  at  the 
Mound  met  Marvin  at  the  Book  Depository,  10,  Tine  Street. 
It  was  th(Mr  first  meeting  and  began  a  peculiar  and  most  in- 
timate friendship.  He  staid  that  night  with  Henry  S. 
Watts  at  his  boarding  place  in  the  family  of  John  Gates, 
and  preached  for  him  at  Mound  Church  on  Sunday  morning 

at  night  filling  the  pulpit  for  J.  P.  Nolan  at  KJth  Street 

Chai)el.  Watts  remembers  the  subject  of  the  morning  ser- 
mon— justification  by  faith  and  its  peace  and  joy.  The  im- 
pression, he  says,  was  tremendous.  There  were  two  or 
three  shouts  and  the  whole  congregation  w^as  moved  to 
tears.  During  the  week  Watts  met  Governor  Polk  and  told 
him  of  Sunday  morning,  with  an  earnest  nomination  of  Mar- 
vin to  the  vacant  puli)it  at  Centenary.  The  next  Sunday  he 
preached  there.  The  l^iii'd  Quarterly  Conference  Journal, 
June  2\),  1855,  recoids  K.  M.  Marvin  Preacher  in  Charge. 
Wesley  Browning  was  Presiding  Elder — no  doubt,  very  wil- 
lingly appointing  his  junior  preacher  at  Old  Fourth  Street 
eleven  years  before. 


IX  ST.  LOUIS.  297 

The  appohitiuoiit,  it  is  to  bo  observed,  is  a  supply — to 
iill  the  pulpit  cliiofly  till  Conference.  His  Conference  ap- 
pointment was  to  the  Aixency  of  St.  Charles  College.  TIi  it 
had  l)r()Ui;iit  him  to  the  city,  after  having  completed  t!ic 
canvass  of  the  rural  districts.  He  never  left  his  work.  Hj 
might  supply  a  need  and  at  the  same  time  not  hinder,  but 
l^romote  his  Agency  by  access  to  the  Church  and  preachers 
by  means  of  the  Centenary  pulpit — so  it  appears  in  his  tilk 
with  Watts  over  Avliat  he  considered  a  providential  direction 
in  his  ministry  and  an  open  door  in  his  Agency. 

At  his  first  service  he  was  o:reeted  with  a  lar-j-e  consTresra- 
tion.  With  a  good  memory  of  Marvin  in  1844,  a  good  many 
excused  themselves  to  their  pastor  at  First  Church,  11.  A. 
Young,  for  a  visit  to  Centenary,  and  Watts  preached  to  a 
smaller  house  that  day  at  Mound.  As  long  as  and  wherever 
he  ijreached  in  the  citv  there  were  visitors  in  his  cono;re<xations 
always.  Through  Polk  and  Jamison,  the  lawyers  began  to 
hear  of  the  })ul[)it  at  Centenary.  The  merchants  knew  of 
it  through  Christy  and  Gay  and  Carter,  who  first  kne\j'  it 
himself  at  Robidoux  Landinsr,  in  1845.  There  were  some 
youns:  business  men  in  his  membership  who  were  sterlin*:: 
and  zealous  Christians,  and  by  their  good  report  clerks 
from  Main  and  Second  Streets  began  to  go  to  church  at  the 
corner  of  Fifth  and  Pine  Streets.  Marvin  is  preaching  in 
St.  Louis  soon  became  known  out  in  the  State,  and  from 
the  hotels  he  drew  largely.  Scarcely  ever  otherwise — as 
reijular  as  the  benediction,  that  he  held  a  levee  at  the  altar- 
rail  with  his  old  upper  country  friends  and  former  parish- 
ioners. All  this  abounded  in  the  following  years,  but  it 
began  at  the  first.  An  empty  house  commenced  to  fill.  A 
drooping  membershi})  began  to  revive.  The  Official  Board 
were  in  better  spirits.  He  had  been  in  the  Sunday-school 
at  every  session,  and  the  Su[)orintendent,  who  was  bearing 
a  heavy  burden  at  that  time,  took  heart.  The  class  leaders 
reported  every  week  the  pastor's  itinerancy  of  the  classes. 


298  BISHOP   MARVIX. 

There  wore,  after  the  good  prayer-meeting  was  over,  nioro 
present  to  talk  about  the  Church  and  more  cheerful  talk- 
ing. 

These  memoranda  are  from  notes  of  memory  l)y  those 
who  attended  his  meetings  and  knew  of  his  Avays.  Before 
the  3ear  ch)scd  it  was  the  universal  sentiment  at  the  Official 
Board,  and  in  the  Sunday-school,  class  room  and  i)ew,  not 
to  send  any  more  to  the  Atlantic  Seaboard,  if  tliey  could 
get  Marvin  of  Missouri.  He  was  thus  strongly  urged  to 
transfer  to  the  St.  Louis  Conference  to  be  in  reach.  So 
earnestly  desired  there  seemed  to  be  an  ur<rent  need  of  the 
transfer.  The  situation  at  that  charge  and  its  internal  con- 
dition were  peculiar  and  embarrassed  in  some  respects.  In 
1844,  at  Fourth  Street,  Browning  and  Marvin  entered  into 
the  labors  of  the  former  pastor.  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Boyle. 
At  Centenary,  ten  years  afterwards,  as  Presiding  Elder  and 
preacher  in  charge,  there  seemed  to  lie  before  tliem  an 
emer<i^encv  like  that  which  Bovle,  brouiiht  1)V  Bishoi)  Soule 
from  the  Pittsburg  Conference,  confronted  and  retrieved  in 
his  brilliant  pastorate  at  Old  Fourth  Street  in  1842-44. 

Before  Bovle  took  it,  the  char^'o  had  become  jrreatly  en- 
feebled  and  depressed,  from  various  causes.  A  chief  cause 
was  a  case  of  discipline,  which  had  excited  public  odium — 
the  admission  of  Negro  testimony  in  a  Church  trial  against 
a  white  })erson,  which  w'as  forbidden  by  law  in  civil  courts 
and  an  offence?  to  public  sentiment.  The  case  is  on  the 
record  of  the  General  Conference  of  1840,  takcui  there  by 
Kev.  Silas  Comfort,  the  administrator  in  the  trial  during 
his  pastorate  in  1838.  It  thus  became  connected  with  the 
great  disruption  in  1844.  The  resolutions  of  1840,  con- 
demning his  administration,  it  is  known,  stirred  afresh  the 
anti-slavery  agitation  in  the  Methodist  Church  Avhich  had 
culmination  at  the  next  General  Conference.  The  Church 
was  redeetned  from  under  the  ostracism  of  public  sentiment. 
Internal  troubles  were  healed.      With  his  Financial  Secre- 


IX  ST.  LOUIS.  299 

tary,  John  T.  ]\I:irtin,  to  pluii  and  execute,  the  Hoatnig  debt 
accumulated  during  years  of  .slim  con<i^rc2;ations  and  a  dis- 
heartened  membership  Avas  paid  off.  The  hearers  of  both 
classes  were  gotten  into  the  way  of  poll-[)ay,  anl  \)  ly 
enough  to  support  a  city  station.  The  pulpit  was  popul.ir- 
ized  and  the  house  was  full  and  no  laclc  of  the  diviuci  unc- 
tion on  the  preacher.     There  was  a  great  revival. 

This  history  at  Old  Fourth  transpired  when  in  its  very 
first  years  Centenary  was  a  new  organization  and  in  the 
vivacity  and  vigor  of  fresh  life.  It  had  not  gone  out  unen- 
dowed. A  good  portion  of  the  chief  strength  of  the  Old 
Church  had  gone  with  it — Polk,  Burd,  Gay,  among  others  ; 
and  chief  matrons,  such  as  Bishop  Marvin  has  named — 
Mother  Burd  and  Childs  and  Mother  Weaver,  particularly. 
It  was  established,  too,  in  one  of  the  finest  church  houses  at 
the  time  in  the  city — dedicated  by  Bishop  Roberts,  pre-emi- 
nentlv  durimi;  the  first  two  decades  the  Missouri  Bishop,  as, 
during  the  same  time,  the  St.  Louis  Bishop,  it  may  be  said, 
was  Soule.  He  sent  Boyle  to  Missouri  to  meet  the  crisis — 
to  sustain  Methodism  in  the  Old  house  against  the  odds  of 
the  New ;  to  replace  the  departure  of  much  congregation 
and  strong  men  and  chief  women,  and  make  it  sure  that  in 
the  birth  of  the  child  the  mother  might  not  die.  Boyle 
did  it. 

Readers  familiar  with  the  history  of  hoth  churches  and 
their  times  wilV  recognize,  in  some  particulars  and  to  some 
extent,  the  situation  at  Centenary  in  1854,  in  that  of  Old 
Foui-th  Street  when  Boyle  was  sent  to  it.  His  work  was 
kept  up  well  l)y  others  after  he  left.  He  kept  his  own  eye 
on  it  still  and  doing  the  kind  of  work  which  made  him,  in 
his  day,  more  than  any  other  man,  the  common  Pastor  of 
the  whole  of  St.  Louis  Methodism.  Parsons  and  Linn  fol- 
lowed him.  Morris  came  and  after  a  year  was  taken  to  the 
principal  Church  in  Louisville.  The.  Old  Church  at  its  old 
site,  at  length,  could  no  longer  be  maintained.     The  popu- 


300  BISIIOI*    MAKVIX. 

Ititiou  liir<'-elv   liad   moved   from   it  ;    husiness   claimed  the 
street;  nearly  all  the  other  Cliurehes  h;id  emigrated  Avest- 
Avard.     The  property  was  sold,  and  after  the  Mormons  had 
rented  and  used  it  as  a  recruiting  statical  for  some  time,  the 
new  owner  erected  on  it  a  l)h)ck  of  stores,  one  of  the  tinest 
at  the  time  in  the  city.     It  l)rought  forty  thousand  dollars 
— a  large  sum  in  those  days  and  enough  to  huy  a  hundred 
and  thirty  feet  of  ground  at  the  corner  of  Eighth  Street  and 
Washino-ton  Avenue  and  to  erect  the  edifice,  with  only  ahout 
one  or  two  thousand  dollars  to  raise  on  dedication  day,  in 
January,  1854,  and  the  thirt  v-third  anniversary  of  the  so(riety. 
It  had  renewed  its  youth.    Kol)ert  A.  Young  was  in  the  pulpit. 
It  Avas  a  pewed  church — the  first  in  the  Methodism  of  the 
citv,  which  met   marked   criticism   in    some   (quarters,  but 
pleased  and  attracted  some  to  a  Methodist  congregation. 
Altogether,  the  transition  from  the  old  to  the  new  church, 
as  it  is  described  in  the  programme  and  other  records,  was 
a  triumphal  entry.     It  l)egan  a  new  and  vigorous  career, 
Avhich  occasioned  congratulatory  remark  among  the  older 
and  original  members — "  there  is  a  good  deal  of  life  in  the 
old  hive  yet."     There  Avas  a  great  revival  there  that  winter 
— and  so,  at  all  the  other  Methodist  Churches,  except  Cen- 
tenary.    It  was  left  to  bo  supplied  and   had   l)ecMi  looking 
and  seeking  in  various  pastorates  and  pul[)it  supplies  for  re- 
lief to  an  embarrassed  and  dejjressed  situation.     In  the  dis- 
ci[)linary  history  of  the  Church  there  had  arisen  a  wide- 
spread popular  i)rejudice  from  without;  and  Avithin,  a  gen- 
eral and  protracted  partisanship,  disturbing  the  harmony  of 
the  society.      We  have   seen   and   said   that  Marvin,  Avith 
Browning,  in  1844,  entered  into  Boyle's  labors.     In  1854 
his  appointment  sent  him  to  perform  similar  labors  and  re- 
peat Boyle's  success.     It  Avas  done. 

It  Avas  a  painful  struggle  to  dissolve  the  relation  Avith  his 
old  Conference — the  personal  tie  never  severed.  "It  is," 
he  said,  "  the  field  of  my  eiiY\y  labors  and  first  fruits  of  my 


IN    ST.    LOUIS.  301 

ministry.  It  has  borne  with  mc  in  ni y  -weakness  and  honored 
nic.  There  will  be  separation  from  chief  friends  and  life- 
long and  dearest  associations  wiU  be  nitcrrupted."  Tlic  at- 
tachment was  mutual.  He  came  from  a  Conference  where 
its  best  stations  and  highest  honors  had  been  and  were  still 
open  to  him  and  all  hearts  were  welded  to  liim — in  the 
words  of  a  faithful  friend,  Kev.  C.  I.  Vandcventer,  who 
speaks  for  the  Conference,  "Brother  Marvin,  very  nmch 
to  the  reirret  of  his  brethren  in  the  Missouri  Conference, 
was  transferred  to  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  where,  how- 
ever, he  had  an  open,  door,  and,  perhaps,  a  wider  field  for 
usefulness.  Still  we  would  occasionally  meet  at  our  Annual 
Conferences  and  take  sweet  counsel  together." 

The  above  qualifying  statement  is  exphuuitory  of  the 
transfer.  It  Avas  in  the  order  of  providence,  in  the  line  of 
duty,  in  the  spirit  of  the  New  Testament  ministry  as  it  pre- 
faced Paul's  and  his  own — "  immediately  I  conferred  not 
with  flesh  and  blood."  The  Conference  he  left  could  not 
forbid  in  so  manifest  appearance  of  the  hand  of  God  and  in  a 
recoirnized  presence  of  the  unquestioning  obedience  and  sub- 
mission of  His  consecrated  servant .  At  the  time,  perhaps,  in 
his  own  and  the  expectation  of  his  brethren,  it  was  to  l)e  a  tcm- 
porarv  separation  ;  and  furthermore,  in  the  interests  partly  of 
their  own  Conference  Avork,  so  important  as  the  salvation  of 
their  College — then,  their  only  one.  So  it  api)ears  in  the  min- 
utes for  the  year  1.S55 — at  the  two  Conferences  held  l)y  Bishop 
Early,  respectively  at  Eichmond  and  Springfield.  At  each 
his  name  is  announced  on  the  list  of  appointments  ;  at  one 
as  Agent  for  St.  Charles  College,  and  at  the  other,  to  Cen- 
tenary Church,  St.  Louis.  R.  A.  Young  was  changed  by 
the  two  years  limitation  under  the  rule  then  existing  and 
was  put  on  the  District.  C.  B.  Parsons  was  brought  from 
Kentucky  a  second  time  to  fill  the  pulpit  at  First  Church. 

For  many  years  it  had  been  the  policy  and  practice  of 
the  13ishops  to  supply  the  principal  city  pulpits  by  transfers. 


302  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

In  that  liistoiy  tlicre  was  in  some  cases  faulty  selections  by 
fche  Bishops,  and  on  the  part  of  transfers,  departure  from 
the  Conference  often  at  the  close  of  a  term  at  a  chief  charge. 
The  Conference  Avas  not  strenirt honed  tliougli  the  station 
Avas  served;  and  there  grew  up  a  sentiment  among  tlie 
preachers  \\  liicli  [)ut  under  strong  ban  the  city  work  and  its 
transfers.  As  early  as  when  lio}  le  came  and  appeared  iirst 
:\t  the  Conference  at  Jefferson  City,  it  Avas  in  existence  ;  and 
so  manifested  that  it  would  have  driven  him  back  to  Pitts- 
burg had  not  Andrew  Monroe,  in  his  grand  wisdom  and  all- 
powerful  influence,  restrained  the  offence  on  the  one  side 
and  on  the  otluu-,  put  a  hand  of  constraint  on  Boyle  to 
overlook  it.  The  vigor  and  prevalence  of  the  sentiment 
once  made  one  of  the  most  dramatic  and  at  the  same  time 
amusing  scenes  ever  happening  on  the  floor  of  the  St.  Louis 
Conference — on  a  front  seat,  in  full  view,  the  rival  candi- 
dates for  a  General  Conference  delegate,  the  last  to  be 
chosen.  One  was  the  portly  Parsons  and  never  more  ner- 
vous on  the  stage,  than  on  the  floor  of  that  Conference  as 
the  repeated  ballot  went  on  and  no  election  ;  and  more  ner- 
vous, as  the  contest  narrowed  to  a  sharp  contest  between 
the  big  transfer  and  a  native  preacher,  who  is  called  "  little" 
to  distino-uish  him  from  his  namesake  in  the  Conference  Avho 
is  stout.  Hence  Parsons'  face  does  not  appear  in  the  En- 
irravinir  of  the  General  Conference  of  1858. 

At  one  time  a  cure  of  that  sentitnent  was  attempted 
through  the  Presiding  Elders  or  by  a  sharp  turn  of  Bishop 
Soule  himself,  perhaps — sending  leaders  and  filling  every 
appointment  in  St.  Louis  District  with  followers,  except 
two,  Browning  on  the  District  and  Boyle  at  P^'ourth  Street, 
who,  bv  that  time,  Avere  considered  naturalized.  The  mln- 
utes  of  the  next  year  sIioav  the  return  of  only  one  of  the 
appointees.  It  was  said  of  some  that  the  Conf'irence  year 
seemed  long — impatient  for  its  end. 

It  is    due  to  that    history  to    say  that    the    sentiment 


IN   ST.    LOUIS.  ,303 

was    not    nil    objcclion    to    Iraiisfcrs  as    such,    l)ut    to  oor- 
taiu  kinds,  which  need   not   bo   spociticd — not   of  i]\r,   kind 
Boylo  was,  who,  when  he  l)ecanio  known,  as  soon  after  as 
18-45,  was  elected  to  represent  the  (\)nfcrcnce  at  the;  Louis- 
ville Convention  ;  and  was  chosen  one  of  its  dclciratcs  to 
the  first,  and  habitually  to  succeedins;  General  Conferences 
durins;  his  active  ministry.     Marvin  was  Avelconied  vt  the 
bciiinninu^  and  honorc^d  from  the  lirst.     Kot  IovcmI  less  in 
the  one  Conference  than  in  the  other,  he  was  at  once  in  his 
transfer  accorded  the  same  position  in  the  new  as  in  th(!  old 
— a  foremost  man,  a  Conference  preacher,  and  a  chosen 
delegate  of  the  8t.  Louis  in   1858,  as   he  had   been  of  the 
Missouri  Conference  in  1854.     He  was  on  its  roll  for  ten 
years — till  18r)G,  when  his  name  passed  to  the  register  of 
the  College  of  Bishops.     Ko  sessions  Avere  held  during  the 
war — present  at  all  before  that,  except  tliat   of   18G1,  at 
"which  the  St.  Louis  preachers  were  cut  off  from  attendance 
by  the  situat'on  of  military  operations  at  the  time  near  the 
place  of  the  session,  at  Arrow  Rock. 

Two  Conferences  were  held  at  St.  Louis,  in  1858,  at 
Mound  Church,  by  Bishop  Pierce,  and  at  First  Church,  in 
18(50,  by  Bishop  Kavanaugh.  He  did  not  preach  at  either, 
being  a  pul[)it-host.  At  the  Conferences  for  1857,  held  at 
Boonville,  and  for  1859,  by  Bishop  Paine,  at  Independence, 
he  preached  at  the  popular  hour,  on  Sunday  night.  Those 
sermons  were  equal  in  majesty  and  power  to  any  of  his  Mis- 
souri Conference  pulpit.  The  entire,  immense  audience 
was  profoundly  agitated  l)y  his  sernjon  at  Boonville  on 
the  doctrine  of  future  retribution  and  eternal  punishment. 
Never  was  a  Conference  of  preachers  more  deeply  stirred 
th:ni  by  the  sermon  at  Independence — the  like  in  shouts  and 
tears  not  known  since  nor  before,  except  at  the  previous 
session  Avhen  Bishop  Pierce  preached  the  funeral  sermon  of 
Thomas  James.  He  was  an  humble  Circuit  jireachei-,  but 
on  his  first  Circuit  there  had  been  two  hundred  and  forty 


3J4  BISHOP    AJAKVIX. 

conversions  and  in  his  dcatli  he  was  gloriously  triumphant. 
The  service  had  no  formal  (•U)se.  The  Bishop  had  left  the 
stand  and  was  mini>linii-  in  the  universal  shout  and  hand- 
shaking. 

Tiic  ])art  he  took  in  Conference  was  the  same  in  both.  It 
is  not  recollected  that  he  made  a  formal  speech  or  extended 
remarks  on  the  St.  Louis  Conference  iloor.  He  Mas  legisla- 
tor the  rather,  doing  his  work  in  the  Committee-room.  One 
measure  of  the  Conference  remains  to  this  da;\'  ;  not  original 
with  him,  but  not  then  generally  adopted.  It  has  increased 
manifold  tiie  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  old,  worn-out 
preachers,  for  whom  early  and  always  he  had  the  most  pro- 
found veneration  and  deepest  sympathy.  He  was  one  of  a 
committee  of  three,  Prottsman  another,  reporting  what  is 
known  as  the  Five  Per  Cent.  Plan.  The  law  as  it  is  now  in 
operation  Avas  drafted  by  his  ])('n. 

At  the  ('onference  of  l.sr)<S  a  projjosal  was  adopted 
to  enlarge  the  Publishing  operations  by  an  endowment 
of  the  Book  Depository,  under  the  i)atronage  of  the  two 
Conferences,  in  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars.  A 
special  Agency  in  that  behalf  was  created  at  the  fol- 
lowino"  session.  The  Airent  writes  this  and  knows  how 
warmly  he  supported  the  i^ieasure  at  the  Conference  and 
how  earnest  and  helpful  his  co-operation  afterAvards.  He 
united  his  congregation  on  a  Sunday  night  at  First  Church 
with  Bro.  jNIorris'  for  an  audience  to  the  Agent.  From 
that  occasion  he  went  out  into  the  canvass  of  the  State 
with  a  subscription  headed  by  one  of  the  largest  offer- 
inirs  known  in  the  city  up  to  that  time,  about  $3000, 
raised  by  the  help  of  their  endorsement  and  ap})eals. 

Another  Conference  enterprise  at  that  time  of  chief  mag- 
nitude was  the  Central  College  proposal.  W.  jNI.  Prottsman, 
J.  F.  Truslow,  and  Warren  Wharton  at  various  times  were 
Airents  in  the  bounds  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  and  P. 
M.  Pinckard,  from  the  tirst,  in  the  Missouri.    The  minimum 


IN    ST.    LOUIS. 


305 


amount  upon  which  the  opening  of  the  College  was  con- 
ditioned had  not  been  raised.     The  subscription  dragged. 
It  was  on  the  plan  of  sale  of  scholarships.     The  early  sub- 
scribers became  clamorous  for  the  expected  tuition  after 
several  years  delay.     The  building  had  l)een  erected  and  a 
Hiirh  School  was  conducted  in  it.     Yielding  to  the  clamor 
of  subscribers  and  other  influences,  the  Board  of  Curators 
announced  a  Provisional  Organization  of  the  College.     This 
proceeding  created  serious  and  wide-spread  dissatisfaction - 
One  of  the  principal  St.  Louis  Conference  Curators  there- 
upon resigned  his  office  and  leading  members  were  wholly 
disaffected.     This  alienation  continued  for  several  years  and 
practically,  in  1859,  had  detached  that  Confei-ence  from  the 
enterprise.     Pinckard  was  at  that  session — his  patience  su- 
perior to  any  trial  and  his  persistence  always  on  hand  and 
face  to  face  ^^^th  any  opposition.     The  situation,  as  to  his 
advocacy,  w^as  really  lost ;  but  his  cause  on  the  Conference 
floor  triumphed  by  its  weakness.    Sympathy  in  some  quarters 
w^as  stirred.     There  was  a  voice  raised  in  behalf  of  an  un- 
friended cause.     It  prevailed.    Marvin  applauded  the  speech 
and  congratulated  Pinckard.     At  the  time  he  was  enlisted 
for  St.  Charles  College,  but,  also  and  always,  disinterested 
in  his  devotion  to  the  Church  and  personally,  magnanimous. 
At  the  Independence  Conference  he  had  completed  a  two 
years'  term  at  First  Church — having  exchanged  pulpits  with 
Dr.  Parsons,  wdio  returned  at  its  close  to  Kentucky.    These 
years,  at  both   churches,   had   liecn   exceedingly   fruitful. 
There  was  an  extensive  revival  and  large  accessions.     The 
incidents  of  his  St.  Louis  work  are  reserved  for  the  follow- 
ing" chapter.     In  this  general  review  it  is  notable  as  one  of 
the  beneficial  results  of  his  pastorate  at  First  Church,  that 
it  was  the  occasion  of  closer  fellowship  and  more  hearty 
co-operation  in   general   Church-work   between   these  two 
principal  charges.    L^nion  meetings  came  into  vogue.     ISIar- 

vin  attended  Centenary  during  the  revival  and  rallied  his 
20 


30(>  BISHOP    .MARVIN. 

members  there.  There  Avas  reeiprocity  in  presence  and 
help.  The  exchange  of  pastors  helped  lo  lliat  result.  Mar- 
vin made  a  point  of  it  and  contributed  more,  perhaps,  than 
any  other  to  an  United  Methodism  in  the  city.  The  pul[)it 
of  every  charge  in  the  city  had  received  his  help.  lie  had 
hibored  at  every  altar  and  rejoiced  with  all  the  Churches  in 
their  triumphs.  His  personal  influence  reached  to  all  and 
it  was  prevalent  for  peace  and  good-will. 

This  result  had  a  practical  value  in  promoting  the  con- 
nectional  work  of  St.  Louis  ]\Iethodisni.  At  the  time  of  his 
coming  it  existed  in  two  principal  forms — one  the  Church 
Extension  Association,  for  the  purchase  of  ground  in  the 
rapidly  multiplying  additions  to  the  city  and  erection  of 
Chapels.  Several  JNIission-stations  had  grown  out  of  this 
movement — Christy  Chapel  the  principal  one.  In  a  similar 
line  of  enterprise  a  neat  and  commodious  Ciiapel  was  built 
at  the  Wesleyan  Cemetery — Centenaiy  Sunday-school  rais- 
ing the  funds  for  its  erection  and  supporting  the  services  of 
Sunday-school  and  pi-eaching  regularly  and  with  good  fruits 
till  the  years  of  the  Mar. 

The  City  Missionary  work  was  at  that  time  conducted 
on  a  large  plan  and  with  liberal  support  —  the  annual 
revenue  of  the  society  amounting  to  two  or  three  thou- 
sand dollars.  II.  S.  Watts  was  the  City  Missionary  for 
four  years.  lie  made  Marvin  his  chosen  counselor  and 
his  chief  aid.  The  support  of  this  organization  re^sted 
mainly  on  the  charges  Marvin  served,  and  their  interest  and 
liberality  were  under  steady  prompting,  both  by  word  and 
example.  He  became  the  comi)anion  of  the  Missionary  in 
his  visitations  of  the  neglected  population  and  destitute 
fields.  He  preached  and  worked  with  him  in  the  Mission- 
chapels.  The  headquarters  of  Watts  were  first  at  the  Mound 
and  afterwards  at  Wesley  Chapel,  where  JMarvin  performed 
much  labor  and  had  much  fruit. 

The  preachers'  meetings  2)artook  of  the  same  sj)irit  of 


IN   ST.    LOUIS.  307 

community — unsurpnssod  at  anv  time  or  place  iu  heartiness 
of  intercourse  and  Christian  fc^llowship  and  ministerial  co- 
operation. The  first  in  the  St.  I^ouis  Methodist  pastorate 
^va3  com[)osed  of  two — Boyle  and  Linn,  ■when  Centenary 
was  added  to  the  list  of  charges.  Boyle,  on  the  way  from 
Pittsburg,  left  this  note  for  Linn  at  Louisville,  dated  Sep- 
tember,  LS42  : 

^Iy  Dear  Bhother:  lam  on  my  way  to  St.  Louis.  I  am  glad  to 
know  that  yon  arc  to  bo  my  colleague  I  wish  so  much  that  you  were 
ready  and  could  go  with  me,  so  that  we  might  enter  upon  our  new  field 
of  labor  together.     But  I  will  be  there  to  welcome  you. 

Yours  affectionately, 

JosKPii  Boyle. 

At  the  burial  of  his  colleague.  Dr.  Linn  produced  that 
letter  from,  as  he  said,  a  distmct  remembrance  after  thirty 
years,  and  exhibited  it  in  the  sparkle  of  a  bright  jewel  of 
ministerial  character.  lie  added,  "  it  warmed  ;ny  heart  to 
him  at  once."  They  had  never  seen  each  other,  but  they 
met  in  the  pastoral  field  of  St.  Louis  Methodism,  in  the 
spirit  of  that  letter.  Never,  since  the  first,  has  its  preach- 
•ers'  meetings  been  more  pervaded  Avith  it,  than  in  the  years 
Marvin  was  in  St.  Louis.  After  Wesley  Browning,  in  1856, 
H.  A.  Young  for  two  3^ears  was  Presiding  Elder,  and  in 
1859  and  1860  John  E.  Bennett  was  at  the  head  of  the  Dis- 
trict, Pastors  of  the  preachers  and  Presidents  of  their  meet- 
ing. Bo3de  was  still  in  it,  the  pastor  at  Asbury,  and  after- 
wards at  St.  Louis  Circuit.  Every  Monday  morning  during 
his  fine  revival  at  Asbury,  he  has  his  ivory  tablet  in  his 
hand  putting  down  the  nights  of  preaching  and  names  of 
helpers  ;  not  overlooking  the  lium])le  names,  just  as  if  it 
was  "  the  Lord's  meeting,"  as  Morris  at  the  meetings  used 
to  say,  and  as  he  said,  also,  "it's  the  Lord's  weather,"  and 
the  meeting  could  not  be  hurt  by  rain  ;  neither  could  it,  as 
Boyle  thought,  if  the  preacher  was  not  as  learned  as  a  Doc- 
tor of  Divinity  or  as  eloquent  as  an  Apollos.  At  iNIarvin's 
first  meeting   at   Centenary   his    alternate   preacher,  night 


308  BISHOP   MARVIX. 

about,  for  many  weeks  Avas  "  Eough  and  Ready,"  as  the 
City  Missionary  was  called. 

Anionir  the  youn2:er  men  with  whom  he  was  associated 
as  co-hiborers  in  the  city  was  Rev.  W.  M.  Leftwich,  who 
had  a  successful  pastorate  for  a  full  term  at  the  iMound 
Church  in  North  St.  Louis.  Rev.  Jacob  Ditzler  was  sta- 
tioned at  the  same  charge  in  1859  ;  and  in  18.')')  was  the 
pastor  at  Sixteenth  Street,  which,  at  that  time,  was  an  inde- 
pendent charge,  but  closely  related  to  Centenary,  its  mother 
Church.  In  1859  its  pastor  was  Rev.  Jesse  H.  Cumming, 
son  of  the  well  known  Missionary  among  the  Indians  and 
distinguished  by  pioneer  labors  in  the  West,  generally.  He 
died  V':  Texas.  Gifted,  sweet-spirited,  and  saintly,  he  was 
a  special  favorite  and  has  been  honored  by  Bishop  Marvin's 
pen  with  the  following  word  of  affectionate  remembrance  r 
"  My  host  during  the  session  of  the  West  Texas  Conference 
was  Dr.  Woods.  Jesse  Cumming  once  al)ode  under  his 
roof<  It  was  in  this  neighborhood  that  that  saintly  man 
spent  the  last  moments  of  his  life — here  he  breathed  his 
last.  His  name  is  as  'ointment  poured  forth'  among  the 
people  here.  It  is  fragrant  still."  Rev.  AY.  F.  Compton, 
at  present  of  the  Pacilic  Conference,  was,  also,  a  pastor  at 
IGth  Street  and  his  junior  preacher  during  one  year  of  his 
pastorate  at  First  Church. 

What,  in  this  as  in  his  old  Conference,  his  relations  with 
the  young  men,  is  reported  by  one  of  them — G.  W.  Horn, 
the  present  pastor  at  Columbia,  the  Missouri  City  of  Col- 
leges. In  those  days  he  was  Dr.  Boyle's  junior  preacher 
on  St.  Louis  Circuit  and  often  at  the  Preachers'  meeting 
in  the  city;  and  at  Conference,  this  :  "I  will  not  forget 
how,  at  the  close  of  the  Conference  in  18G0  at  St.  Louis, 
when  we  had  just  received  our  appointments,  he  held  me 
in  his  arms  and  encouraged  me  to  go  forth  to  my  work  ; 
nor  how  he  has  advised  me  in  my  course  of  life  in  subse- 
quent years  and  encouraged  me  with  pleasant  words." 


IN    ST.    LOUIS.  309 

The  reports  at  the  Preacher's   meeting  were  not  dull. 
From  time  to  time  and  in  some  one  of  the  Churches  there 
were  gracious  outpourings  of  the  Spirit  of  God — all  of  such 
reports  a  common  joy.     As  reported,  some  of  them  were 
remarkable  occasions,  as  at  the   Mound  one  ve:ir,  Avhen  it 
was  like  scenes  in  the  Gospel  narratives  ;  people  could  not 
get  to  see   or  hear  the  preacher   "for  the  press"    and  it 
would  seem,  as  if  the  next  thing,  tiles  off  the  roof  would  be 
needed  to  let  down  the  preacher  into  his  pulpit,  the  house 
so  full.     At  times  the  brethren  wondered  as  well  as  joyed. 
The  notes  from  the  Mission  field  had  often  affectinij:  narra- 
tives  of  piety  and  poverty  and  not  seldom  an  inspiring  story 
of  revival  and  conversions.     They  Avere  always  helpful  in 
one  way  or  other.    Parsons  or  Marvin  frequently  took  from 
the  report  of  the  ^Missionary  memoranda  of  names  and  resi- 
dence of  new  comers  and  some  with  old  Church  letters  in 
their  pockets.     There  Avas  not  a  little  Church  activity  and 
the  Presiding  Elder  had  the  plan  of  a  new  enterprise  or  the 
progress  of  a  pending  movement  to  report.     From  the  par- 
ent Churches  the  report  was  eagerly  looked  for — what  the 
cono-reirations,  what  the   action  of  the  Otficial  Board  and 
Quarterly  Conference,  what  the   collections.      These  were 
tidings  from  the  citadel  where  the  succor  and  security  of 
the  whole  laid  and  the  heart  whence  the  pulse  of  life  must 
come  for  warmth  and  vigor  at  the  extremities.     The  con- 
nectional  spirit  was  strong  and  both  aggressive  and  co-oper- 
ative labors  were  a  marked  fact  in  that  old  history. 

The  personal  ties  were  strong  and  tender.  The  meetings 
after  adjournment  were  refreshing  to  the  spirits  and  good 
antidote  to  "blue  Monday."  AVhen  it  was  held  at  Marvin's 
office,  there  was  a  full  circle  around  the  stove  or  table. 
Somebodv,  usually,  went  home  Avith  him  to  dinner  at  his 
boarding  place  at  the  parsonage  in  the  rear  of  Centenary  ; 
or,  after  that  was  torn  down  and  the  Trusteos  built  a  house 
for  the  Book  Depository,  "510  and  512  Pine  Street,"  at 


310  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

Mrs.  Ricords,  corner  of  Ninth  and  Olive  Streets  ;  and  whcR 
he  lived  in  the  family  of  James  C,  Essex,  on  the  "West  side 
of  Eiirhth  Street,  between  Washinirton  Avenue  and  Locust. 
If  there  was  a  visiting  preacher  ^Marvin  was  almost  sure  to- 
invite  hira  first.     He  made  sure  that  even  the  itinerant  em- 
issary of   needy   churches  and  of   foreign  charities  should 
at  least  have  good  brotherhood,  a  kindly  Avord,  a  good  din- 
ner, and,  during  his  stay  in  the  city,  a  prophet's  chamber, 
generally  one  side  of  his  own  l)ed — "  given  to  hospitality." 
The  young  preachers,  in  training  for  New  Testament  Preach- 
ers, found  it,   "good  to   be  here."      On  that  Mount  of 
Transfiguration,  it  was  a  special  dispensation  of  privilege  to- 
be  associated  with  such  older  prophets  as  were  seen  and  met 
at  the  Preachers'  meeting  from  1855  to  18(12,  and  where  by 
every  token  the  Lord  was  in  the  midst  and  glorified  above 
all  men  and  with  all  praise.     One  of  the  young  i)rcachers  of 
that  day,  G.  AV.  Horn,  has  sent  to  these  pages  his  memory 
of  Marvin,  Avhich  the  writer  knows  is  not  a  fable  : 

Columbia,  Mo.,  March,  27tli,  1878. 

Bro.  Fixney:  Your  circular  received.  My  ln>t  actiuainlance  with 
Bishop  Marvin  was  in  1857,  at  the  Conference  session  in  Boonville.  My 
first  iutiraute  acquaintance  was  in  18G0,  when  I  was  on  the  St  Louis  Cir- 
cuit. He  was  llien  at  Centenary  Church.  I  used  to  meet  him  in  tlie 
preachers'  meetini;  on  Mondays;  and  he  was  always  the  siciiial,  sj;entle- 
manly,  frank  and  trodly  preacher  and  brother  anions  his  brethren.  The 
preachers  of  the  city  and  vicinity  met  in  his  ollice,  and  few  who  met  ther& 
then  will  ever  forget  his  conimandiniz;  influence,  his  enterprise  in  all  inter- 
ests of  the  Church,  his  ripe  juiignient,  his  lively  humor,  and  his  kindly 
bearing  toward  his  fellow-servants.  Superior  to  most,  equal  to  any,  he 
was  respectful  to  the  older,  fraternal  to  those  of  his  own  age,  and  tender 
to  the  younger  bretliren.     He  held  the  hearts  of  all  alike 

When  he  began  to  deliver  his  celebrated  Lectures  on  the  Errors  of  th& 
Papacy  an  intense  interest  was  awakened  everywhere.  I  used  to  go  in  on 
Sabbath  evenings  to  hear  him.  His  couirregations  were  crowded,  and  they 
were  eager  listeners.  His  earnest  manner,  his  devout  spirit,  and  his  iorj^c- 
ful  words,  combining  lofty  thought  and  bold  and  eloquent  expression,, 
gave  us  food  for  meditation  and  talk.  Some  of  his  oratorical  passages  re- 
main vvith  mo  to  this  day.  The  very  person  of  the  speaker  seems  yet  be- 
fore me.  The  effects  of  those  lectures  in  estopping  error  have  never  been 
calculated  yet. 


IN   ST.    LOUIS.  311 

During  those  visits  of  mine  to  hear  the  great  Evangelist,  I  learned 
much  of  the  man  himself.  I  was  a  l)oy  and  a  stranger;  biiL  he  would  call 
me  out  of  tlie  coniiregation  to  conclude  his  services  for  him,  and  tlien  talce 
me  home  with  him  to  his  room — <or  he  had  not  liis  family  then  in  the  city 
— and  I  ate  and  slept  witli  him.  How  I  learned  to  reverence  and  love  him 
for  his  genial,  kind,  and  sympathetic  bearing  toward  me,  and  his  elevaied 
tone  of  faith,  devotion,  and  thouglit. 

Some  of  his  sallies  of  humor  I  I'cmember  still,  thougli  he  never  com- 
promised the  character  of  a  minister  in  the  lea>t.  Once  he  showed  me  a 
verse  or  two  that  lay  on  the  table  among  his  papers,  which  in  good  rhythm 
and  rhyme  set  out  to  caricature  or  burlesque  some  of  the  follies  of  the 
times.  He  saiil:  "  I  perpetrated  a  little  poetry  the  o  lier  day,  but  when 
I  got  this  far  the  rhymes  ceased  to  jingle  and  I  ceased."  My  memory  is 
that  if  he  had  finished  it,  the  lines  would  have  taken  a  recognized  place 
with  the  more  elevated  fugitive  pieces  of  the  times. 

Bishop  Marvin  has  helped  me  in  protracted  meetings.  I  have  met  him 
at  Conferences  and  in  private  circles ;  have  sat  before  him  as  he  preached 
and  when  he  presided  in  the  chair;  and  in  all,  I  have  pleasant  and  hallowed 
memories  of  him.  Sentences  from  Marvin's  lips  were  golden,  and  often 
came  with  a  weight  that  made  iiidtlible  impressions.  Such  were  his  talks 
at  the  preachers' meeting.  He  spoke  much  of  "a  painstaking  ministry" 
and  the  duty  of  minute  care.,  of  watchful  diligence,  constant  doing,  and 
untiring  vigilance,  stood  out  in  relief  before  the  mind.  He  was  a  man  to 
be  loved.  Every  man  who  knew  him  somehow  got  the  impression  that  he 
was  admitted  to  special  terms  of  friendship  and  was  a  favorite.  Such  was 
his  kindly  spirit. 

This  chapter  may  have  served  to  introduce  Marvin  into 
a  new  arena  of  action  and  to  phice  him  on  another  and 
higher  phitform  of  distinction  and  usefuhiess.  The  details 
of  service  and  incidents  of  Uibors  will  appear  in  the  follow- 
ing chapters. 


?.^^^  '- 


KFi^T"  BISHOP  e.m,m:ap.vtk  1  : 


CHAPTER    XVII 


THE    CITY    PULPIT. 

His  appearance— Pulpit  mannerism— Conduct  of  public  worship— Altar 
and  Pulpit— Pulpit  sensationalism— Clerical  attire — Anecdote,  the  Phil- 
adelphia Methodist— The  visiting  brother— Anecdote,  the  St.  Louis  fun- 
eral procession— Incident  at  Glasgow,  the  pulpit  surprise— Spiritual 
husbandry— His  pulpit  adapted,  full  and  faithful— Its  revival  history— 
At  Centenary— At  Wesley  Chapel— At  Cottleville,  Goodfellow  Chapel 
and  Bellefontaine— The  great  revival  at  First  Church— His  pulpit  fame 
— Remarkable  testimony. 

HE  vignette  fronting  this  chapter  represents  Marvin 
when  a  City  Pastor  in  St.  Louis.  Its  history  has  an 
honorable  connection,  prefacing  a  sermon  in  the  "  Southern 
Methodist  Pulpit."  One  of  the  first  copies  has  hung  on  the 
wall  of  the  writer's  study  ever  since — a  memorial  of  col- 
leagueship  in  the  ministry  and  personal  fellowship  begun  m 
those  years.  The  likeness  has  been  considered  somewhat 
faulty,  as  showing  smoother  features  than  the  face  of  the 
orginal,  as  is  common  to  engravings  ;  but  it  has  not  been 
supplanted  on  the  wall  of  the  study — as  being  truer  than 
others  in  the  copy  of  the  pose  of  the  head  and  the  brighter 
eye  and  genial  look  in  the  expression  of  countenance. 
There  is  testimony  to  its  general  accuracy  in  the  following 
passage  from  the  history  of  the  itinerary  of  his  family  to 
join  him  in  the  South  during  the  war:  "  So  near  were  we 
to  the  Federal  lines  there  was  distrust  of  strangers  as  possi- 
bly spies  and  informers  ;  and  our  identification  was  import- 
ant. Pending  this  question  a  gentleman  called  at  the  house 
and  said  at  once,  pointing  to  Marcia,  that  is  Mr.  ^Marvin's 


314  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

child  ;  I  have  seen  his  likeness  in  the  Southern  Metliodist 
Pulpit  r 

The  modern  commentaiy  on  the  apostolic  precept, „"  Let 
every thinir  be  done  decently  and  in  order,"  is  minutely" 
specific.  Theologues  and  licentiates  are  advised  how  to- 
enter  the  sanctuary  and  ascend  the  pulpit.  Marvin  had  no 
such  training ;  and  for  that  reason,  perhaps,  realized  the 
best  counsels  of  that  section  in  the  manual  of  jiulpit  man- 
nerism, lie  never  thought  of  the  matter,  and  hence  his 
manner  was  not  stiff  and  constrained.  He  walked  into 
church  just  like  he  Avalked  to  it,  -when  not  in  a  hurry,  and 
so  his  ascent  of  the  pulpit  steps,  like  any  other — naturally,, 
therefore. 

The  conduct  of  pul)lic  worship  was  according  to  the 
manual  of  the  Discipline.  His  reading  of  the  Scripture  les- 
sons "Was  a  direct  and  reverent  utterance  ;  not  the  drawl  of 
indifference,  nor  the  intonation  of  affc-ted  speech.  He  had 
studied  the  hymnal  and  knew  the  philosoph}^  of  its  parts 
and  their  uses — what  for  the  opening  hymn  to  turn  the 
mind  to  a  sentiment  of  worship  :  and  what  to  precede  and 
prei)are  it  for  the  discourse  ;  and  some  of  the  happiest 
effects  of  his  sermons,  it  is  known,  have  culminated  in  the 
well-adapted  sentiment  and  musical  measure  of  the  closing 
song.  His  pul})it  prayer  was  varied,  never  stereotyped  ; 
adapted  to  time  and  occasion  and  coming  discourse,  but 
comprehensive — leading  the  devotions  and  embracing  the 
varying  cares  and  wants  of  the  worshipers  and  classes  and 
conditions  of  men.  It  was  not  a  theological  compend. 
Speech-making  was  reserved  for  the  sermon.  It  was  ad- 
dressed to  a  hearer,  wlio  ''  needed  not  that  any  man  should 
tell  him,''  and  specified  M^ants  without  rhetorical  des(;rip- 
tion  of  their  woes,  and  Avith  cry  for  pity,  but  })leading 
rather  the  promises  of  the  Answerer  of  Prayer.  It  was  not 
addressed  to  the  assembly.  Not  made  to  be  reported,  nor 
the  kind  of  composition,  after  the  manner  of  certain  mod- 


THE  CITY  PULPIT.  315 

ern  pulpits,  written  out  Avith  tlie  sermon  for  the  printer.  It 
had  spirit,  which  cannot  be  put  in  type.  Devotees  at  the 
altars  \vhere  he  conducted  the  worshij)  will  speak  as  much 
and  as  well  of  the  pra3'ers  as  the  sermons — how  they  were 
quickened  and  comforted,  led  out  intf)  adoration  and  lifted 
into  ra[)ture.  The  approach  was  in  the  mediatorial  name 
and  intercession,  and  the  end  of  interview  and  suit  was  in 
what  was  the  customary  and  almost  invariable  closing  word, 
"Accordino;  to  riches  of  ijrace  in  Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord." 

It  will  be  remembered,  also,  how  he  stressed  the  disci- 
plinary direction  in  regard  to  the  singing,  *'  Let  all  the  coii- 
ijreiration  sins;:  not  one  in  ten  onlv."  The  reader  mav 
know  that  Wesley  took  his  rule  from  the  sentiment  of 
Luther,  the  author  of  the  first  Protestant  Hymn  Book,  and 
from  his  practice,  as  the  founder  of  conirre2:ational  sin^in";. 
He  reformed  church  music  so  that  the  assembly  could  join 
in  the  sino-ino;,  and  took  the  words  out  of  an  unknown 
tongue  and  put  them  in  the  vernacular,  so  that  they  might 
understand  what  they  sung.  Hence,  also,  the  rule  of 
Wesley:  "By  often  stopping  short,  when  the  words  are 
given  out,  and  asking  the  people,  '  Now,  do  you  know  what 
you  said  last?  Did  you  speak  no  more  than. you  felt?  '  " 
Marvin  was  a  Wesleyan — in  country  and  in  city  ;  from  first 
to  last.  Both  reformers  were  publishers.  It  remains  to  be 
added,  that  INIarvin  as,  presumably,  Melancthon  saw  that 
the  pew  was  supplied  with  the  Hymn  Book — respectively, 
Luther's  and  "  our  own." 

He  attended  to  the  ordinances  duly.  "Due  time  for 
it  "  may  have  sometimes  been  unconsciously  infringed  upon 
by  the  length  of  the  sermon,  w^hich  was  the  tendency  of  it 
always.  Then,  he  took  time,  and  in  general  the  member- 
ship did  not  complain  of  a  late  benediction,  and  the  un- 
seasonable dining.  As  all  around  the  globe,  so,  also,  a 
thousand  times  it  was  to  him  and  his  people  a  joyful  feast 
of  the  Holy  Supper — the  Lord  made  known  in  the  break- 


316  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

iiig  of  bread  and  the  table  the  dearest  meeting-phice  in  the 
communion  of  saints.  There  was  no  contlict  between  altar 
and  puii)it — l)otli  held  in  due  observance  and  in  the  relative 
importance  of  their  respective  functions  and  needs — the  one, 
the  organ  of  approach  and  address  to  God,  and  the  other, 
God's  mouth-piece — "  a  message  unto  thee." 

The  larjxe  con2:rc£ration,  increasiniji;  from  the  first,  was 
not  collected  by  any  of  the  arts  and  artifices,  which  a  mod- 
ern satirist  has  called  "  regulation  draws."  The  history  of 
pulpit-sensationalism  contains,  curiously,  the  name  and 
freak  of  one  of  the  great  reformers.  When  ])reaching  in 
England  even  Latimer  got  a  hearing  by  dividing  out  the 
heads  of  the  sermon  as  a  gambler  plays  his  cards.  "  Now, 
ye  have  heard  what  is  meant  by  the  first  card,  and  how  ye 
ought  to  play.  I  propose  to  deal  unto  you  another  card  of 
the  same  suit,  for  they  be  so  nigh  aiEnity  that  one  cannot  be 
well  played  without  the  other."  The  seventeenth  and  eight- 
eenth centuries  furnish  the  following  specimens  of  pulpit 
curiosities:  "  Baruch's  Sore  Gently  Opened  and  the  Salve 
Skillfully  Applied,"  "A  Pack  of  Cards  to  Win  Christ," 
"  The  Nail  Hit  on  the  Head,"  "A  Funeral  Handkerchief," 
*'The  Shop  of  the  Spiritual  Apothecary,"  and  finall}^ 
"  Some  Biscuits  Baked  in  the  Oven  of  Charity,  Carefully 
Conserved  for  the  Chickens  of  the  Church,  the  Sparrows  of 
the  Spirit  and  the  Sweet  Swallows  of  Salvation."  The 
next  century,  the  nineteeth,  has  added  to  the  list  of  pulpit 
quacks  and  sanctuary  sportsmen,  and  to  the  catalogue  of 
advertising  posters  to  collect  a  crowd.  It  is  reported  as 
modern  advice,  by  an  aged  to  a  3'oung  minister:  "Fill 
'your  (Church,  brother,  though  you  should  have  to  stand  on 
your  head  to  do  it."  The  historian  of  the  sentiment  adds, 
"  While  it  may  sometimes  happen  that  Christian  ministers 
will,  in  the  dischari^e  of  dutv,  be  considered  'fools  for 
Christ's  sake,'  they  are  nowhere  commanded  to  make  fools 
of  themselves."     Out  of  such  history  in  his  own  time  Cow- 


THE  CITY  PULPIT.  317 

per  forged  the  satire  which,  it  seems,  is  pertinent  in  all 
times  : 

"  'Tis  pitiful 

To  court  a  firin,  when  you  would  win  a  soul; 

To  break  a  jest,  wlien  pity  wouhl  inspire 

Pathetic  exhortation  ;  and  to  address 

The  skittish  fancy  with  facetious  tales, 

When  sent  with  God's  commission  to  the  heart." 

Not  the  driveler,  nor  monotone,  nor  automaton  of  the 
ancient  pulpit  of  dullness,  Marvin  was  still  more  the  nega- 
tio.n  of  a  pulpit-harlequin  and  ecclesiastical-showman. 
There  was  action  in  his  delivery  ;  but,  as  the  pulpit  is  not 
the  rival  of  the  theatre,  the  sacred  stand  of  the  preacher 
was  not  turned  into  the  stage  of  the  actor.  At  his  church 
there  was  no  exhibition  of  ecclesiastical  necromancy  at  a 
ritualistic  altar  in  the  morning  service  ;  or  Sunday  night 
concert — admission  free.  He  did  not  preach  Dante,  but 
Christ.  Not  a  commentator  on  Shakespeare,  but  on  the 
Evangels  ;  nor  the  Sunday  lecturer  for  a  social  club,  but  the 
Lord's  messenger  and  a  steward  of  His  house.  As  far 
from  these  thino-s  was  he  as  the  sacred  truths  of  relio-ion  are 
different  from  the  jests  of  a  buffoon,  and  as,  in  the  nomen- 
clature of  the  Bible,  even  the  philosopher  and  preacher  are 
classed  differently,  as  secular  and  sacred  persons.  His 
church,  nevertheless,  was  advertised  and  the  crowd  came. 
It  was  collected  by  the  widening  report  of  the  anointed 
genius  in  the  pulpit,  the  Gosjiel  in  the  sermon,  and  Christ 
in  the  midst.  The  service  had  no  thunder  peal  of  the 
oro;an,  nor  Gregorian  chant,  nor  ritual  of  ofonreous  vest- 
ment  or  solemn  litany.  Not  formal,  the  service  was  fresh 
as  the  morning  ;  and  worship,  not  stereotyped,  was  fragrant 
as  the  breath  of  flowers — the  charm  of  the  melodv  of  the 
heart,  sin2;ing  unto  the  Lord,  and  soundino-  forth  the  hio-h 
praises  of  God  ;  and  prayer,  unctions  and  prevalent  to  make 
the  altar  a  Throne  of  Grace  and  surround  the  worshiper 
with  the  light  of  the  Shekinah. 


318  Risnop  :\iARvix. 

Such  was  Marvin's  clmrcli  in  St.  Louis,  as  everywhere 
— the  attribute  of  its  pulpit  and  the  lii-tory  of  its  altar. 
His  methods  of  attraction  conformed  to  the  simplicity  of 
his  personal  character  and  the  sanctity  of  his  othce — at  the 
same  time  godly  and  gracious,  pure  and  prevalent,  winning 
and  wise.  A  man  standino;  on  his  head  may  draw  a  crowd 
for  once,  but  the  show  nmst  be  repeated  and  varied  to  bring 
the  crowd  back.  Sensationalism,  it  has  been  remarked,  is 
under  the  disadvantage  of  a  poverty  of  resources.  The 
paraphernalia  of  the  pulpit  and  the  play  at  the  altar-place 
of  religion  are  narrow  in  the  supply  of  theatrical  wardrobe 
and  scenery  and  dramatis  'permnoe,.  There  is  ultimate  des- 
tiny of  the  sensational  pulpit  to  ministerial  bankruptcy,  and 
often  with  it,  the  moral  bankruptcy  of  the  man  Avho  fills  it. 
The  play  may  have  had  a  run  of  a  hundred  nights,  but  at 
length  it  becomes  obsolete,  antl  after  the  performance  is 
over  the  crowd  disperses.  Marvin's  ministry  of  the  Gospel 
was  perennial  in  freshness  and  enduring  in  power — its  charm 
unfading  as  "the  beauty  of  holiness,"  and  its  resources  in- 
inexhaustible  as  "  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  He 
passes  from  one  principal  pul[)it  to  another.  He  is  pur- 
sued after  for  return  to  the  place  of  beginning,  and  could 
stay  there  always.  He  moves  among  the  churches  always  a 
welcome  presence.  The  teacher  is  understood  by  the 
simple,  and  respected  and  admired  by  the  learned  ;  and 
under  the  pul[)it  of  the  preacher  wise  and  simple  and  great 
and  lowly  alike  are  stirred  by  the  ministration  of  pentecostal 
jDOWcr  attending  the  spoken  word — "  the  priest  clothed  with 
salvation  and  the  people  rejoicing  in  goodness." 

In  the  traditions  of  St.  Louis  jNIethodism  there  is  ac- 
count of  the  careless  appearance  of  one  of  the  brightest 
lights  of  its  pulpit.  He  was  more  like  INIarvin  than  any 
other  predecessor  in  natural  genius  and  whole-souled  fer- 
vor and  the  spirit  and  speech  of  natural  eloquence.  He 
may  have  been   seen  in  the  fashionable  walk  of   the    city 


THE  CITY  PULPIT.  ,'U9 

with  the  bottom  of  the  pantaloon  caught  hi  the  leg  of  the 
boot ;  or  walking  up  the  steps  of  the  two-story  pulpit  at  okl 
Fourth  Street  with  his  shoes  untied  ;  or,  as  it  has  been  re- 
j^orted,  with  a  shoe  on  one  foot  and  a  boot  on  the  other. 
There  was  such  an  extremity  in  the  case,  that  a  standing 
•committee  of  the  Official  Board  was  appointed  to  see  that 
the  preacher's  wardrobe  was  presentable  in  the  pulpit.     A 
new  suit  of  clothes,  ordered  as  a  present,  preceded  the  com- 
mittee-work on  the  first  Sunday.     After  a  hunt  throuo;h  all' 
other  rooms  of  the  parsonage  next  door,  they  found  him  in 
n  small  bed-chamber,  lying  on  the  feather  bed  and  covered, 
head  to  foot,  with  the  bed-clothes.     "  What  are  you  doing 
that  way?"  was  answered,  simply,  "  Studying  my  sermon." 
Much  time  was  spent  in  brushing  the  lint  off  from  the  su- 
perfine broadcloth.    jNIarvin  Avas  well  enough  dressed,  unless 
exception  should  be  taken  to  what  is  a  memory  of  that  day 
— the  slouched  hat.     A  correspondent  remembers  and  men- 
tions it  ;  so  serious  at  the  time,  that  it  miirht  have  ofiven  one 
of  the  oldest  and  best  members  at   Centenary  to  the  charije 
at  First  Church,  Avhere  a  felt  hat  was  worn,  but  kept  duly 
in  shape.     It  was  a  Philadelphia  Methodist  and  stranger  at 
St.  Louis,  like  the  Baltimore  preacher  at  Fayette,  judging 
by  outward  appearance.     Both  make  the  same  confession — 
the  layman  thus  reported  by  a  friend  :   "  He  started  out  on 
Sunday  morning  to  find  a  Methodist  Church,  and  found 
liimself  in  a  back  seat  at  Centenary.     Soon  Brother  Marvin 
walked  up  the  aisle  in  that  ungainly  gait  peculiar  to  him  in. 
his  younger  dajs,  and  which  remained  with  him,  more  or 
less,  all  through  life.      He  was  dressed  in  homespun  and  a 
short  sack  coat  and  soft  hat  bent  in  at  the  top,  as  if  some 
one  had  just   sat  upon  it.       The    Philadelphia   Methodist 
thought  to  himself  he  had  made  a  great  mistake,  and  was 
half  inclined  to  leave  ;  but,  as  soon  as  Brother  Marvin  be- 
gan to  pray,  he  felt  he  was  under  a  heavenly  inspiration ; 
and  after  he  heard  the  sermon  he  was  so  drawn  to  him  as  to 


320  BISHOP  :marvix. 

feel,  '  this  people  >]i;\\\  litMR'cfori h  be  my  people.'  "  The 
lioine-spuu  iiiiist  have  l)e(Mi  his  (\)llei»:e  Agency  suit — his 
usual  dress  :i  broadcloth  coat  of  the*,  cut  iu  lh(i  enirniviiiii:;. 
His  bodily  pi'csence  Avas  not  weak,  except,  it  may  be,  coni- 
l)aratively  Avitli  the  commanding  forms  of  his  three  Presid- 
ing elders,  together  with  liui  majestic  port  of  Doctor  Par- 
sons and  the  appearance  of  Doctor  Boyle,  which  Dr.  ]\[orris 
says,  when  he  first  saw  him,  was  fresh,  vigorous,  and  very 
handsome. 

His  appearance  in  the  pulpit,  and  there  to  begin  the 
service  at  the  time,  it  soon  became  known  Avas  invariable, 
except  when  he  was  helping  at  some  protracted  meeting  at 
a  distance  from  the  City  or  had  exchanged  pulpits  with  a 
City  pastor.  Fre(juently  a  visiting  brother  appeared  iu  the 
pulpit  with  him.  Quite  generally  he  preached — at  least 
not  lacking  a  prompt  and  ingenuous  invitation  to  j)reach. 
His  pulpit  hospitality,  like  that  of  his  home,  was  sincere  and 
generous.  In  good  colleagueship  among  the  preachers,  he 
was  not  wanting,  neither  in  spirit  nor  in  practice  ;  and  ho 
availed  himself  of  it  freely.  He  was  careful  of  his  puli)it, 
as  of  other  departments  of  his  w^ork,  but  he  was  not  self- 
important  nor  unmindful  of  the  claims  of  ministerial  broth- 
erhood, the  principles  of  the  Methodist  Economy  and  the 
Divine  Method.  The  "weak  things"  of  the  supply  might, 
IDcrchance,  be  divinely  directed  "to  confound  the  mighty." 
He  did  not  pick  u[)  any  stranger  and  give  him,  by  the 
endorsement  of  his  pulpit,  access  to  the  ear  at  the  time  nor 
afterwards  to  the  homes  of  his  people.  No  instance  is  re- 
called of  his  having  been  taken  in.  He  was  prudent,  but  at 
the  same  time  he  honored  divine  credentials  and  respected 
the  parchments  of  a  P)ishop — not  afraid  to  trust  whom  God 
had  called  and  the  Chun-li  had  endorsed.  P>y  such  views 
and  practice  he  fostered  and  greatly  promoted  in  his  time 
alliance  of  sympathy  with  its  reciprocal  benefits  between  the 
City  and  the  Country  work,  as  well  as  the  closer  fellowship 


THE  CITY  PULPIT.  321 

and  co-operation  between  the  City  charges.  At  the  same 
time  his  own  charge  did  not  suffer  but  prospered,  and  his 
general  usefuhiess  was  enhanced.  Providence  was  atAvork, 
differing  gifts  were  being  distributed,  the  occasional  work 
of  the  Evangelist  in  other  pulpits,  and  in  other  towns,  also, 
was  Christ-like,  Apostolic,  Methodistic  and  good,  and 
not  a  material  damage  to  the  ordinary  work  of  the  i)astor. 
His  views  in  general  and  particularly  the  Methodist  rea- 
sons for  his  absences,  in  the  "twelfth  rule,"  were  under- 
stood ;  and  he  was  not  considered  recreant  to  duty  nor  held 
in  less  but  more  esteem  among  the  thoughtful — by  good 
Methodists  and  zealous  Christians.  The  complaints  of  the 
thoughtless  he  did  not  respect  and  respected  less,  when  it 
was  told  him  that  somebody  had  come  to  hear  him  and  went 
away  disappointed  and  huffy.  The  man-worshiper  in  the 
Plouse  of  God  he  could  not  abide  and  would  be  glad,  rather 
than  sorry  to  hear  of  the  discomfiture.  There  was  no 
counterpart  of  the  character  in  the  pulpit.  He  did  not 
preach  Marvin  and  did  not  affect  nor  prize  such  hearers — 
the  stoii}^  ground  and  wayside  kind,  which  added  nothing  to 
the  harvest.  The  ordinary  grounds  of  complaint,  in  his 
anah'sis,  a})peared  selfish  and  narrow  and  un-Methodistic,  if 
not  un-Evangelical.  Some  were  frivolous  and  vain,  he  con- 
sidered— not  himself  offended  b}''  the  home-spun  of  the 
Country  preacher  and  less  concerned  about  the  grammar  and 
rhetoric  of  the  sermon  by  the  visiting  brother,  if  its  doctrine 
was  as  sound  as  Watson's  Institutes  and  the  winding  up 
as  rousing  as  the  exhortation  of  Wesley's  lay  preachers. 
He  enjoyed  it  himself  and  knew  that  some  of  his  most  cul- 
tured members  did,  too.  In  the  first  year,  particularly,  he 
preached  the  City  Missionary  much,  who  had  joined  Con- 
ference, as  he  has  told  it  himself  widely,  with  the  under- 
standing that  "he  did  not  know  grammar  and  never  ex- 
pected  to."  Governor  Polk,  a  graduate  of  Yale,  was  not 
sorry  to  see  him  in  the  pulpit  and  has  said,  "I  always  heard 
him  with  pleasure  and  profit." 
21 


322  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Some  of  tlic  visiting  ])rcthron  from  (lie  rural  districts 
were  quite  unsophisticated.  One  of  them  has  contributed 
to  these  pages  an  illustrative  incident  at  his  own  expense,  as 
he  expresses  it : 

M3'  acqnaiiUanci!  vvtli  Bisliop  Marvin  bciian  in  the  autumn  of  185G,  at 
tlie  time  he  tooi^  cliari;e  i-f  Crntenary  ^  Imrcli  ihi;  second  3ear.  I  had  met 
him  as  a  visitor  to  our  Conference  before,  l)iit  liad  never  uniil  that  time 
been  brouiilit  dirrctly  into  contact  willi  liim. 

It  occurred  on  this  wise  During  tlic  session  of  tlie  Conference  at 
Charleston,  my  horse  got  out  and  I  had  to  ,ir''t  home  ilie  best  way  I  could. 

After  two  days' waiting  at  Lane's  Landiuu,  1  obtained  passage  on  a 
steamboat  (tlie  fust  one  I  was  ever  on). 

I  reached  St.  Louis  Sunday  morning  and  Avas  soon  at  the  parsonage 
of  Centenary  Church,  where  I  receivi  d  a  lu  arty  welcome.  The  pas  or, 
however,  was  only  boarding  with  the  family  which  lived  in  the  parsonage. 
Lis  family  yet  being  in  North  Missouri. 

He  preached  his  introductory  sermon  for  the  year  that  moriiing  from 
these  words:     "In  the  name  of  our  God  we  will  set  up  our  banners." 

That  afternoon  an  event  oecurred  wdiich  the  Bishop  frequently  related 
for  the  amusement  of  others  at  my  expense. 

It  was  this.  Afti'r  dinner  1  walked  down  town,  and  passing  the  Court 
House,  s",w  a  multitude  of  carriages  with  horses  hitched  to  them.  It 
occurred  to  me  that  the-e  carriages  had  been  ordered  for  a  funeral  pro- 
■cession.  I  retunu'd  to  the  par-onage  and  inquired  of  Marvin  and  ^^  hitaker, 
if  they  were  not  going  to  the  funeral;  stating  that  I  wislud  to  go. 

Whitaker  replied,  that  people  did  not  attend  the  funerals  of  strangers 
in  that  town. 

Marvin  inquired  who  was  dead. 

I  told  him  I  did  not  know;  I  only  knew  there  was  to  be  a  funeral,  be- 
cause of  the  great  number  of  carriages  around  tlie  Court  House  yard. 

Of  course  he  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  my  ignorance  of  City  life  and  habits. 
It  was  the  public  hack-stand. 

Nearly  eleven  years  after  this— August,  18(!7 — I  met  the  bishop  at  the 
same  landing  from  which  I  started  on  my  first  steamboat  ride.  As  he 
stepped  ashore,  he  remarked :  "I  have  just  been  telling  brother  Markham 
of  your  St.  Louis  funeral  procession." 

An  occasional  exchange  even  with  an  inferior  preacher 
IS  often  good  spiritual  hygeine  ;  and  the  transient  sui)p]y 
sometimes  is  a  pulpit  surprise.  His  own  history  has  fur- 
jiislied  an  illustration.  It  is  related  b}^  one  of  the  old  Mis- 
.souri  preachers.     Marvin  was  overtaken  by  the  Sabbath  at 


THE  CITY  PULPIT.  323 

Glasgow,  a  principal  station  of  the  Conference.  The  pastor 
asked  him  to  fill  the  pulpit.  It  was  in  the  days  of  his  first 
Circuits — Oregon  Mission,  perhaps.  Some  members  were 
fearful  when  they  heard  of  the  expected  pulpit  supply. 
*'Let  him  preach,"  Avas  the  quieting  word  of  the  pastor; 
*'I'll  bring  up  with  an  exhortation."  The  next  day,  in 
pleasant  raillery,  the  station  preacher  was  told  :  "You  may 
go  to  Marvin's  Circuit;  we'll  take  him."  He  did  not  hold 
himself  above  the  humble  nor  entertain  jealousy  of  the  great 
preacher. 

As  in  the  product  of  field  and  forest,  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry  the  culture  and  fruitage  are  varied.  There  is 
sowing  and  watering  and  reaping.  There  are  fruits  after 
their  kind  and  in  their  seasons.  In  the  Lord's  vineyard 
there  are  many  laborers  and  var3dng  labors — "one  soweth 
and  another  reapeth."  In  some  fields  there  is  greater 
acreaire  and  wider  varietv  of  soils.  There  is  corresponding 
demand  for  wisdom  and  fidelity  in  the  culture.  At  every 
point  in  the  analogy  there  is  an  illustrative  history  in  Mar- 
vin's St.  Louis  pulpit  and  pastorate.  In  all,  he  acquired 
the  reputation  of  a  workman  that  needethnotto  be  ashamed 
and  was  enriched  with  the  gains  of  a  wise  husbandman. 

He  was  a  good  sower.  In  one  aspect  of  his  pulpit,  it 
was  full  and  round — "rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth." 
It  was  in  the  midst  of  a  mixed  comnmnity  and  heteroge- 
neous nationalities,  creeds  and  customs.  Komanism  was 
predominant  and  German  infidelity  largely  prevailed.  Du- 
ring those  years  Spiritualism  was  preached  and  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  tampering  w^ith  it  in  the  social  circle.  It  has 
"been  noted  that  Churches  have  idiosyncracies  and  marked 
types  of  character  and  feature,  as  well  as  individuals.  In 
some  measure  it  may  have  been  applicable  to  the  churches 
in  St.  Louis.  The  caste  of  culture  and  condition  of  life  in 
the  congregation  and  meml)ership  was  mixed,  wholesomely. 
There  was  demand  on  pulpit  discourse  to  cover  the  entire 


324  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

range  of  llic  functions  of  the  Word,  as  Paul  defined  them, 
doctrhial  and  preceptive,  in  reproof  and  for  correction. 
His  pulpit  was  able  for  it  and  faithful  to  it.  Ilis  old 
hearers  will  testify  that  each  received  his  portion.  He  was 
not  a  pulpit  specialist,  lie  made  full  proof  of  his  ministry 
in  the  fulness  as  well  as  power  of  his  puli)it.  The  Church 
was  editied  by  it.  Its  variety  and  solidity  enlisted  the  in- 
terest of  the  conoro^ration.  The  doctrinal  sermon  was  not 
dry  polemics,  nor  was  there  the  sermonal  series.  He  was  a 
censor,  but  not  censorious  ;  a  faithful  monitor,  but  not  a 
pulpit-scold.  He  rareh'  pre-announced  a  subject.  The 
pulpit  Mas  left  uncommitted  to  allow" adajjtation — "the  por- 
tion in  duo  season."  The  pastor's  walk  as  well  as  the 
preacher's  study  furnished  themes  of  discourse.  Pastoral 
theology  entered  largely  into  his  pulpit  ministrations. 

The  puli)it  of  jMarvin  was  known  to  the  i)ul)lic.  His 
preaching  was  talked  about  among  his  unconverted  hearers. 
It  was  talked  over  among  the  saints — had  mention  in  the 
class-room  and  was  rehearsed  in  the  fireside  visit.  The 
grace  of  it  was  current  and  not  periodical.  There  were 
fruits  of  the  single  sermon  as  well  as  of  the  protracted 
series — additions  at  the  ordinary  as  w(!ll  as  special  services. 
Its  revival  history  records  lai-ge  and  precious  ingatherings 
— if  not  always  at  his  own  charge,  yet  every  year  in  some 
field.  Ilie  iirst  two  years  it  was  not  at  Centenary.  Why 
the  failure  of  a  powerful  pulpit  and  of  a  protracted  and 
earnest  and  prayerful  effort  is  not  [)ertinent  to  the  record 
of  this  history,  excei)t  in  general,  that  some  necessary  condi- 
tions of  a  visitation  from  on  high  were  wanting.  The  work 
of  his  j)ulpitat  the  time  was  edification  of  the  Church,  rather 
than  the  ingathering.  That  was  acconiplished.  In  the  first 
months  of  the  ministry  of  his  successor,  Parsons  reaped 
Marvin's  sowing.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  meeting 
and  rejoiced  in  it.  He  had  not  sown  in  vain  neither  labored 
in  vain. 


THE  CITY  rULPIT.  325 

In  the  first  winter  his  revival  was  at  Wesley  Chapel. 
Its  membership  and  congregation  at  the  time  were  small. 
Afterwards,  Watts  preached  to  a  full  house  and  had  a 
larirelv  increased  roll  of  members.  In  the  summer  of  his 
iirst  year  he  held  a  successful  meeting  in  St.  Charles  County 
at  Cottlevillc,  of  which  mention  has  been  made.  Another 
was  at  Goodfellow  Chapel,  a  country  neighborhood  preach- 
ing place  lying  within  the  bounds  of  St.  Louis  Circuit.  It 
was  an  afternoon  appointment  of  the  City  preachers  and  was 
served  by  them  in  turn.  The  meeting  was  remarkable.  A 
society  grevv  out  of  it,  since  merged  into  Eden  Chapel,  an 
adjacent  appointment.  Its  influence  extended  v/idely  over 
the  circuit  and  that  charge  was  greatly  quickened  in  its 
spiritual  life  and  strengthened  by  over  one  hundred  addi- 
tions. His  summer  work  another  year  was  at  another  ap- 
pointment on  the  same  Circuit,  at  Bellefontaine,  where  he 
preached  during  the  week  days  at  a  meetmg  held  by  the 
writer.  It  was  a  community  of  large  farmers  and  was  not 
populous.  Sixty  additions  was  comparatively  a  large  result. 
It  brought  into  the  Church  whole  families  and  there  Avas 
scarcely  a  family  in  the  entire  community  in  which  there 
was  not  a  convert.  The  fruits  remain  to  this  day.  Pie  had 
fruits  of  his  ministry  also  at  Bridgeton  and  Cold  Water  that 
summer.  Marvin's  preaching  has  entered  largely  into  the 
foundations  of  the  Churches  within  the  old  bounds  of  that 
Circuit,  which  has  grown  into  three  separate  pastoral  charges, 
served  by  leading  preachers  of  the  Conference. 

Neither  Avas  there  during  his  second  term  at  Centenary 
general  and  marked  revival  increase.  It  is  explained  by 
Rev.  F.  A.  ]\iorris,  who  was  his  successor  at  First  Church  in 
1858.  His  brief  note  is  interesting  and,  perhaps,  suggests 
the  inquiry  concerning  the  periodical  revival,  whether  it  is 
only  a  common  fact  attributable  to  the  infirmity  of  the  Church 
in  faith  and  zeal,  or  is  a  phenomenon  of  the  divine  proced- 
ure in  the  appointment  of  set  times  to  favor  Zion.     The 


32G  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

charge  was  greatly  edified  in  piety  and  in  the  number  and 
substantial  character  of  its  additions  ;  but  it  was  attendant 
on  the  stated  services.  The  protracted  meetings  were  com- 
paratively barren.  The  facts  are  thus  noted  by  Dr.  Morris  : 
"The  great  revival  at  First  Cliurch  to  which  you  refer,  was 
a  wave  of  that  great  religious  excitement  which  in  the  space 
of  twelve  or  eighteen  months  passed  more  or  less  over  the 
entire  country.  It  began  in  the  East,  extended  to  the  West, 
and  reached  down  into  the  South — a  work  in  wliicli  the  lay- 
men of  the  Church  took  a  prominent  and  in  many  places 
a  leading  part.  How  it  was  in  St.  Louis  I  do  not  know.  \ 
only  know  that  the  revival  had  spent  its  force  when  I  re- 
turned to  the  pastorate  in  St.  Louis,  and  that  re-actioii 
vs'hich  follows  great  excitements  in  the  Cliurch  had  set  in. 
The  Bishop  and  I  labored  hard  and  labored  together,  he  at 
Centenary  and  I  at  First  Church,  uniting  our  meetings ^ 
sometimes  for  a  long  season,  but  all  without  much  result. 
We  could  not  bring  the  people  out  to  hear  the  Word  except 
on  Sabbath.  This  state  of  things  lasted  for  four  3'ears  and 
was  then  followed  by  gracious  outpourings  of  the  Spirit." 
One  of  his  foreign  holds  in  1859  wasat  Asburv,  a  charire 
which  had  colonized  from  Fourth  street.  The  previous 
term  of  two  years  under  Dr.  Boyle's  j^astorate  had  been  very 
prosperous.  There  had  been  large  and  substantial  inci'ease. 
It  is  the  doctrine  of  an  English  Methodist  State  paper  "that 
coUcagucship  in  the  ministry  and  fellowship  in  the  class  are 
the  strength  of  Methodism."  The  community  of  the  City 
preachoi'S  at  that  time  was  most  cordial  and  in  deed  as  well 
as  sentiment.  It  passed  under  notice  of  the  writer  conspic- 
uously in  the  meeting  at  Asbur}^,  his  pastoral  charge.  It 
was  their  custom  to  congregate  at  whatever  Church  a  pro- 
tracted effort  was  in  progress  and  at  all  services.  The  Presi- 
ding Elder,  John  R.  Bennett,  counseled  such  fellowship)  in 
love  and  labors.  It  was  in  the  heart  of  all  the  preachers — 
in  none  more  than  in  Marvin's.     He   was   in   attendance  at 


THE    CITY    PULPIT.  327 

the  morning;  social  mcetins^  as  well  as  niirht  service  :  and 
■whether  he  filled  the  pulpit  or  not.  It  Avas  the  connectional 
spirit  and  bond  of  jVIethodism.  It  was  the  catholic  spirit  of 
Christianity  and  its  Gospel  ;  a  common  cause  and  mutual 
work  in  all  Christian  pulpits — "so  the  Gospel  is  preached 
and  ye  believe." 

The  fruits  of  his  St.  Louis  pulpit  Avere  miscellaneous  ; 
gathered  from  varied  conditions  in  life  and  shades  of  cul- 
ture— a  free  Gospel  and  an  impartial  pulpit,  as  it  is  in  true 
Methodism.  They  were  abounding  and  abiding  as  the  Mas- 
ter directed — thorough  conversions,  partaking  of  the  life  of 
the  vine. 

During  his  first  year  at  First  Church  he  had  the  most 
remarkable  revival  meeting  of  his  St.  Louis  pastorate.  The 
large  lecture  room  in  which  it  Avas  held  atlength became  too 
strait  for  the  overflowing  congregation.  Its  removal  was 
proposed,  up  stairs  to  the  main  audience  room,  where  such 
service  had  never  been  had.  The  removal  was  delayed. 
Might  not  the  prayers  be  constrained  and  cold?  There  had 
never  been  a  conversion  at  the  main  altar.  It  became,  how- 
ever, a  necessity,  and  the  removal  Avas  resolved  upon.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  whole  Church  AA^as  summoned 
to  special  prayer  for  the  safety  of  the  altar  Avork — as  for  the 
ark  of  the  testimony  to  be  carried  along  Avith  the  removal. 
The  first  night  Marvin  called  for  mourners.  They  came. 
There  were  eighty-four  conversions  at  the  meeting,  as  he 
reports  ;  and  as  long  as  he  had  knowledge  of  them,  none 
had  fallen  away.  An  old  official  member  reports  it  as  one 
of  the  most  poAverful  occasions  he  had  ever  Avitnessed — "ex- 
perienced" is  his  Avord.  The  Church  AA^as  quickened.  Zion 
rejoiced.  It  was  a  day  of  triumph  and  hosannas.  None 
were  more  exultant  than  the  preacher.  "  One  thing,"  he 
adds,  "  that  drew  my  particular  attention  Avas  Brother  Mar- 
vin's heavenly  singing.  He  sang  Avith  his  mouth  and  Avith 
his  soul — hands,  feet  and  everything  about  him  seemed  to 
live  and  move  in  the  breath  of  the  song." 


328  BISHOr  MARVIX. 

To  the  pulpit  at  Centcnnry  iu  18()0  was  the  last  appoint- 
ment he  received  at  the  hands  of  a  Bishop.  His  hist  scr- 
niou  there  was  preached  on  a  Sunday  night  in  February, 
18G2.  He  M^as  then  in  his  thirty-ninth  year — al  llie  thresh- 
hohl  of  nianhood>  prime.  He  had  preached  in  every 
•Methodist  pulpit  in  the  City  and  of  the  region  round  about, 
and  in  nearly  every  quarter  of  the  State.  His  reputation 
was  established  as  a  preacher.  If  not  greater  powers  than 
his  contemporary  and  personal  friend  whom  he  caUed  the 
foremost  preacher  in  the  Missouri  pulpit,  he  had  a  wider 
fame— wider  than  the  jMethodism  of  the  City  or  State.  The 
Protestant  pulpit  of  St.  Louis  had  recognized  and  honored 
him  as  champion  in  encounter  with  Popery  at  its  stronghold 
in  the  West.  The  publication  of  the  debate  in  the  oldest 
and  leadmg  secular  journal  made  the  ^Mississippi  Valley  spec- 
tators of  the  contest.     The  press  of  the  country  noted  it. 

As  to  his  comparative  pulpit  ability,  it  is  appropriate  to 
this  page  to  record  the  facts  in  the  biography,  rather  than 
the  verdict  of  the  biographer.  What  the  tokens  of  its  ex- 
alted eminence  has  been  narrated  or  awaits  record.  In  many 
personal  tributes  in  hand  are  nmltiplicd  testimonies  to  its 
pre-eminence.  One  is  remarkable — from  a  man  of  solid 
piety  and  good  understanding  in  these  things.  It  connects 
the  St.  Louis  Methodism  of  1878  with  1821  in  the  person  of 
the  witness  ;  and  his  testimony  has  the  force  of  a  personal 
knowledge  of  every  preacher  who  had  tilled  its  puli)it  from 
the  days  of  its  first  pastor  and  founder.  This  historical 
fact,  which  was  a  peculiar  incident  of  its  Semi-Centenary 
Commemoration,  has  been  recorded  by  Bishop  Marvin.  Jesse 
Walker,  in  his  Pauline  Mission  to  lay  foundations,  and  a  line 
of  thin<'-s  "  not  other  men's  made  ready  to  hand,"  had  come 
to  St.  Louis  without  being  called  or  sent.  He  entered  on 
his  mission  "  to  take  St.  Louis,"  as  he  said  it,  at  his  own 
charge,  save  that  the  Methodists  of  St.  Clair  County,  Illi- 
nois, were  the  institutional  patrons  of  the  St.  Louis  pulpit, 


THE  citV  ruLPiT.  329 

as  was  Phillippi  of  Paul's  pulpit  at  Koine.     The  form  of  the 
patronage  was  the  famed  "wagon  load  of  meal,"  with  which, 
to  be  sold  or  exchanged  for  supplies  for  his  support,  the 
founder  came  to  plant  Methodism  in  St.  Louis.     This  pre- 
face explains  the  reference  in  the  note  by  Bishop  Marvin, 
who  delivered  the  commemorative  address  fifty  years  after- 
wards :   "When  this  address,"  he  writes,  "  was  delivered,  I 
supposed  that  Walker  had  provided  this  meal  from  his  own 
resources.     But  a  day  or  two  afterwards  I  visited  John  H. 
Gav,  who  at  that  time  resided  in  Illinois  in  the   neiiihbor- 
hood  where  Walker  lived.     He  informed  me  that  the  meal 
was  contributed  by  the  Methodist  people  of  that  neighbor- 
hood.    He  has  a  distinct  recollection  of  the  fact,   and  was 
himself  concerned  in  providing  the  meal.      To  me  it  was  a 
pleasant  incident  to  find  that  our  honored  brother  still  with 
us  had  this  actual  connection  with  the  very  beginnings  of 
the  Church  here."       Father  Gay  was  long  a  member  at  old 
Fourth  Street  and  was  of  the  original  membership  at  Cente- 
nary, where  Marvin  was  his  pastor  during  five  years.  Later, 
in  1869,  his  name  went  on  the  original  roll  of  the  society  at 
St.  John's  Church  and  is  among  the  patron  names,  of  that 
costly    Church    edifice.      There,    at   the    age    of  fourscore 
years  and  ten,   he  continued  to  worship,  and  in  1878  was 
buried  from  its  altars.     A  year  before,   the   writer  visited 
him  at  his  retired  home.     In  an  interview  of  several  hours, 
the  conversation  drifted  into  the  past  history   of  St.   Louis 
Methodism.     Its  pulpit  was  talked  about.     Casually  it  was 
asked — '  'Who  was  its  greatest  preacher  ?' '     It  was  answered, 
not  without  deliberation,  and  in  these  words:     "Well,  all 
things  considered,  I  suppose  Brother  Marvin." 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


CITY    PASTOR. 

The  City  Pastorate— "The  plaint  of  the  door-bell"— Incidents— Miscellane- 
ous labors— Social  intercourse— Personal  popularity— Pastoral  vislUUioa 
—The  Lord's  poor— The  sick-bed— The  chamber  of  death— The  widow's 
grave— Administration  of  discipline -The  oflicial  meeting— The  un- 
earthed talent— The  class-meeting— Nurture  of  converts— Fluctuating 
membership— Statistics  of  City  Churclies— Tlie  impariial  ministry— 
"  Honor  all  men"— Nurture  of  the  young-Tlie  Sunday  School  room— 
The  study  of  tlie  situation— Lectures  on  Romanism— Their  pastoral 
character— Condition  of  society— Christian  activity— Clmrch  aggressive- 
ness—St. Louis  pastorate  characterized— Testimonies. 

YJYIIIi  pastorate  of  Marvin  in  St.  Louis  embraced  about 
gjS3  seven  years,  from  the  summer  of  1855 — two  terms  at 
Centenary  and  an  intermediate  term  of  two  ecclesiastical 
years,  1857-8  and  1858-1),  at  First  Church. 

In  the  City  work  and  the  circuits  and  stations  of  the 
rural  districts  pastoral  labor  does  not  differ  in  principle, 
but  only  in  forms  and  extent  of  service.  It  must  be  added, 
perhaps,  that  as  a  larj^er  and  more  varied  field,  it  is  more 
difficult  and  responsible — ability  in  demand  at  any  charge, 
but  in  a  large  city  and  at  a  chief  charge,  a  peculiar  need  of 
the  same  qualities  in  an  eminent  degree  and  larger  exercise  ; 
the  wisdom  of  a  legislator,  the  breadth  of  statesmanship, 
administrative  talent,  and  withal,  that  general  knowledge  of 
men  and  things  which  is  embodied  in  the  shorter  term — 
common  sense.  To  the  foregoing  standards  of  estimate,  in 
a  City  pastorate,  on  an  arena  of  mighty  movements,  and  at 
a  centre  of  supreme   agencies,  there  are  to  be   added  the 


CITY    PASTOR.  331 

qualities  of  personal  force,  in  all  its  forms,  in  natural  ability 
and  constitutional  temperament  and  intellectual  and  social 
culture.  Chiefest  amonsi;  acquirements  is  deep  and  broad 
individual  piety,  unquestioned  and  unquestionable,  acting^ 
under  wide  public  observation  and  to  stand  for  God  and 
contend  for  Christ  in  the  midst  of  tumultuous  social  ferment 
and  an  air£i:randizini>;  mammonism. 

The  reader,  it  is  expected,  will  recognize  in  this  Chapter 
the  same  Marvin  of  a  former  page — only  in  the  midst  of 
more  onerous  labors,  and,  if  possil)le,  more  industrious  ac- 
tivities ;  and  on  a  higher  plane  of  public  notice  and  action 
under  strain  and  stretch  of  larger  endeavor,  developing 
with  the  situation  and  rising  to  it. 

Some  things  were  peculiar  and  had  to  be  learned — the 
accidents  of  the  situation.  A  New  York  City  pastor  speci- 
fies them  under  the  quaint  but  significant  title,  "  The  plaint 
of  the  door-bell."  There  are  calls  upon  the  pastor  as  well 
as  pastoral  calls  by  him — on  church  business,  for  profes- 
sional service,  in  ordinary  course  of  social  claims  and  cus- 
toms ;  but,  also,  not  in  ordinary  and  routine,  endlessly 
mixed  and  miscellaneous.  The  pastor,  it  is  expected,  shall 
be  as  a<}cessible  as  the  bell-pull  on  the  outer  wall,  and  as 
complying  as  the  ring  in  answer  to  the  pull,  and  compla- 
cent as  the  merry  iingle  of  the  bell.  It  has  called  him  from 
the  study  or  disturbed  the  hours  of  sleep  or  abridged  needed 
rest  and  repose.  No  matter.  Over  work  must  make  up 
for  the  lost  time  and  interrupted  lal)ors.  During  the  week 
the  scheduled  call  must  be  made,  and  at  all  cost  the  sermon 
prepared,  or  else,  the  hoarser  ring  of  complaint  that  the 
preacher  don't  visit  or  the  pastor  can't  preach.  The  lead- 
ing members  may  know  the  history  of  the  Parsonasre  door- 
bell.  i\Iany  have  not  heard  the  bell  ring,  except  when,  in 
the  number  of  twenty  times  a  day,  they  themselves  pulled 
it.  Some  are  under  the  delusion  that  the  Pastor  is  a  quiet 
literar}^  character  or  a  gentleman  of  elegant  leisure,   with 


332  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

nothinfr  to  do  but  com')ose  sermons  and  t(>  make  calls — 
others,  to  answer  them  and  make  platform  speeches  and  at- 
tend committee  meetings  and  preside  at  anniversaries.  The 
plaint  is  a  universal  miserere,  in  every  shape  of  need  and 
orv  of  distress  ;  and  the  character  of  a  good  Samaritan  or 
an  apostate  priest  is  at  issue.  The  parsonage  door-pull  is 
si""nificant — a  gauge  of  ph3^sical  endurance  and  a  measure  of 
intellectual  strength,  certainl}^;  in  much,  of  personal  char- 
acter and  a  prophecy  of  i)ublic  reputation. 

Tlie  answer  to  the  door-bell  makes  a  noticeable  part  of 
Marvin's  histor3^  In  the  general  statement,  he  was  acces- 
sible, patient,  affable,  sympathetic,  obliging.  lie  had  a 
good  name  in  the  abodes  of  want  and  sorrow,  on  the  streets 
of  the  City,  and  at  the  House  of  God.  It  is  the  testimony 
of  the  pastor's  wife  that  he  was  much  worn  by  the  labors 
of  the  city  church — that  his  only  lack,  not  of  the  spirit  of 
labor,  but  physical  capacity.  He  went  through  seven  years 
of  exhausting  toils  and  kept  up  ;  but  they  were  followed  in 
immediately  succeeding  years  by  nervous  prostration  and 
phvsical  exhaustion  which  threatened  his  life.  Tliere  was 
no  lack  of  moral  power  or  intellectual  resources,  nor  of  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  to  command  the  position  and  to  hold 
it — known  to  the  friendless  as  a  benefactor,  to  the  public  as 
a  prominent  clergyman,  and  in  church  circles  what  is  called 
a  popular  pastor. 

The  particular  incidents  of  that  history  are  interesting. 
Like  the  calls,  they  are  miscellaneous.  One  took  him  to  a 
sick  bed — the  small-pox  !  He  did  not  susi)ect  or  discover  it 
till  he  had  come  to  the  bedside.  As  a  prudent  pastor,  ho 
left  his  charge  and  the  city  and  remained  at  the  home  of  his 
familv  in  Warren  County  during  the  customary  nine  days 
of  isolation,  within  which,  if  at  all,  the  contagion  will  show 
itself.  He  did  not  fear  for  himself  or  his  family,  as  he  had 
been  vaccinatea.  And  so  it  happened,  on  the  ninth  day  only 
a  little  sick  ;  but  it  was  proper  precaution.     His  reputation 


CITY    PASTOR.  333 

as  a  good  Samaritan  brought  to  his  ear  many  a  tale  of  woe 
and  petition  for  pecuniary  help — the  stranger  needing  patron- 
age, the  widowed  home  in  need  of  a  counselor,  the  he'»-o-ar 
m  want  of  bread.  In  the  pulpit  he  plead  for  the  poor, 
prayed  for  them,  begged  for  them  in  public  and  private.  His 
own  bounty  was  lavish.  Comparatively,  doubtless,  in  the  case 
of  any  and  actually  in  the  case  of  most,  he  was  the  most 
liberal,  as  he  was  the  most  cheerful,  giver  in  his  Church.  It 
is  testified  by  an  old  parishioner  that  he  used  to  borrow 
money  to  o;ive  it  away.  Here  is  a  letter  showing:  monev 
loaned — a  woman's  blessing  and  thanks  for  its  relief  in  a 
distressing  emergenc3\  The  St.  Louis  Provident  Associa- 
tion has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most  notable  and  beneficent 
public  charities  in  the  country.  At  its  foundation  he  was 
a  zealous  promoter  of  it  and  advocated  its  claims  on  the 
l^latform  of  one  of  the  first  public  assemblies  in  its 
behalf.  He  was  a  visitor  and  occasional  preacher  at  the 
Widows'  Home.  He  spoke  for  the  old  Protestant 
Orphan  Assylum,  He  was  an  Odd  Fellow  and  also  a 
Mason.  He  had  been  an  active  member  before  comino;  to 
St.  Louis,  when  it  was  precluded  by  the  engrossing  oc- 
cupations of  his  ministry.  He  was,  however,  the  orator 
on  St.  John's  day  and  on  other  public  occasions. 

In  the  line  of  social  reform  he  was  a  zealous  temperance 
man  and  a  public  advocate  of  the  cause. 

In  this  minor  history  of  his  pastorate  it  may  be  noted, 
that  he  allowed  himself  freely  in  social  intercourse.  He 
followed  the  bent  of  his  disposition,  a  most  companionable 
man.  He  could  be  seen  from  the  street  in  his  office.  It 
invited  entrance  ;  not  a  hermit's  cell.  It  was  an  advantage 
to  his  ministry  that  he  was  personally  and  widely  acquainted 
in  the  community.  In  the  pulpit  of  a  Church  of  the  people 
he  was  a  man  of  the  people,  mixing  freely  with  the  crowd 
and  connecting  himself  in  sympathy  with  the  affairs  of  every- 
day life  in  the  social  and  industrial  world.     His  associations 


334  BlSIIOr  MARVIN. 

widened  out  in  the  community  generally,  and  in  Church  life 
were  formed  with  all  classes,  rich  and  poor,  young  and  old. 
He  was  a  popular  man,  as  well  as  minister.  It  was  attested 
by  every  token  of  respect,  courtesy  and  kindness — in  prac- 
tical forms  and  valuable  favors  of  personal  friendship, 
more  manifested  than  towards  any  Methodist  pastor  in  St. 
Louis,  within  the  knowledge  of  the  writer,  before  or  since, 
with  the  exception  of  his  immediate  successor  at  First 
Church. 

"  Better  do  it  bumrlinglv  than  not  at  all,"  was  his  reply 
to  a  preacher  who  lamented  inaptness  in  the  pastoral  visit. 
Concerninir  this  dci)artment  of  ministerial  labor  his  views 
were  strong  and  l)road.  His  personal  convictions  Avere 
earnest  and  pungent.  It  was  a  necessary  part  of  overseer- 
ship — to  feed  the  flock,  for  convenient  food  and  due  care. 
An  expression  already  quoted  indicates  his  sense  of  official 
duty  and  personal  responsibility — the  account,  when  the 
Chief  Shepherd  shall  appear.  He  spoke  of  unfaithfulness 
as  "a  heavy  account"  to  be  rendered.  He  coveted  the  ac- 
count with  joy.  He  was  aided  in  the  full  and  cheerful 
discharge  of  this  ministry  by  liking  for  it  and  especially  by 
his  love  for  the  Church — the  prime  quality  of  the  good 
shepherd,  "he  careth  for  the  sheep."  The  spirit,  mean- 
ing and  manner  of  his  pastoral  visit  appear  in  the  inci- 
dents on  the  foregoing  and  following  pages.  There  is 
record  of  it  on  hiiih  and  ineffaceable  records  still  remain 
on  earth  all  over  the  land.  They  are  found  in  the  house- 
holds of  St.  Louis  Methodism.  Tiiey  will  long  continue  in 
the  blessedness  assured  to  "  the  seed  of  the  righteous," 
connected  with  his  peculiar  fidelity  and  aptitude  in  the 
special  commission,  "Feed  my  lambs." 

He  performed  much  pastoral  work,  as  it  is  technically 
called,  at  the  hotel  and  at  the  abode  of  the  stranger  in  the 
City — Christ's  "  other  sheep  which  are  not  of  this  fold," 
the  sick  traveler  and  the  afflicted  family  unknown  and  friend- 


CITY    TASTOR.  B35 

less  in  the  midst   of  the   teemhig  multitude,   except  in  his 
sympathy  and  care.     la  his  particuhir  charge  this  work  Avas 
extremely   large    and  onerous.      The  extent  of    visitation 
stretched  from  end  to  end  of  the  City  and  skirted  the  outer 
suburbs ;  the  area,  the  segment  of  an  ellipse,  on  its  largest 
lines  in  length  thre^^  or  four  miles  and  two  or  three  in  breadth. 
For  the  most  part  it  was  the  travel  of  the  pedestrian,  ante- 
dating the  period  of  the  street  railroad  and  other  present 
facilities.     It   required   three   months,   in  connection  with 
other  necessary  work,  to  complete  the  round — so  found  and 
pronounced  by  the  most  diligent  pastor  known  to  St.  Louis 
Methodism.     He  enmlated  that  e'^ample.     Durinoi-  one  of 
his  years  at  First  Church,  the   pastoral  work  of  both  the 
l^rincipal  churches  was  on  his  hands.     He  knew  his  members 
and  "  by  name,"  intimatelj' ;  the  individual  status  as  well  as 
general  state  of  the  charge.     His  quarterly  re})orts  were  in- 
telligent as  well  as  conscientious.     During  the  time  of  his 
immediate  pastoral  charge  and  from  first  to  last,   hy  none 
more  than  by  him  has  there  been  complete  and  exact  knowl- 
edge of  the  state  of  piety  in  the   Church  at   St.   Louis — its 
general  tone,  its  types  and  resources. 

The  official  visit  was  not  a  social  call,  but  not  un-social 
— not  formal  and  constrained.  Cheerful  and  pleasant,  but 
it  was  pastoral.  His  pastoral  observation,  it  has  been  said, 
was  taken  into  the  pulpit.  The  ministration  of  the  word 
entered  into  the  visit — publicly  and  from  house  to  house. 
It  was  read,  the  selection  well  adapted,  and  the  seal  of  ex- 
perience added  in  the  religious  talk.  The  vi«it  did  not  erect 
a  Popish  confessional ;  but  it  did  not  end  till  it  was  known 
mutually  about  prospering  in  the  divine  life — a  good  class 
meeting.  This  feature  was  prominent  in  the  manner  of  his 
visit.  "  How  much,"  he  has  said,  "  I  have  enjoyed  myself 
in  the  worship  at  the  family  altar."  He  was  there  not  in 
lordship  nor  inquisition,  but  in  Christian  fellowship  and  as 
fellow-worshiper.      There  was  assertion  and  performance 


33G  BISHOr  3IARVIN. 

of  the  functions  of  a  church  ruler  and  a  spiritual  overseer; 
])ut  in  a  marked  manner  the  vi^it  was  not  a  call  on,  so  much 
as  a  meetinir  with  his  members  in  the  comnmnion  of  saints. 
The  prayer  was  not  aimed  at  them  but  offered  for  and  with 
them.  There  were  two  gathered  together  and  Jesus  Avas  in 
the  midst. 

The  above  statement  will  be  read  by  many  who  will 
verify  it  in  their  own  recollections.  INIany  such  have  ex- 
tended to  him  an  abundant  and  elegant  hospitality,  but 
rather  than  the  cheer  of  the  social  evening  or  the  bonhom- 
mie  at  the  dinner  table,  they  remember  longest  and  cherish 
most  dearly  the  benediction  of  his  pastoral  visit — the  profit 
and  the  joy.  In  this  personal  communion  it  was  realized 
what  he  has  said  :  "  The  flock  cannot  be  driven  to  pasture  ; 
it  must  be  led."  His  individual  piety  was  known  and  recog- 
nized ;  V  the  good  shepherd"  and  "going  before."  Ilis 
spirituality  was  felt  and  enjoyed  and  obeyed — the  superior 
authority  of  influence  and  the  glad  and  confident  following 
of  a  trusted  leader.  None  more  than  he  was  jealous  for  the 
purity  and  fame  of  the  Church,  but  though  not  lax  in  disci- 
pline he  had  not,  according  to  the  memory  of  the  writer,  a 
single  church  trial.  He  used  freely  and  skillfully  the  crook 
of  the  shepherd's  staff  and  the  pole  was  not  needed  fcr 
blows  in  the  use  he  made  of  it  for  guidance. 

The  Gospel  church  from  the  beginning  has  had  a  poor- 
fund.  He  collected  for  it  and  was  its  almoner.  On  one  oc- 
/  casion  the  Master  dined  at  the  house  of  Zaccheus  ;  but  his 
frequent  and  cherished  visit  was  at  the  humble  home  at 
Bethany — too  poor  to  keep  a  servant.  In  this  history  there 
is  an  equal  care  of  the  humble — visit  at  the  mansion  on  the 
fashionable  thoroughfare  and  as  well,  and  oflacially  as  often, 
at  the  tenement  house  on  the  alley  front.  He  was  not 
Agrarian  nor  leveler,  but  he  was  gracious — not  patronizing — 
to  the  humble  and  a  dispenser  to  the  poor,  both  of  alms  and 
the  Gospel.     In  the  worship  on  the  bare  floor  and  kneeling 


CITY    TASTOR. 


O.J  / 


at  the  rickety  chair,  us  in  the  distress  and  prayer  of  the  first 
Bethel,  the  tenement  room  was  the  house  of  God — one  of 
the  times  and  places  of  his  "  enjoyed  myself."  In  a  review 
of  his  St.  Louis  pastorate  he  does  not  omit  the  mention  of 
it,  and  the  spirit  of  the  mention  is  apparent :  "I  remember 
many  of  the  poor  people  of  my  pastoral  charge,  names  that 
I  would  love  to 'honor,  names  that  are  honored — some  of 
them  assisted  out  of  the  revenues  of  the  church,  who  were 
eminent  for  piety,  and  worthy  members  of  the  heavenly 
household.  They  were  not  known,  and  never  will  be  known 
on  earth,  but  their  spirits  were  resplendent  with  heavenly 
grace,  and  illustrious  virtues  adorned  their  character ;  and 
though  unknown  on  earth,  in  the  heraldry  of  the  celestial 
world  they  will  take  rank  above  many  of  us  Avho  have  been 
more  prominent  in  the  church  and  in  the  world." 

Exhibiting  him  at  the  sick  bed  and  at  the  grave,  there  are 
three  incidents  brought  to  notice  for  these  pages.  They  are 
characteristic  and  representative — the  self-denying  visitor, 
the  attentive  pastor,  the  comforter.  The  first  happened  to 
one  of  the  present  members  of  Centenary  Church  when  he 
came  to  St.  Louis,  a  stranger.  It  is  related  of  him  :  "He 
called  at  the  Parsonage,  back  of  the  Church  where  Brother 
Marvin  boarded  with  a  INIrs.  Holland,  and  though  he  was 
lying  on  his  bed  sick,  he  sent  for  him  to  come  up  to  his 
room.  Ko  sooner  had  the  request  been  made  to  go  and  see 
a  sick  wife  than  he  started  at  once,  though  so  Avcak  as  to  be 
obliged  to  lean  on  him  for  support.  He  talked  and  prayed 
with  the  sick  wife,  who  died  before  the  close  of  the  week. 
From  that  an  acquaintance  begun  that  has  attached  the 
brother  to  the  Church  and  made  Bishop  Marvin's  memory 
fragrant  to  him,  above  all  others."  Saj^s  another:  "  I  first 
knew  him  when  he  was  junior  preacher  at  Fourth  Street 
Church,  in  1844.  God  bless  him  !  I  loved  him  then,  but 
as  years  rolled  on  I  had  stronger  affection  for  him  than  for 
any  living  man.  During  the  time  he  was  my  pastor  at  First 
22 


338  Bisiior  MAiivix. 

Church  I  Lad  a  most  violent  attack  of  iiiflaminatoiy  rheuma- 
tism, whicli  conliiied  mc  to  my  room  for  eiirht  months. 
!Never,  never,  shall  I  forget  his  attention  and  the  prayers 
which  he  offered  up  for  mc  at  my  I)edside.  He  had  the 
greatest  sympathy  for  the  sick  and  afHictcd,  and  most  ten- 
derly did  he  feel  for  the  poor  and  destitute." 

The  other  incident  is  from  his  own  peil.*  It  is  at  the 
liome  of  one  of  the  oldest  members  at  First  Church,  with 
his  sister,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Kells,  the  tirst  two  additions  to 
the  class  of  five  members  in  1821.  The  pastor  remains  at 
the  sick-bed  till  the  death  scene — a  comforter,  with  a  word 
of  cheer  in  the  ear  of  the  dying  and,  as  the  writer  knows, 
with  the  sympathies  of  a  friend  and  pastor  for  sup[)ort 
'when  the  blow  should  first  strike.  It  is  not  mentioned, 
iu  his  own  statement,  that  he  Avas  a  watcher  all  the  night 
through  and  closed  the  eyes  of  the  sleeper.  His  narrative 
connects  the  death-bed  with  the  bier  and  o-nwc.  The  foot- 
;steps  of  Jesus  point  towards  the  sick-room  and  the  chamber 
•of  death.  They  joined  him  to  the  procession  at  the  gate  of 
^ain,  and  a  footprint  is  left  at  the  torn!)  in  Bethany. 
•*' Jesus  w^ept  " — in  all,  the  Pastor's  model  of  ministration 
and  sympathy.  In  this  history,  the  sick-bed  of  the  stranger, 
the  couch  of  the  sufferer,  the  death  scene,  and  this  added — 
the  poor  w^idow's  grave. 

"When  I  took  charge  of  a  certain  Church— I  will  not  name  it — as  was 
■my  custom,  I  hiisteued  to  find  all  ray  members,  and  to  know  them  person- 
ally, especially  the  poor.  I  found  one,  a  widow  in  humble  circumstances, 
whose  youngest  child  wa'^  m^arly  grown  up;  she  told  me  her  story.  Fif- 
teen years  before  she  had  been  bereft  of  her  husband,  who  was  a  mechanic, 
and  had  left  her  with  a  helpless  family  and  without  means  of  support. 
Where  bread  was  to  come  from  she  did  not  see.  But  she  had  one  friend 
Tv!io  never  failed  her:  her  class-leader  was  a  man  of  wealth;  he  kept  him- 
self informed  as  to  her  necessities;  took  pains  to  get  her  employment; 
.:got  situations  for  her  sons,  as  they  grew  up,  in  places  where  they  would 
he  under  good    influences;  and  whenever   the   pinch   came    and   it   was 


*Volurae  of  Sermons,  pp.  341,  342. 


CITY    PASTOR.  339 

necessary,  he  sent  fuel  and  provisions — always  doing  what  he  C(nild  first 
to  put  her  iu  a  way  of  lielpiuu;  herself,  that  she  mii^ht  not  feel  dependent. 
This  went  on  for  years,  until  her  sons  were  able  to  support  h-r.  He  had 
never  failed.     He  had  been  a  friend  indeed— pure  and  generous  and  noble. 

During  the  flist  year  of  my  pastoral  term  she  died.  Her  old  friend 
,was  there  with  me  unler  the  lowly  roof.  Her  purity,  her  piety  and 
her  sorrows  had  interested  him  in  her,  and  he  felt  that  he  had  lost  a 
friend;  his  tears  were  silent,  but  came  from  deep  fountains.  He  closed 
her  eyes  reverently  with  his  own  hand,  and  taking  two  pieces  of  silver 
coin  from  his  pocket,  laid  them  on  the  lids.  He  was  with  the  children 
at  the  open  grave,  and  wopt  almost  as  profusely  as  they  when  th«  clods 
fell  and  the  ofRciatiag  minister  pronounced  the  words,  "Earth  to  earth, 
ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust." 

A  few  months  later  I  saw  htm  die ;  it  was  a  glorious  death— rather, 
it  was  a  glorious  triumph  over  death.  It  was  in  the  morning;  the 
sun  was  just  sweeping  up  from  the  horizon;  nature  was  in  her  most 
re-plendent  attire.  It  seemed  as  if  heaven  had  lent  something  of  its 
radiance  to  the  scene.  All  at  once  his  eyes  flamed  vvith  a  new  light, 
his  spirit  swept  up  through  the  golden  gates  of  the  morniu'j;,  and  left 
his  face  all  beautiful  with  smiles  that  liugered  still  upon  it  when  he  was 
■borne  away  to  the  grave. 

Much  of  the  most  important  part  of  his  pastoral  work 
may  be  brought  in  review  under  the  general  head  of  ad- 
ministration— its  methods  and  measures.  In  the  city  station 
the  Leaders  and  Stewards  meet  the  Preacher  in  charge 
weekly.  The  stated  business  of  this  meeting  is  embraced 
in  the  four  well-known  questions — arc  there  any  sick?  dis- 
orderly walkers?  collections  from  classes?  poor  needing 
iissistance?  In  the  contemplation  of  discipline  every  mem- 
ber of  the  charge  has  been  seen  or  looked  after  by  a  leader, 
iit  least  once  in  every  week,  and  their  religious  experience  and 
practical  life  ascertained  by  direct  inquiry.  The  fit  word  is 
spoken  and  the  unruly  are  reported  to  the  Pastor.  Both 
classes  of  officers  are  financial  agents  of  the  Church,  the 
former  as  collectors  and  the  latter  as  managers  of  the  finan- 
ces ;  in  the  same  station  as  the  Deacons  of  the  primitive 
Church,  to  serve  tables  in  order  that  the  dispenser  of  the 
word  may  give  himself  wholly  to  that  ministry — a  provision 
for  apostolical  labors,  and  as  necessary  and  appropriate  now 


340  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

as  then.  There  is  a  fifth  question — any  miscellaneous  bus- 
iness? The  answer,  connnonly,  brings  up  the  relation  sub- 
sisting between  the  preacher  in  cliarge  and  the  College  of 
Officers.  On  his  part  the  counsel  and  directions  of  the  chief 
functionary:  on  the  other  part,  by  the  leaders,  informa- 
tion and  suijircstion  in  re<i;ard  to  pastoral  oversiirht  in  nar- 
ticular  cases.  On  the  part  of  both,  the  general  consultation 
follows.  All  alike  are  interested  in  the  general  welfare  and 
every  department  of  the  Avork.  It  is  indicated  in  the  quali- 
fications prescribed  for  office — as  to  the  preacher,  the  pledge 
of  his  ordination  and  membership  in  the  Annual  Conference  ; 
and  as  to  his  College  of  Officers,  men  selected  for  sound 
judgment,  of  good  natural  and  acquired  business  capacity, 
solid  piety,  as  truly  devoted  to  God  and  who  both  know 
and  love  the  Methodist  doctrine  and  discipline. 

Through  the  relations  of  the  Pastor  to  his  Official  Board, 
he  may  exercise  an  almost  universal  sui)ervision  and  a  com- 
prehensive control  in  executive  administration.  It  is  related 
to  him  as  a  president  in  his  cabinet  or  as  the  executive- 
committee  to  the  chairmanship  of  an  or<ranization.  Thev 
are  to  be  viewed,  also,  as  picked  men  and  both  skilled  and 
patriotic,  orderly  and  ardent  at  the  council-board  and  in  the 
field.  What  may  not  a  wise  and  brave  leader  accomplish 
with  such  select  lieutenants?  Through  the  class  leader  the 
eye  of  the  pastor  is  ubicpiitous.  In  his  voice  the  seasonable 
advice  is  spoken.  A  deputy-hand  is  laid  upon  the  shoulder 
of  the  straying  or  in  arrest  of  the  refractory.  The  daily 
reports  at  an  adjutant's  office  in  every  department  of  an 
army,  commissary,  qnartei-master  and  ordinaMC(\  is  not  more 
complete  and  exact,  than  may  be  the  weekly  report  on  Mon- 
day night  at  the  Pastor's  office  in  review  of  the  teniporal 
and  spiritual  condition  of  the  charge.  The  change  of  lead- 
ers of  classes  and  interchanire  in  leadinu'  and  the  Ix'st  leaders 
itineratinir  amonix  the  classes,  two  sometimes  meetinir  ^o- 
gether,  and  the  general  class — all  this  resembles  military  op- 


CITY   PASTOR.  «  341 

erations,  changes  of  command,  the  staff-council,  the  batalliou 
as  well  as  single  company,  and  at  times  the  massing  of  the 
army.  Mr.  Wesley,  as  an  organizer,  rightly  conceived  the 
Church  as  an  executive  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  his  regulations 
framed  the  administrative  function  and  faculty  after  the 
model  of  that  form  which  is  most  direct  and  effective. 

In  church  oijcrations,  also,  as  in  the  military  campaign, 
there  is  a  large  reserve  force  :  not,  however,  as  in  that,  lield 
in  reserve,  hut  unenlisted  ;  not  available  by  draft,  but  strictly 
a  volunteer  force.  There  are  those  past  age  or  under  other 
<]isal)ilit3^ ;  but  the  great  majority  of  church  members  are 
capable  of  active  Christian  work  and  there  is  a  place  in  the 
ranks  for  every  recruit.  Christ  sii>-nified  the  existence  and 
the  i)osture  of  this  reserve  power  in  the  parables — types, 
descriptive  of  the  general  Church  in  all  times — the  hidden 
talent  and  the  idlers  in  the  market  place.  He  is  a  wise  and 
efficient  pastor  who  pursues  the  idlers  and  unearths  the 
buried  talent ;  and  by  the  authority  of  offictf  and  influence 
■can  accomplish  it  and  secure  to  the  church  the  lost  usury 
and  the  unused  ability. 

Such  resources  and  instruments  of  administration,  rank 
and  tile,  Marvin  perceived  and  appreciated.  He  has  spoken 
of  them  in  a  livel}'^  description  of  a  AVesleyan  society  in  op- 
eration under  regulation  service  and  in  the  days  of  primitive 
vigor:  "  Every  Methodist  society  under  the  charge  of  Mr. 
Wesley  was  a  bee-hive.  Every  one  was  at  Avork.  Every 
one  had  something  to  do  and  did  it — the  parent  at  the  fam- 
ily altar,  the  leader  and  his  class  ;  the  prayer-leader  and  his 
meetings  ;  lay  preachers  in  the  pulpit,  in  barn  and  open  fields  ; 
friends  and  neiohbors  talkino;  and  prayino-  Avith  the  uncon- 
verted,  and  all  who  had  facilit}^  in  any  way  put  on  some 
w^ork."  "  Such  a  scene  of  personal  activity,"  he  exclaims, 
"  as  was  amongst  the  members  of  those  early  Methodist 
societies  was  a  repetition  of  the  apostolic  times  and  primi- 
tive zeal." 


342  #         BISHOP  MARVIN. 

His  presidency  at  the  Ofticial  Board  had  such  significance 
— as  a  ruler  in  the  House  of  God.  At  the  official  nieetinir 
in  conference  with  his  cabinet  and  in  interview  with  his  Ex- 
ecutive Board,  he  was  cordial  in  personal  relations,  with 
close  alliance  and  harmonious  co-operation. 

Anions;  officers  he  had  most  use  for  the  class-leader.  In 
the  conservation  and  upl)uilding  of  the  Church  the  class- 
room was  looked  to  as  chief  among  aids — an  ally  of  the 
pulpit  and  an  assistant  pastorate.  The  entire  membership 
was  sub-divided  into  classes — not  substituted  by  the  general 
class.  The  number  w'as  convenient — the  disciplinary  order 
of  exercises  and  the  visitation  of  delinquents  at  their  homes 
not  to  be  dispensed  with.  One  of  his  leaders,  it  is  remem- 
bered, wdiose  class  was  specially  delinquent,  was  accustomed 
at  short  intervals  in  failure  to  meet  him  to  go  to  them  ;  and 
most  of  his  leaders  pursued  after  absentees.  He  visited  the 
classes  himself  diligently  and  methodically.  They  were 
formed  into  a  ^rcuit  of  appointments,  publicly  announced  ; 
and  he  made  the  round  as  he  would  that  of  circuit  preach- 
ing-places. The  whole  weight  of  his  authority  and  inlluence 
was  exerted  to  uphold  the  class-meeting.  It  was  a  citadel 
of  strength,  as  it  guarded  the  purity  of  the  Church.  The 
nursery  of  its  spirituality,  next  to  the  pulpit  it  was  a  seat 
of  power.  It  was  a  constant  utterance  of  the  pulpit  and 
burden  of  priv^ite  communication — the  prevalency  of  the 
Church  located  not  in  its  social  prestige,  nor  resources  of 
wealth  or  numbers,  but  in  its  piet}'.  Religion,  personal, 
felt,  enjoyed — that  the  mainspring  of  tiie  activities  of  the 
original  jNIethodism.  He  speaks  of  it  in  these  closing  words- 
of  a  description  of  them  :  "  The  great  central  idea  w^as  that 
the  sinner  is  lost  and  that  amazing  mercies  are  revealed 
from  Heaven.  How  can  the  saved  sinner  forbear  and  hold 
his  peace?  In  this  great  mercy  his  n(>ighl)or  must  share; 
and  there  is  the  main-spring  of  labor  that  set  everything  to 
work." 


CITY    PASTOR.  343 

The  class-room  was  a  iiurserv  for  the  vouiio;  convert.  It 
is,  however,  to  l)o  noted  that  it  was  superadded  to  Ids  pas- 
toral nurture,  not  substituting  it.  There  is  an  uniform  tes- 
timony, running  through  his  entire  ministerial  history  in 
circuits  and  stations,  in  the  country  and  city  work,  of  paius- 
takins:  to  conserve  the  fruits  of  revivjd  meetings.  There 
was  thorough  w^ork  done  in  pulpit  and  at  the  mourners' 
bench.  It  was  folh)\ved  by  the  most  sedulous  care  and 
watch  over  them.  There  are  hindrances  to  it  in  city  life  in 
many  forms,  l)ut  he  prosecuted  it  with  determination, 
adopting  many  ex})edients  and  making  it  sure  that  the  j^oung 
meml)er  was  looked  after  and  surrounded  by  every  practi- 
cable ])rop. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  meetings  of  his  entire  min- 
istry  was  during  his  first  Minter  at  First  Church.  This  and 
the  meetins;  at  Libertv  Church  on  Monticello  Circuit  he  has 
mentioned  with  special  notice — in  both  with  reference  to  the 
supplemental  work  of  the  Pastor.  Joe  Smith,  of  Liberty 
Church,  is  witness  of  its  efficacy  in  the  individual  example  of 
the  most  abandoned,  reclaimed  and  kept  from  falling.  At 
First  Church,  it  is  in  evidence,  how  the  many  of  the  con- 
verts re  appear  at  the  altar;  after  probation,  for  the  linal 
vows  of  membership.  There  had  been  eighty  accessions  to 
the  Church  on  trial,  the  rule  of  six  months'  probation  exist- 
ing at  that  time.  "  At  the  time,"  he  said,  "  for  reception 
into  full  connection,  there  had  been  verv  little  backslidino: 
from  the  revival."  Only  about  fifty  of  the  number  ap- 
peared on  that  occasion — of  the  remainder  he  was  not  igno- 
rant. "I  knew,"  he  adds,  "where  all  the  rest  were. 
They  were  scattered  off.  Some  were  young  people  who- 
were  spending  the  winter  in  the  city  among  friends.  Some,. 
3^oung  men  who  Avere  disappointed  in  search  of  employment 
and  had  floated  off  elsewhere.  Others  had  been  residents 
for  a  longer  time,  but  failing  in  business  had  removed  to^ 
other  places." 


344  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

This  reference  to  the  unstable  character  of  a  city  popu- 
lation he  has  enhirg-ed  upon  as  important  to  be  ol)served  in 
estimating  tlie  work  <;f  the  ministry,  especially  in  a  Western 
city.  During  his  term  at  First  Church  the  minutes  show 
an  increase  in  both  years,  aixii'reiratiiiir,  however,  less  than 
one  hundred,  inclusive  of  probationers  and  additions  by  cer- 
tificate as  well  as  on  original  profession.  When  he  returned 
to  Centenary  Church  for  his  second  term  he  found  fewer 
meml)ers  than  when  he  left  jit  tho  close  of  his  first  term — 
in  one  year  a  d;*crease  of  fifty,  though  there  had  been  a  con- 
siderable revival  during  the  preceding  j^ear.  His  successor 
at  First  Church,  in  like  nianncr,  returned  for  the  minutes 
one  hundred  and  eight  less  than  the  minutes  the  year  before. 
Although  the  years  from  1857  to  18G0  embraced  a  i)criod  of 
remarkable  revivjil  increase  in  all  the  city  Methodist  churches, 
the  statistical  returns  show  an  inci'case  from  year  to  year  of 
only  about  half  a  hundred  for  the  entire  city  work. 

The  comparative  numerical  ?\Iethodisni  of  St.  Louis  at 
that  time  and  the  present  is  1,277  in  18(10  and  1,417  in  1878. 
The  minutes  do  not  exhibit  the  full  record  of  its  work.  There 
is  ebb  and  flow  of  statistical  returns  incident  to  a  migratory 
memfjcrship,  and  the  comparatively  small  numerical  increase 
is  not  a  just  index  of  ministerial  fidelity  and  success.  "  It  is 
remarkable,"  says  Bishop  Marvin,  "  how  population  comes 
and  o-oes  in  those  iireat  Western  cities.  The  results  of 
church  work  in  St.  Louis  cannot  be  gathered  up.  I  cannot 
doubt  that  within  the  recollection  of  living  pastors  thou- 
sands have  been  converted  to  God  in  the  revivals  from  first 
to  last  who  have  been  scattered  abroad  amidst  the  active 
changes  of  a  great  city.  It  is  astonishing  how  few  compose 
the  permanent  citizenship  and  the  permanent  membership 
of  the  churches.  Converts  of  St.  Louis  Methodism  are,  no 
doubt,  to  be  found  in  the  churches  all  over  the  land.  This 
unsettled  condition  of  the  popuhition  makes  Church  work 
ill  a  great  city  onerous  and  in  a  large  measure  discouraging. 


CITY    PASTOR. 


345 


Eevivals  are  not  so  productive  of  home  growth  as  in  staid 
communities.  There  is  a  great  ingathering  every  ^ear  or 
two  ;  but  the  advancement  of  one  year  can  scarcely  ho  found 
in  any  considerable  measure  at  the  end  of  the  next.  So, 
there  is  a  work  all  the  while  to  do  over  again." 

The  classes  of  persons  specified  in  the  foregoing  extracts 
indicate  a  marked  charactei'istic  of  his  ministry  in  all  its  de- 
partments of  labor  and  service — its  impartiality,   as  it   is 
written:  "  My  house  shall  be   called  the  House  of  Prayer 
for  all  people."     It  extended  to  all  classes.     Its  fruits  em- 
braced all  conditions  in  life.     Children  were  included.     No 
caste,  high  or  low,   has  exclusive  claims   upon  the  Gospel. 
But  Gospel-discipleship  is  harder  to  the  rich  and  great  than 
to  the  humble.     Its  ranks  are  recruited  mostly  from  among 
the  common  people,  who  heard  Christ  gladly,  as  IMethodism 
had  its  first  disciples  among  the  colliers  of  England  and  has 
drawn  the  most  of  them  ever  since  from  among  the  masses. 
It  is  a  good  reason  for  the  special  provision,   because  they 
may    be    overlooked,    that    "  the   poor    have   the    Gospel 
preached  unto  them."     The  provision  is  not,  indeed.  His  leg- 
islation ;  but  rather,   a  sign-mark  of  Christ,  and  hence  the 
genius  of  Christianity.     Kot  the  exclusive  appointment,   it 
appears,  however,  as  peculiarly  the  providential  mission  of 
Methodism  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.     In  common 
fame,  JNIethodism  is  characterized  by  it — not  so  much   as  a 
rule  as  the  spirit  of  its  system,  the  outgrowth  of  its  doctrine 
and  the  genius  of  its  polity.     It  is  after  a  divine  model.     It 
contains  the  locks  of  its  strength.     The  narrative  of  the  tri- 
umphal entry  into  Jerusalem  is  a  type   of  the  Gospel  dis- 
pensation  and  typifies  a  triumphant  church.     It  has   been 
noted  of  it  that  the  procession  over  Olivet  Avas  made  up  of 
the   common   people — rabble,    as  the  Pharisee   would  call 
them.     At  the  Temple  Christ  defends  the  Court  of  the  Gen- 
tiles.    The  Church  which  is  no  respecter  of  persons  is  the 
God-like,  Christian  and  church  of  power.     It  is  the  true 
Evangel  of  Christ.     He  honors  it  with  His  presence  and  the 
multitude  flock  to  it. 


34G  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Tt  was,  and  was  known  1')  l)o,  the  spirit  of  Marvin's 
ministry — of  i)ulpit  and  altar-place  and  pastorate — his  care 
for  souls  indiscriminately.  The  great  and  the  rich  ho  hon- 
ored, being  honored  of  God,  as  he  expressed  the  sentiment 
— favored  with  large  gifts  and  endowed  Avith  nmltiplied 
talents.  He  had  a  duty  to  them  and  his  ministry  abounded 
toward  them  in  pastoral  attention  and  pulpit  instruction. 
Two  out  of  the  eiirhteen  of  his  i)ul)lishod  sermons  arc  dc- 
voted  to  editication  of  that  class.  Sanctified  wealth  is  an 
instrument  of  power.  It  is  the  most  prolific  of  opportunity 
to  Christian  zeal.  It  is,  besides,  a  personal  enrichmeut  in 
the  joy  of  benevolence  and  the  glory  of  final  rewards, 
transniutins:  the  coarse  commercial  values  into  celestial 
riches.  He  wrote  in  enforcement  of  the  sentiment,  that 
"an  enlightened  Christian  will  not  despise  this  Avorld's 
goods."  He  did  not  contemn,  nor  denouni^e,  nor  neglect 
the  rich.  At  the  same  time,  there  Avas  in  his  ministry  the 
radical  grace — "  honor  all  men."  It  appears  in  the  inciden- 
tal mention  in  the  foregoing  extract,  of  the  fruits  of  his 
ministr}^ — the  Avandcrer  from  place  to  i)lace,  not  in  posses- 
sion but  in  hunt  of  fortune  ;  the  uninliuential  stranger  Avho 
cannot  obtain  a  situation  ;  the  broken  merchant  Avithout  a 
dollar.  This  class  of  persons  appeared  on  the  roll  of  con- 
verts not  onlv  actuallv  but  lara'cly,  as  related  to  the  Avhole 
number  in  the  proportion  of  fifty  and  thiity.  A\'ith  equal 
solicitude  for  others,  of  the  less  fortune-favored,  he  said  : 
"I  knew  Avhere  all  the  rest  Avere." 

Another  special  care  of  his  pastorate  Avas  that  of  youth 
and  children.  He  sought  to  estal)lish  relations  of  intimate 
personal  acquaintance  Avith  young  men.  They  Avere  i)ecu- 
liarly  exposed  amidst  the  temptations  of  city  life.  He  ex- 
ercised special  guardianship  over  them.  There  Avas  limited 
opportunity  of  personal  interview  at  lodgings  and  little,, 
Avilli  i)ropriety,  at  i)laces  of  l)usiness.  He  supplied  this 
disadvantage  by  epistolary  comnninication,  and,  at  his  re- 
quest, by  the  occasional  half-hour  call  at  his  office  at  their 


CITY  PASTOR.  34:7 

convenience.  Interested  occupation  in  Church  work  and  its 
incidental  social  life  Averc  promoted,  as  counter  attractions  to 
sinful  pastimes  and  div^crsions.  "  Because  ye  arc  strong," 
fvas  another  reason  for  pastoral  attention.  They  were  i)ut 
to  work  in  the  Sunda}^  School  or  other  fields  of  active  Chris- 
tian service.  Names  miiiht  l)e  driven  of  members  in  the 
churches  in  St.  Louis  and  in  other  cities  to  which  they  have 
removed,  now  in  mature  years  and  exemplars  of  piet}''  and 
skilled  workmen,  who  were  converted  under  his  preaching 
and  trained  under  his  pastorate. 

The  Sabbath  School  is  a  necessar}'  adjunct  to  the  pas- 
toral oiEce  in  a  laro-e  city.  Durini^:  the  rcii;ulation  hours  for 
the  pastoral  visit  it  is  not  common  to  meet  the  children  of 
the  household.  His  meeting-place  chiefly  was  at  the  Sunday 
School  room — there  the  personal  interview,  the  kind  word, 
the  children's  pulpit.  His  circuit  of  the  room  will  be  re- 
membered. It  was  the  Pastor's  oversight.  It  extended  to 
the  work  of  the  teachers.  He  did  not  except  to  them  as 
unconverted,  if  of  sober  mind  and  serious  deportment ;  but 
he  preferred  and  sought  for  the  nurture  and  instruction  of 
the  Sunday  School  class  the  qualities  of  a  class-leader. 
Teachers  were  among  the  children  assistant  pastors.  He 
cultivated  a  close  alliance  and  was  in  thorouirh  accord  with 
the  Sunday  School.  He  u^ed  it  wisely  and  well.  In  his 
hands  it  became  in  much  the  children's  church.  His  visit 
was  his  weekly  round  of  i)astoral  visitation  to  the  children. 
It  was  followed  by  the  platform  talk — the  sermon  to  the 
children  the  first  of  the  day. 

The  relation  of  his  pulpit  to  his  pastoral  ol)servation  has 
already  been  remarked.  His  administration  was  guided  by 
an  intelligent  and  careful  and  large  inspection  of  the  situa- 
tion in  his  field  of  labor.  His  walk  throu£!:h  the  streets  of 
St.  Louis  was  like  that  of  Paul  at  Athens.  He  survej^ed  the 
condition  of  the  place  and  took  the  bearing  of  the  temper  of 
the  times. 


/ 


348  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

A  remarkiible  illustration  of  this  quality  of  liis  pastor- 
ate was  his  controversial  lectures  on  Romanism.  They  were 
twenty-three  in  number,  delivered  on  successive  Sunday 
nights  in  his  pulpit  at  Centenary.  The  occasion  of  them^ 
■vvas  a  course  of  lectures  being  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Smarius  at  St.  Xavier's  Church,  a  pastoral  charge  connected 
Avith  the  Jesuit  College,  the  St.  Louis  University.  The 
Catholic  lecturer  had  assailed  the  Protestant  rule  of  faith. 
The  assault  justified  and  demanded  reply.  The  publication 
of  his  lectures  in  the  principal  secular  newspaper  of  the  city 
seemed  to  invite  and  challenge  controversy.  That  fact  was 
peculiar.  It  is  the  policy  of  llomanism  to  shun,  not  to  seek 
controversy  in  respect  to  its  dogmas.  It  was  significant  of 
the  local  ascendancy  of  Romanism.  St.  Louis  took  its 
name  from  a  king  of  the  French,  under  whose  reign  the 
Upper  jNlississippi  Valley  was  explored  and  possessed.  The 
original  settlers  were  Catholics.  The  modern  po[)ulation  in 
its  great  bulk  were  emigrants  from  Catholic  countries.  In 
numbers,  wealth,  social  respectability  and  popular  infiuenco 
and  resources,  material  and  moral,  of  ecclesiastical  power 
and  propagandism,  Romanism  was   strong  and  bold. 

The  reply  of  the  Marvin  course  was  not  confined  narrowly 
to  the  defense  of  the  point  assailed.     As  he  expressed  it  and 
by  use  of  the  quotation,  "  the  war  was  carried  into  Africa." 
It  reviewed  the  principal  grounds    of   protest  against  the 
ra])acy.     The  sincerity  of  his.  convictions  and  earnestness 
and  eloquence  of  advocacy  were  noted  by  the  press.     In  the 
later  lectures   Romanism  appeared  as  the  Great  Apostasy. 
In  the  review  of  the  course  in  the  closing  lecture,  the   two 
systems  appear  in  contrast  and  competition  at  vital  points : 
the  pulpit  as  above  the  altar  ;  the  Cross  as  against  the  mass  ; 
.salvation  personal,  not  sacramental ;  Christianity  a  life  and 
not  corporate  ;  the  Bible  free  and  not  fettered,  the  only  rule 
of  faith  and  not  tradition  also;  "the  Bil)le  and  the  Bible 
alone  the  reli.<rion  of  Protestants,"  against  the  assumed  au- 
thority  and  the  pretended  infallibility  of  the  Church. 


CITY    PASTOR.  349 

The  sentiment  was  current  at  the  time  that  it  was  the 
cherished  policy  of  the  Papacy  to  Romanize  America.  The 
lecturer  quoted  a  saying  of  a  priest  resident  in  the  Athmtic 
'States,'  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Churcli  "  to  make  a 
Paraguay  in  Missouri."  This  gigantic  error  Avas  in  the 
midst.  St.  Louis  was  a  stronghold  and  headquarters  of  its 
operations  in  the  western  half  of  the  continent.  Protestant- 
ism is  directly  assailed.  The  utterance  of  the  pulpit  is  given 
to  the  press  of  the  city.  The  Catholic  lecturer  is  learned, 
eloquent,  respected,  eminent  in  position  and  of  high  per- 
sonal worth.  "  If  any  one  imagined,"  saA's  Marvin,  "  that 
Protestant  ministers  were  disposed,  under  such  circum- 
stances, to  look  on  respectfully  from  a  distance,  he  only 
mistook  their  temper."  Their  temper  was  other  than  the 
spirit  of  party  or  the  ambition  and  prowess  of  champion- 
ship.    Speaking  for  himself,  he  asserts  a  higher  actuation. 

The  same  fact  is  apparent  in  the  history  of  his  controver- 
sial strictures  on  Campbellism  during  his  ministry  on  the 
Monticello  Circuit.  He,  also,  held  a  debate  with  Rev.  Mr. 
Modisett  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Louisiana.  It  had  a  simi- 
lar origin.  At  the  time  of  his  Quarterly  Meeting  there,  Mr. 
M.  requested  the  use  of  the  Methodist  Charch  for  an  after- 
noon service  and  took  occasion  to  assail  the  doctrine  of  infant 
baptism.  The  Presiding  Elder  was  present,  and  before  the 
conirresration  was  dismissed  announced  that  the  sermon  Avould 
be  replied  to  by  him  at  the  night  service.  The  public  debate 
followed.  Our  informant,  who  was  one  of  the  moderators, 
testifies  to  the  superior  skill  of  Marvin  as  a  debater,  and  his 
triumph.  It  was  an  easy  victory  in  an  unequal  contest,  adding 
nothing  to  his  fame  ;  but  it  quieted  the  subject  of  baptism 
in  that  community,  and  the  repose  has  continued  till  this 
day. 

The  lectures  on  Romanism  in  like  manner  belong  to  the 
history  of  his  pastoral  administration.  He  specifies  that 
origin.     The  lectures  were  published  in  book-form.     In  the 


3bO  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

preface  he  says :  "  When  there  is  a  call  for  it,  I  must  stand 
up  against  heres}',  without  asking  Avho  it  may  be  that  holds 
it.  1  must  disprove  it  so  far  as  in  me  i^.  I  must  warn  men 
uirainst  it.  I  must  denounce  it,  even  if  the  truth  should  be 
unpalatable  to  many  whom  I  should  hesitate  greatly  to  dis- 
oblige ;  still  it  must  be  told  and  I  must  tell  it."'  It  \\()uld 
seem  from  other  statements  contained  in  the  preface  that 
he  desired  that  the  lectures  should  be  interpreted  and  their 
merits  tested  chiefly  if  not  solely  by  that  history  of  their 
origin,  as  significant  of  pastoral  fidelity  in  driving  away 
erroneous  and  stranixe  doctrines.  "It  is  onh,"  he  savs, 
"with  the  understanding  that  these  lectures  were  delivered 
in  my  church,  on  consecutive  Sunday  evenings,  that  I  am 
willing  for  them  to  go  to  the  public  in  the  shape  of  a  book." 
As  a  literary  performance  he  would  have  altered  and  could 
have  improved  it.  Other  motives  are  excluded.  "  Very 
unexpectedly  I  find  myself  introduced  into  the  company  of 
Western  book-makers."  He  did  not  entertain  the  ambition 
nor  hope  for  the  fame  of  authorship.  "  I  do  not  l)y  any 
means  flatter  myself  that  I  have  made  a  book  for  the  fu- 
ture." lie  did  not  pretend  to  originality.  "  The  field  has 
been  thoroughly  explored  before  me."  As  to  erudition,  he 
says:  "  ]Most  of  the  matter  contained  in  them  is  already  ac- 
cessible to  those  who  desire  to  investigate  the  subject.  And 
as  to  the /hc^.s*  they  are  such  as  have  been  often  used  before." 
Comparatively,  the  histoiical  argument  and  the  authority 
of  opinion  are  meagre.  That  line  of  consideration  was  not 
prominent  in  his  plan,  which  he  declares  to  have  been 
chiefly  to  bring  Ilomanism  to  the  test  of  Scripture  and  to 
trial  at  the  bar  of  reason. 

In  the  view  principally  of  their  pastoral  character  the 
merit  of  the  lectures  will  a[)pear  to  lie.  Candid  criticism 
will  accord  them  high  merit,  entitling  them  to  i)lace  among 
the  best  specimens  of  polemical  skill  and  ability.  Such  was 
the  critical  estimate  at  the  time — "  the  evident  sincerity  and 


CITY    PASTOR.  ool 

ingenuousness  of  the  lecturer,  together  with  his  eloquence, 
and  the  tliorough  masterly  ni:inner  in  which  he  haiidles  his 
subjects,  enchain  attention,  convince,  edify  and  delight  the 
multitudes  that  hang  upon  his  words."  Tlie  public  interest 
was  intense  and  pervading — the  most  notable,  perhaps,  be- 
fore or  since,  in  the  history  of  the  St.  Louis  pulpit.  It  was 
maintained  and  augmented  durin^j  five  months.  The  [)opu- 
lar  effect,  as  well  as  the  merit  of  the  lectures,  was  eidianced 
hy  the  manner  of  them.  They  were  extemporaneous  dis- 
course, written  out  for  the  press,  as  the  writer  knows,  after 
delivery.  In  the  wdiole  course  there  was  but  one  failure,  and 
that  incident,  it  may  be,  to  extempore  delivery.  There  was 
one,  consciously  to  himself,  as  Mr.  Bernard  Bryan,  the 
u.'-her  of  the  evening,  testilies.  As  partial  a  friend  as  he 
was,  he  thought  so,  too — "  for  Marvin,"  he  says,  and  adds, 
"  but  it  was  the  only  one  ;  in  tlie  next  lecture,  I  remember, 
he  was  more  than  himself." 

Besides  in  manner  of  deliver}^  the  popular  attractiveness 
may  nave  resided  in  what  he  says  of  their  substance:  "I 
pretend  to  originality  only  in  arrangement  and  illustration, 
and  some  of  the  arguments  are  such  as  I  have  not  met  with 
in  l)ooks."  They  were  unique  as  lectures — perhaps  not  an 
unwarranted  saying,  tliat  the  discourses  were  good  Mothod- 
ist  i)reaching.  He  notes  that  feature  of  Caples'  style  of 
controversial  discussion.  It  was  permeated  by  the  spirit 
of  his  pulpit  and  abounded  in  passages  taken  from  it.  Of 
this  character  was  the  closing  address  in  the  Caples-Hopson 
debate.  "  It  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  addresses  on 
the  work  of  the  Spirit,"  says  Bishop  Marvin,  "  it  was  ever 
my  f;)rtune  to  hear.  No  heart  was  untouched.  Old  Meth- 
odists said  Amen.  Campbellites  wept.  The  wicked  were 
melted.  I  felt  that  the  Word  of  God  had  been  fully  vindi- 
cated." The  critic  will  perceive  that  some  of  the  lectures 
would  suit  a  Presid'rng  Elder's  pulpit.  In  many,  the  audi- 
tors of  his  customary  ministrations  would  recognize  sermons 


352  BISHOP  3IARVIN. 

thov  li:i(l  li'-ard,  traiisfeiTcd  from  the  pulpit  to  the  platform 
and  (Iri'sscd  in  ;i  polemical  aai"').  8oiiie  i)assagcs  would 
iirdxc  good  exhortation  at  a  revival  meeting,  and  some  sen- 
ten  e.s  \v(»uld  tit  ill  a  love-feast  talk.  All  this  impressible 
]M{'i;iodists  would  enjoy.  IMany  of  the  vast  crowd  were  not 
US'  !  lo  the  Methodist  method  of  discourse  and  were  pleased 
by  novelty  and  fascinated  by  the  eloquence  of  appeal  inter- 
mixed with  argument,  as  Bishop  Marvin  said  of  Caples'  last 
half-hour  speech  in  a  debate  on  the  hackneyed  theme  of 
baptism. 

Such  effect  was  according  to  his  purpose  and  realized 
his  wish — not  to  win  the  belt  of  a  literary  champion  or  the 
Liurcls  of  a  theological  athlete  ;  but  to  do  homage  to  "  the 
truth  :;s  it  is  in  Jesus,"  and  erect  in  the  midst  of  the  Protes- 
tant conimunitv  and  particularlv  in  his  own  Christian  com- 
munion  and  })astoral  charge  a  foundation  upon  which  they 
might  build  themselves  up — "their  most  holy  faith,"  It 
does  not  detract  from  the  fame  of  the  lectures  and  adds  to 
the  merit  of  the  man  and  the  minister,  that  he  ai)peared  dur- 
ing th;)sc  twenty-three  Sunday  nights  as  a  watchman  on  tho 
tower-walls,  with  the  trumpet  of  warning  to  his  lips.  It 
S(»unded  in  clarion  notes  and  bugle  blast — clear  and  strong. 
In  this  view  he  h:id  great  satisfaction  vv^ith  the  results.  lie 
h:ul  evidence  of  actual  and  public  renunciation  of  Romanism 
in  particular  cases  and,  as  he  expressed  it,  saw  much  flutter- 
ing in  t!ie  direction  of  his  fire.  He  had  been  enabled  to 
strike  a  blow  i'or  Protestantism  and,  as  it  was  that,  an 
effe.-tive  blow  also  against  the  Papacy — to  exalt  the  Word 
of  God,  to  honor  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  magnify 
and  endear  the  Everlasting  Priesthood  and  Divine  Headship 
of  t'l.!  Lo'il  Jesus  Christ. 

1  I  a  reti'ospcct  of  his  St.  Louis  pastorate,  ten  years 
aft(M\var<ls,  he  said  :  "It  seems  to  me  that  just  about  the 
time  1  ceased  to  be  a  pastor  I  had  begun  to  learn  how  to  be 


CITY    TASTOR. 


353 


a  pastor."  The  connection  of  the  remark  was  in  discourse 
upon  the  Christian  activity  of  primitive  Methodism  and  sug- 
gested by  survey  of  the  demand  for  it  in  St,  Louis  Method- 
ism— the  breadth  and  fruitfulness  of  the  field  and  the  im- 
perative command  of  duty  and  responsibility  to  thrust  in 
the  sickle.  When  he  came  to  St.  Louis  he  found  himself 
in  the  midst  of  a  mighty  rush  of  accunmlating  population, 
and  the  stir  and  push  of  a  growing  city — its  multiplying 
additions  every  year  larger  than  the  area  and  census  of  the 
largest  town  he  had  ever  served  as  pastor ;  industries 
springing  up  on  every  hand,  as  if  by  magic,  in  a  night ;  the 
arms  of  its  commerce  stretching  out  with  a  reach  to  grasp 
and  draAV  to  its  bosom  the  wealth  of  half  a  continent.  In 
the  moral  aspects  of  the  situation  Mammon  asserted  lord- 
ship and  exercised  wide  and  imperious  sway.  The  vices  of 
civilization  came  along  with  the  flow  of  population.  The 
sj^irit  of  worldliness  accompa-  -d  the  abounding  increase  of 
riches.  His  comment  on  his  pastorate  had  in  view  the  as- 
pects of  the  times.  He  had  studied  them  and  "learned 
how  to  be  a  pastor."  He  appreciated  the  urgency  and  un- 
derstood the  philosophy  of  the  situation.  He  had  taken  it 
in  hand.  The  Church  must  be  on  its  knees  in  resistance  to 
the  worldly  spirit.  High  spirituality  is  the  mainspring  of 
zeal — a  devoted  and  daring  consecration.  Conservation 
merelv  is  deadlv :  ao^srression  is  the  law  of  life.  There 
must  be  confederacy  of  forces.  The  evil  times  require  it. 
The  scope  of  opportunity  invites  enterprise,  untiring  and 
universal.  The  law  of  duty  enacts  a  draft  upon  the  whole 
Church — all  ages,  all  conditions  in  life,  all  variety  of 
talents. 

Those  who  remain  of  his  pastorate  in  its  latter  years  ynW 
remember  how  such  utterances  sounded  from  the  desk  of 
the  preacher  and  the  pastor's  chair.     He  had  not  been  want- 
ing personally  ;  and  there  had  been  a  good  degree  of  activ- 
23 


354  BISHOr  MARVIX. 

ilv  m  the  Churcii  of  tluit  tlay.  City  missions  had  been 
estal)lislicd.  The  Church  Extension  Association  had  iiccom- 
l)lishoc  much.  In  these  measures  he  had  Ikimi  prominent 
and  zealous.  Rehitively,  however,  pul[)it  labors  iiad  l)eeu 
€n<»TOssiiiir.  In  the  retrospect  of  his  ministrv  iu  St.  Louis, 
the  closinix  words  embody  his  mature  and  an  experienced 
judii'ment.  In  a  new  history  he  would  enlarire  the  labor  of 
the  pastor — auirmentiiig  and  organiziiiui:  the  working  force  of 
the  Church.  "  If  I  were  immediately  in  the  pastoral  relation 
airiun,"  he  declared  with  emphasis,  "  I  would  devote  more 
time  and  attention,  and  care,  and  labor,  and  thought  to  or- 
ganizing my  church  so  as  to  furnish  the  opportunity  of 
Christian  labor  to  every  member,  from  the  oldest  to  the 
youngest,  than  I  would  to  the  making  of  sermons.  How  it 
multiplies  the  work  and  activity  of  the  Church,  when  not  the 
pastor  alone  but  every  member  becomes  the  centre  of  vital 
activities  and  of  spiritual  poAver  in  the  Church  and  in  the 
society  where  he  lives." 

In  the  followiuii;  tribute  and  sketch  there  is  review  and 
characterization  of  Marvin's  St.  Louis  pulpit  and  pastorate. 
It  is  from  the  pen  of  a  co-laborer  and  his  successor  at  both 
of  the  pastoral  charges  he  had  served — liev.  Dr.  F.  A.  Mor- 
ris, Avho  writes  :  "As  his  successor  at  both  First  and  Cen- 
tenary Churches,  you  ask  what  traces  and  incidents  of  his 
personal  life  and  official  administration  I  found  in  those 
charges.  I  found  many,  among  the  rich  and  poor,  the  mid- 
dle-aged and  the  young,  the  wise  and  the  ignorant,  who  had 
been  converted  under  his  ministry,  and  some  brought  from 
darkness  to  light  under  the  delivery  of  a  single  sermon.  At 
First  Church  I  found  a  worthy  and  intelligent  French 
woman,  who  told  me  that  she  had  been  induced  to  go  and  hear 
him  (she  was  at  that  time  a  Roman  Catholic),  and  while  he 
preached  from  the  text,  '  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 


CITY  PASTOR.  6i)J 

prevail  against  it,'  Matt,  xvi,  18,  she  received  tlic  truth  as 
it  is  ill  Jesus  and  the  du}'"  star  of  eternal  life  arose  in  her 
heart.  To  the  day  of  her  death,  which  took  place  recently, 
she  called  the  Bishop  her  father  in  the  Gospel.  I  found  the 
entire  membership  of  both  charges  devoted  to  him.  They 
were  never  weary  of  pronouncing  his  name  and  telling  of  the 
delight  and  profit  which  they  had  received  from  his  ministry. 
His  songs,  prayers  and  faith  and  love  ever  remained  as  a 
sweet  perfume  in  their  hearts." 

The  following  incident  is  dated  in  the  first  year  of  his 
St.  Louis  ministry — its  preface  and  the  spirit  of  it.  It  is 
related  by  a  co-laborer  of  that  year.  "  I  Avas  assisting  him 
at  the  protracted  meeting  in  his  charge.  Ten  days  had 
passed  and  there  had  been  little  visible  success.  One  day 
in  a  call  at  his  room  in  the  old  parsonage  I  found  him 
deei)ly  moved.  He  groaned  in  spirit  as  we  talked  about 
the  meeting,  exclaiming  again  and  again — '  What  is  the 
matter?  What  is  the  matter?'  At  length  rising  from  his 
chair,  he  threw  himself  on  the  bed  and  wept  like  a  child. 
Searching  self-examination  followed.  At  suggestion  of 
supposed  hindrance  in  the  state  of  the  Church,  he  said : 
'  I'll  search  it  to  the  bottom.  But  come,  let  us  go  down 
into  the  basement  of  the  Church  and  pray  for  ourselves  till 
we  know  our  hearts  are  right  before  God  and  then  pray 
God  to  revive  the  Church.'  Never  can  I  forget  that  hour 
in  the  class-room  at  the  southwest  corner  of  old  Centenary 
Church.  He  prayed  aloud  and  most  fervently.  He  plead 
with  God.  There  was  no  considerable  revival  at  the  meet-' 
ing,  but  God  testified  of  his  servant.  He  rose  from  his 
knees  shouting,  and  broke  forth  in  a  song  which  was  a  fa- 
vorite at  the  time, 

'  Saved  by  grace,  I  live  to  tell 
The  wonders  of  Emmanuel.' " 

The  Conference  for  1860,  held  in  St.  Louis,  was  the 


356  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

last  at  which  his  character  and  hibors  were  under  review 
at  an  Annual  Conference.  His  appointment  that  year  was 
to  the  closing  term  of  his  St.  Louis  pastorate,  A  visit- 
ing minister  reports:  "I  heard  his  Presiding  Elder  say 
in  open  Conference,  that  E.  M.  Marvin  had  made  a  deeper 
and  broader  impression  on  that  community  than  any  other 
minister  who  had  ever  labored  there." 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


ARMY    LABORS. 

The  Arrow  Rock  Conference— Outbreak  of  the  War— Holding  over  at  Cen- 
tenary— Goins  South — Reasons  for  it — Passing  through  the  lines — The 
travel — Incidents — The  military  situation  at  the  South — Joins  Price's 
command  at  Grenada — Calls  for  his  ministry — At  headquartei-s — His 
camp-home — His  relation  to  the  army  purely  ministerial — Superinten- 
dent of  army  chaplains— Bishop  Paine's  commission — Broken  health — 
Religion  in  the  army — Great  revivals — The  Army  Church — Its  consti- 
tution and  creed — Battle  field  and  hospital — Battle  of  Helena — Hero- 
ism of  army  chaplains. 

^HE  session  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference  for  1861  was 
appointed  to  be  held  in  October  at  Arrow  Rock,  a 
locality  at  its  extreme  northern  boundary.  The  attendance 
was  limited  almost  wholly  to  the  preachers  in  that  section, 
in  consequence  of  the  disturbances  of  the  war.  At  that  date, 
Missouri  had  passed  the  Ordinance  of  Secession  and  ap- 
pointed delegates  to  the  Provisional  Government  of  the 
Southern  Confederac3^  The  State  Government  was  a  fugi- 
tive from  the  Capital.  The  Federal  authorities  took  prompt 
measures  for  the  military  occupation  and  subjugation  of  the 
State.  The  Department  of  the  Missouri  was  created,  with 
Gen.  John  C.  Fremont  in  command.  His  force,  estimated 
at  seventy  thousand  men,  was  operating  in  nearly  every 
quarter  of  the  State.  The  battles  of  Carthage,  Wilson's 
Creek  and  Lexington  had  been  fought — the  latter  Septem- 
ber 18-20.  On  the  approach  of  Gen.  Sterling  Price,  in 
command  of  the  "  State  Guard,"  immense  numbers  flocked 
to  his  standard  and  joined  him  at  Lexington.     The  fall  of 


358  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

that  garrison  liad  greatly  exasperated  the  Federal  authori- 
ties, and  a  inovcinent  was  ordered  concentrating  almost 
their  entire  force  at  that  point  and  moving  on  it  from  all 
directions  to  surround  and  capture  the  army  of  Price.  It 
compelled  him  to  retreat  southward,  which  began  oa  the 
27th. 

This  public  commotion  and  movement  of  armies,  occur- 
ing  near  the  time  and  jjlace  appointed  for  the  session  of  the 
Conference,  hindered  general  attendance  upon  it.  After  it 
met  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  adjourn  its  sitting  to  Wav- 
erly,  twenty-five  miles  distant.  No  Bishop  was  present  and 
l)ut  few  of  the  Pi'csiding  Elders  were  in  attendance.  At 
least  in  Districts  not  represented  at  Conference,  the  ap- 
pointments of  tlie  ])receding  3'ear  were  not  disturbed. 
Marvin  thus  continued  in  charge  of  Centenary  for  a  third 
successive  year,  holding  over  in  the  absence  of  a  regular 
appointment.  The  fact  is  singular  and  significant  of  the 
disturbance  of  the  work  of  the  Conference,  beginning  at 
that  early  period  of  the  war.  Almost  entii'e  disorganization 
occurred  soon  after,  following,  as  it  is  well  known,  the  ag- 
gression of  the  Methodist  Church,  Korlh,  and  the  concur- 
rent fierce  and  bloody  proscription  by  the  military  power. 
That  was  the  last  session  of  Conference  till  near  the  close 
of  the  war.  ]\Iany  of  the  preachers  were  in  exile  ;  and 
those  remaining,  with  little  exception,  were  in  various  ways 
estopped  from  ministerial  labors  ;  some  of  them,  murdered. 

At  that  Conference  Marvin  was  elected  a  delegate,  the 
first  on  the  list,  to  the  General  Conference  of  LS62,  to  meet 
in  New  Orleans.  That  election  took  him  South.  lie  preached 
his  last  sermon  at  Centenary  on  Sunday  night,  February 
17,  18r)2.  After  the  service,  in  a  buggy  with  a  trusted  com- 
panion, he  rode  out  ten  or  twelve  miles  on  the  Olive  Street 
road  to  the  house  of  a  friend,  where  he  remained  for  the 
niirht.  The  next  day  he  was  at  Fenton,  Avhere  he  was  de- 
layed several  days  making  final  arrangements  for  his  depar- 


AU.MY   LABORS.  359 

turc  to  the  South.  Thoiiee,  on  the  20th,  he  began  his  long 
and  i)erik)us  journey  through  the  Federal  lines.  The  pre- 
liminary history,  in  detail,  of  that  eventful  step  in  IVishop 
Marvin's  life  will  interest  many  readers.  It  is  well  authen- 
tieatcd  and  narrated  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Williams,  at  that  time  a 
resident  at  Fenton,  now  at  O'Fallon,  in  St.  Charles  County  : 

I  met  R"v.  E.  IM.  Marvin  on  the  strcot  in  St.  I.onis,  (I  think)  in  the 
month  of  March,  18G2.  lla  iseLiucd  troubled  and  aslvinl  nie  to  go  wilh  luin 
to  his  oflice,  as  lie  \vantc'd  to  h.ive  a  talli  with  mo.  VVlien  we  were  seated 
in  Ills  office  iu  the  baseineut,  of  Centenary  Caurch,  lie  told  me  that  he  was 
greatly  troubled  in  mind  and  depressed  in  spirit.  8aid  that  he  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  General  Conference,  wiiicli  was  to  meet  in  May,  at  New  Orleans, 
and  that  a  day  or  two  prior  to  our  meeting  the  attention  of  the  authorities 
had  been  ca.led  to  the  lact  by  one  of  the  St.  Louis  daily  papers,  "that  the 
time  lor  his  depariure  for  the  South  was  drawing  nigh."  He  said,  it 
made  hira  feel  sad  indeed  to  think  of  leaving  his  family,  friends  and  his 
pastoral  charge  iu  St.  Louis,  but  that  the  Church  had  selected  him  to  at- 
tend to  its  imporiant  interests,  and  that  he  could  not  think  of  shrinking 
from  or  shirking  duty.  He  said  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  start  eariy, 
as  he  would  certainly  be  arrested  and  imprisoned,  if  he  remained  much 
longer  in  the  city ;  that  an  oath  which  he  could  not  take  would  be  de- 
manded of  him  by  the  inilit;ary  authorities;  that,  as  a  matter  of  conscience 
and  principle,  he  would  die  in  prison  rather  than  take  it.  I  hardly  thiiilij 
and  i.\o  nut  believe,  he  would  have  feared  arrest  at  all  had  it  not  been  for 
the  above  facts.  He  asked  me  if  I  could  not  procure  him  a  guide  through 
the  military  lines.  A  promise  to  try  and  do  so  was  given.  No  special 
time  lor  h.s  dejiarture  had  then  been  deei  led  upon.  Circumstances,  how- 
ever, made  it  Ueces^ary  for  him  to  leave  very  soon  after  this  conversation. 
The  next  Sabbath  night,  perhai)S,  he  preached  at  his  church  in  the 
morni.g  and  evening  as  usual,  and  after  the  evening  services  he  was 
met  by  friends  who  tuok  iiim  iu  a  carriage  several  miles  into  the  coun- 
try, the  s.iine  night.  His  entire  ou;llt  was  a  horse,  saddle  and  bridle, 
and  the  clothing  he  had  on;  for  he  followed  the  Scripture  injunction 
and  look  no  change  of  raiment,  no  line  of  writing  or  auytliiug  by  which 
he  might  be  ideiilihed.  He  had  a  check  for  a  cuusiderable  sum  on  a 
.'■outheru  bank,  iu  the  leg  of  his  boot,  placed  between  the  lining  and  the 
ouiside,  the  check  having  been  put  in  at  the  top  of  the  boot  and  the 
place  neatly  stitched  up  iigaiu.  Ho  arrived  at  our  house  at  Fenton,  on 
Monday  morning,  and  late  iu  the  eveuiug  (as  he  desired  as  secluded  a 
retteat  as  possible),  I  took  lain  to  the  house  of  my  brother,  Larkin 
Williams.  He  remained  in  the  neighborhood  until  the  \A  edne>da3'  morn- 
iug  loliowing,  at  which  lime  he  set  out,  alone  on  his  hazanlous  journey. 
I  procured  him  a  guide  who  said  he  would  accompany  him  if  he  would 


3G0  BISHOr  MARVIN. 

■wait  a  flay  or  two  longer,  but  he  was  anxious  to  go  on  and  was  also 
afraid,  il'  captured,  that  lie  would  be  the  cause  of  brinjiiug  the  guide  to 
grief.  After  he  got  away  from  St.  Louis,  he  was  cheerful  aud  seemed  to 
be  hopeful,  and  even  happy.  He  said  to  us,  that  it  seemed  hard  to  have 
to  leave  his  native  State  in  this  way,  but  said  that  he  felt  it  was  his  duty 
and  that  he  was  doing  right  to  go.  Said,  too,  "  It  grieved  him  to  leave 
his  helpless  family,  not  knowing  how  they  would  fare;"  but  .'iaid,  "I  leave 
them  in  the  hands  of  my  Heavenly  Father,  feeling  that  He  will  tenderly 
care  for  them  and  protect  them."  Said,  he  could  be  no  protection  to 
them  by  staying,  and  then  added:  "Wife  knows  much  better  how  to  man- 
age than  I  do."  He  went  to  Hillsboro,  Jefferson  County,  the  first  day 
(as  he  told  me  after  his  return  from  the  South),  at  which  place  he  staid 
all  night.  Said,  the  town  was  full  of  soldiers,  and  he  thought  when 
he  saw  the  situation  of  affairs  that  his  journey  South  was  at  an  end 
He  was  not  mole.sted  and  after  traveling  a  day  or  two  he  procured  a 
guide,  and  was  accompanied  from  point  to  point  by  different  guides 
until  he  arrived  safely  Avithin, the  Confederate  lines. 

The  aoove  undertaking  certainly  evinced  an  indomitable  will,  heroic 
spirit  and  fidelity  to  the  Church  and  good  cause  which  had  engaged 
most  of  the  years  of  a  useful  and  eventful  life. 

The  foregoing  narrative,  it  ^vill  be  observed,  reports  his 
own  statement  of  reasons  for  ooino;  Soutii.  jMrs.  INIarvin 
oives  the  same  version  :  "  lie  left  his  home  with  <rreat  re- 
gret  and  chiefly  under  a  sense  of  duty  to  attend  the  General 
Conference.  He  thouo'ht,  also,  that  the  oath  of  alle^'iance 
would  soon  be  demanded  of  him,  and  which  he  could  not 
conscientiously  take.  A  pass  from  the  military  authorities 
was  required  to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  St.  Louis  County 
and  he  was  thus  kept  from  visiting  us  at  our  home  in  War- 
ren County.  He  got  to  see  us  on  one  occasion  as  the  offici- 
ating minister  at  the  funeral  of  a  person  who  died  in  St. 
Louis  and  was  buried  at  St.  Charles,  a  general  pass  having 
been  obtained  for  the  whole  company.  After  preaching  on 
Sunday  night  he  went  out  to  Mr.  AVilliam  C.  AVoodson's 
house.  At  davli2;ht  the  next  morning  he  was  in  the  saddle 
and  on  the  road,  passing  through  Fenton.  He  left  the 
place  in  charge  of  Reuben  and  Suky,  faithful  colored  ser- 
vants, who  had  been  with  us  eight  years.  He  had  laid  in 
family  supplies  to  last  for  three  years,  which  he  supposed 
would  be  the  duration  of  the  war." 


ARMY  LABORS.  3G1 

Tlic  Rev.  Dr.  F.  A.  Morris  h:is  made  the  followiiiir  eon- 
jectural  comment  on  his  going  South  : 

As  to  the  cause  of  his  going,  it  was  ostensibly  to  attend  the  General 
Conference.  He  was  a  delogaie.  But  the  Church  and  the  country  in  ihe 
South  were  broken  up.  Nobody  thought  tliat  tliere  would  i)e  a  session  of 
the  General  Conference.  It  is  not  lilvely  tliat  Brother  Marvin  loolied  for 
it.  Yet  the  reason  of  his  going  was  a  powerful  one',  for  he  left  all,  his  fam- 
ily, his  Church;  and  by  night  without  a  permit,  made  his  escape  through 
the  military  lines.  Going  away  as  he  did,  he  knew  that  he  could  not  re- 
turn till  the  war  was  over.  Yet  he  went.  Was  it  to  escape  tlie  oath  with 
which  we  were  all  threatened  under  Imprisonment  in  case  of  refusal  to 
take  it?  He  would  not  have  taken  any  oath  which  would  have  been  a  vio- 
lation of  truth  and  conscience.  And  certainly  he  was  not  afraid  of  impris- 
onment when  in  the  path  of  duty.  .  Why  then  did  he  leave  as  he  did?  I 
think  that  he  was  called  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  seetli  the  end  from  the 
beginning,  to  leave  all  things  here  and  go  forth  on  a  new  and  wider  and 
perilous  field  of  labor  and  usefulness.  How  he  labored  and  with  what 
great  results  is  known  to  all  the  Church  in  the  South. 

The  conclusion  of  Dr.  Morris  cannot  be  iraiasaid.  It 
is  manifest  that  God's  hand  was  in  this  business.  It  was 
leading  him  in  a  way  he  knew  not.  The  way  he  knew,  how- 
ever, was  the  path  of  duty.  In  all  his  public  life  and  official 
career  he  never  shrank  or  failed  to  go  forward  in  that  path. 
The  conclusion  of  Dr.  Morris  is  not,  therefore,  inconsistent 
with  the  facts  as  given  in  the  foreo-oin2:  narrative — the  os- 
tensible  being  the  real  reasons,  as  to  his  own  judgment  and 
determination.  He  felt  it  to  be  his  official  duty  to  attend 
the  General  Conference,  if  it  should  be  held.  No  notice  to 
the  contrary  had  been  received.  At  that  time,  in  February, 
New  Orleans  was  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Confederacy 
and  was  considered  impregnable,  under  guard  of  the  river 
defenses  above  and  below.  The  Conference  miirht  safelv 
meet  there,  it  was  supposed,  or  be  assembled  at  some  acces- 
sible place.  In  regard  to  the  oath  it  was  esteemed  by  him 
to  be  his  personal  duty  not  to  take  it.  The  version  ijivea 
by  Mrs.  Marvin  and  Dr.  Williams,  it  is  known  to  the  writer, 
contains  the  true  reasons  actuating  him  in  this  step.  It 
was  all  talked  over  till  late  in  the  night,  which  was  spent 


3(32  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

with  him  at  liis  room  sit  IMrs.  Eicord's  in  the  week  hcfore 
his  dopuiturc.  That  interview,  at  this  writing,  is  distinctly 
recalled.  The  originating  and  prime  reason  for  his  going 
was  to  attend  the  General  Conference.  lie  had  heeii 
charo-ed  with  this  duty  by  his  Conference  and  in  a  particular 
responsibility,  as  Chairman  of  the  delegation. 

The  matter  was  considered,  however,  in  a  larger  view 
than  that  of  perfunctory  performance.  It  was  manifest  to 
him,  that  the  Church  South  in  the  border  States  and  es- 
pecially in  ;Missouri,  would  have  to  pass  through  a  perilous 
ordeal.  The  General  Conference  must  be  made  acquainted 
Avith  this  critical  position  of  the  Church.  Any  injudicious 
action  would  imperil  its  existence.  It  was  considei-ed  prob- 
able that  none  of  the  other  delegates  from  Missouri  would 
attend.  Some  one  must  go.  He  would.  In  regard  to 
takiu'^  an  oath  of  alleuiance  to  the  United  States  govern- 
ment  his  mind  was  tirmly  made  up.  His  expressions  were 
emphatic:  "I  cannot  and  I  will  not  take  the  oath."  It 
was  a  secondary  but  a  distinct  reason  entering  into  his  de- 
termination, lie  expected  the  demand  upon  him  to  be 
made  certainly  and  soon.  The  consequences  of  refusal  he 
spoke  of  at  length,  apprehending  inevitable  and  protracted 
imprisonment.  He  thought  in  any  event  that  under  his  per- 
sonal disabilities,  he  could  not  hope,  if  he  remained,  for 
much  success  in  his  ministry,  and  that  his  charge  might  be 
served  more  advantageously  by  some  other  pastor. 

His  departure  was  hastened  by  the  fear  of  impending 
arrest.  Andrew  Monroe,  in  a  connnunication  to  the  Advo- 
cate, called  attention  to  the  near  approaching  session  of  the 
General  Conference,  and  in  some  way  raised  the  question  of 
attendance  by  the  delegates.  He  feared  this  might  come 
under  the  notice  of  the  Provost  Marshal's  oflice.  Whether 
that  got  into  the  secular  papers  or  not,  is  not  remembered. 
He  has  mentioned  that  the  city  papers  had  noticed  signifi- 
cantly the  presence  of  Caples  in  his  pulpit  and  concluding 


ARMY   LABORS.  303 

the  senMce  on  Sunclii}^  night — a  rchcl  just  out  of  prison  that 
day  on  parok\  The  situation  was  such  that  he  must  take 
his  departure  without  delay,  and  he  had  completed  sill  the 
arrangements  for  the  care  and  support  of  his  family,  as 
Mrs.  M.  has  stated  them. 

The  above  is  a  summary  statement  of  that  memorable  in- 
terview. It  can  never  be  forgotten — the  serious  conference, 
the  anxieties  and  the  sjanpathies  of  the  hour,  made  it  indel- 
ible. Tlie  memory  stands  connected  with  the  sentiment  of 
reverence  mingled  with  a  personal  love,  as  he  appeared  in 
that  attitude  of  heroic  devotion  to  truth  and  dutv,  standinsr 
to  his  conscience  and  ready  for  any  self-sacritice  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Church. 

Kccenth^  the  writer  held  a  Quarterly  IMeeting  near  "Web- 
ster, twelve  miles  west  of  Caledonia,  Washiniiton  Countv, 
where  this  writing  is  done.  The  place  was  on  the  line  of  the 
route  from  St.  Louis  to  the  South  durins;  the  war  for  all 
contraband  travel  and  freight.  Harvey  Sitton's  house  was  a 
station  on  the  line.  After  dinner  on  Saturday,  seated  on 
the  front  porch  running  the  whole  length  of  the  house,  the 
Presiding  Elder  took  down  the  followinij  notes  from  the 
lips  of  Mr.  Sitton  : 

It  was  the  route  of  tnxnsporlatiou  for  passengers,  and  for  supplies 
which  consisted  chiefly  of  medicines  and  clothing.  It.  was  also,  tlni  mail 
route,  and  the  "grapevine  telegraph"  ran  along  here.  Tiic  line  is  between 
two  and  three  huinlred  miles  long.  There  were  two  poinis  of  departure 
from  St.  Louis  County:  Su'i)hur  Springs  and  Fei'.tou.  To  this  point  it 
passed  west  of  Ilillsijoro,  through  Richwoods  and  Force  Ee  Nault,  ten 
miles  west  of  Potosi  and  leaving  Webster  two  miles  to  the  riglit.  From 
here  it  passed  over  to  the  headwaters  of  Big  River;  down  the  middle  fork 
of  the  Black,  calird  Adams'  Fork;  on  through  Rt'vnolds  County,  thriaigh 
Centrcville  and  Barnesville;  thence  into  Caiter  County,  crossing  the  Cur- 
rent River  at  House's  ford  and  feri-y,  five  miles  west  of  Van  Buren,  and 
thence  eiilering  Arkan-as  in  Fulton  County  by  two  roiites  :  one  via  Alton 
and  the  other  through  the  Wilderness,  as  it  was  called,  reaching  tlie  final 
terminus  at  Jacksonport,  on  Black  River.  The  stations  were  about  ten 
miles  apart.  The  pilots  along  the  line  were  known  to  each  otiieraiul  tliere 
were  sullicient  guards  against  imposition.     The  route  above  this  point 


3G4  BISHOP  MARVIN.  ' 

was  the  most  perilous  and  was  piloted  by  Tom  Johnson.  In  my  own  neigh- 
borhood, at  Webster,  there  was  a  military  post.  It  was  a  dangerous  serv- 
ice, performed  without  fee  or  reward.  I  did  it  to  save  valuable  lives. 
Among  the  many  who  have  been  sheltered  under  my  roof  and  helped  on 
their  way,  were  Uriel  Wright,  Gov.  Polk  and  Mr.  Garesche,  accompanied 
by  the  Catholic  priest,  Father  O  Bannon,  as  well  as  Bishop  Marvin.  The 
Bishop  came  to  my  house  one  clay  during  the  forenoon.  While  awaiting 
dinner  he  sat  in  the  split-bottom  rocking-chair  in  which  you  were  seated 
in  the  house,  and  at  the  table  sat  opposite  to  your  place  at  my  ri.uht  hand. 
Being  Southern  Methodists,  we  desired  him  to  remain  longer  with  us,  but 
he  thought  it  was  urgent  that  he  should  get  on.  In  the  afternoon  I  piloted 
him  over  to  Barger's,  ten  miles  distant.  There  we  found,  also,  rny  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  James  A.  Carson,  of  Caledonia,  who  was  a  captain  in  Price's 
State  Guard,  and  who  rendered  all  the  service  he  could  to  Mr.  Marvin. 
The  way  there  was  through  the  woods  over  the  hill  you  see  beyond  the 
Held,  and  the  whole  distance  led  through  an  unbroken  wilderness. 

This  brave  and  gallant  man  performed  this  service  to 
stranirers  at  gTeat  hazard  to  himself.  He  was  under  eon- 
stant  suspicion.  At  length  he  was  arrested  and  put  under 
bonds,  and,  as  he  said,  his  life  being  in  peril  and  being  no 
loniier  able  to  serve  friends  he  abandoned  his  home  in  1864. 
Returning  from  his  exile  in  Illinois  two  years  after,  he  found 
his  property  spoliated.  At  the  time  of  the  writer's  visit  he 
had  fully  recovered  his  losses  and  was  again  established  in 
plenty  and  comfort,  as  the  noble  man  deserved. 

At  one  of  the  stations  further  down,  the  wife  of  the  pilot 
was  in  such  condition  of  health  that  he  could  not  leave  her, 
as  it  had  been  settled  before  retiring  to  bed.  Lying  awake 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  he  heard  the  woman  say  to  her 
husband  :  "  That  is  a  good  man.  You  must  go  \vith  him  and 
get  our  neighbor  to  stay  with  me."  "When  the  Bishop  held 
the  district  Conference  at  Arcadia,  soon  after  his  return  to 
Missouri,  thtit  man  came  from  his  home  fortv  miles  to  see 
him  and  hear  him  preach. 

In  1874,  in  travel  across  the  country  sixty  miles  from 
the  rtiilroad  to  Thomasville,  to  hold  there  a  District  Confer, 
ence  for  the  writer,  at  the  crossing  of  Current  Kivcr  beyond 
Van  Buren,  the  Bishop  remarked  that  he  had  passed  near 


ARMY  LABORS .  365 

there  ill  s:oin2:  South.  He  mentioned  havinjj  tarried  at  a 
house  ill  that  ncighhorhood,  describing  it,  among  other 
marks,  by  the  fine  spring-house  in  the  front  yard.  "  That 
is  tlie  house  !"  he  exclaimed,  as  we  rode  up  to  the  pLace  we 
were  to  stop  at  for  dinner.  The  whole  trip  was  then  nar- 
rated— a  weary  and  lonely  horseback  ride,  with  little  excep- 
tion alone  and  guiding  his  course  chiefly  by  directions  re- 
ceived and  by  the  points  of  the  compass  at  places,  traveling 
by-roads.  The  following  notes  of  that  hard  and  hazardous 
journey  are  from  the  memory  of  one  of  his  oldest  and  best 
friends  at  Centenary  charge,  Bro.  P.  M.  Lockwood: 

With  reference  to  his  sudden  leaving  for  the  South,  he  preached  on 
Sundiiy  night,  aud  at  close  of  the  service  gave  out  the  usual  appointments 
for  the  week ;  and  between  that  aud  daylight,  having  met  a  favorable  op- 
portunity, "  he  was  off."  I  had  from  his  own  lips  after  his  return  a  very- 
minute  and  interesting  account  of  that  trip  and  many  of  the  incidents  of 
travel.  We  sat  up  till  long  after  midnight  and,  as  he  would  replenish  his 
pipe — a  luxury,  you  know,  in  which  he  perhaps  excessively  indulged— he 
would  tell  of  some  fresh  adventure,  until  we  were  surprised,  on  looking 
at  the  watch,  to  find  the  time  had  sped  so  rapidly.  At  one  point  la  his 
travels  he  was  piloted  by  a  German,  aud  on  rt-aching  the  apex  of  a  hiil 
from  which  tliey  hud  a  commanding  view  of  the  country  for  miles  around, 
the  aforesaid  guide  drew  up  with  a  "  Whoa!  "  and  throwing  one  leg  over 
the  other,  side-saddle  fashion,  took  a  deliberate  survey  of  the  country 
around,  as  if  expecting  to  see  somewhere  the  enemy  in  pursuit  The  lines 
of  apprehension  aud  concern  that  marked  the  Teuton's  face  at  the  momect 
were  such,  the  Bishop  said,  as  to  be  iudelibly  impressed  on  his  recollec- 
tion, and  he  wished  at  the  time  for  a  Daguerrean  skill  and  apparatus  to 
"seize  the  shadow,"  and  "preserve  it  as  one  of  the  noteworthy  scenes  in  the 
personal  panorama.  At  another  point  of  his  journey,  where  he  lodged  in  a 
small  hunter's  cabin,  where  some  half-dozen  sons  had  espoused  the  South- 
ern cause,  they  had  a  discussion,  amongst  other  things,  as  to  the  merits 
of  Gen.  James  E.  Johnson,  as  they  persisted  in  calling  "the  opposer  of 
Shermans  march  to  the  sea^"  until  he  assured  them  it  was  Joseph  E.  J., 
and  as  a  proof  of  his  correctness  was  enabled  to  state  the  middle  name— 
Jos.  Eccleston  Johnson.  This  satisfied  them,  and  he  was  thenceforth  re- 
garded as  an  oracle,  for  any  one  whose  knowledge  reached  so  far  as  to 
take  in  the  middle  name  of  so  distinguished  a  general,  must  be  superior  to 
the  ordinary  race  of  mortalg.  As  an  evidence  of  the  real  generosity  of 
these  people,  he  stated  further  that,  on  leaving  the  humble  cabin  in  the 
morning,  the  old  father,  after  rummaging  amongst  a  lot  of  trumpery  for 


SGQ  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

a'U'hilc,  brought  ont  a  ten-dollar  jrold  piece  whicli  lie  insisted  on  the  bishop 
talviiig.  On  his  protesting  that  he  hud  no  special  need  of  it,  and  disliking 
to  accept  what  seemed  to  him  that  tliey  could  so  lilUe  afford  to  part  with, 
the  old  man  then  insisted  that  lie  t-houkl  take  it  and  give  it  to  some  one  he 
might  meet  that  might  chance  to  be  in  need.  On  his  arrival  at  Memphis 
at  midnight,  he  k a: ned  that  Gov.  Polk,  Mho  had  but  a  short  time  left  in 
advance  of  him,  Avas  stopping  at  tlu;  same  hotel.  Though  at  so  late  an 
hour,  he  -was  shown  to  his  room,  and  knocking  at  the  door,  replied  to  tlie 
familiar  voice  from  within,  "Who"s  there?"— "One  wlio  has  left  the 
ninet}' and  nine  and  gone  into  the  wilderness  in  search  of  the  one  lost." 
The  meeting  of  two  such  life-lou'i  friends  as  the  liishop  and  tlie  governor 
under  the  circumstances  may  be  better  imagined  than  described. 

The  campaigns  of  the  spring  of  18G2  were  very  eventful. 
On  Sunday,  A[)ril  (!tli,  Beauregard  had  fought  the  battle  of 
Shiloh.  Following  it  was  the  retrograde  movement  of  the 
Confederate  army  southward,  for  the  next  important  en- 
gagements, at  luka  September  20th,  and  at  Corinth  October 
3rd.  On  the  same  day  of  the  battle  of  Shiloh  the  famous 
defenses  at  Island  No.  10  were  captured,  and  the  Federal 
o-unboats  moved  further  down  tlie  Mississippi.  At  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  two  weeks  afterwards,  Farragut's  fleet 
had  succeeded  in  passing  Fort  St.  Phillip.  On  the  24th  of 
April,  Gen.  LovcU  evacuated  New  Orleans,  and  instead  of 
the  assembly  of  the  General  Conference  there,  Butler 
entered  and  took  possession  of  the  city.  The  Bishops  had, 
however,  previously  given  notice  that  the  session  would  not 
be  held  at  the  appointed  time  and  place.  That  fact,  it  is 
prol)able,  be  learned  on  his  arrival  at  Memphis.  An  es- 
teemed friend  and  St.  Louis  Methodist,  the  late  Col.  Thomas 
C.  Johnson,  advised  him  to  return  to  Missouri,  and  was  of 
opini(m  he  might  safely  do  so.  In  the  exercise  of  a  better 
informed  judgment,  he  determined'to  remain  and  pursue  his 
ministry  in  the  South.  His  army  labors  did  not,  however, 
commence  till  nearly  a  year  afterwards.  He  rcmair.ed  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  and  making  his  way  south- 
ward soon  became  engaged  in  the  regular  pastoral  work  in 
the  sup[)ly  of  a  vacant  charge  at  Woodville,  Miss. 


AII.MY  LABORS.  3G7 

At  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  the  South,  Gen.  Price's 
army  was  in  Arkansas.  lie  had  been  made  a  major-general 
in  the  Confederate  army  and  five  thousand  of  the  State 
Guard  had  followed  him.  His  address  on  resigning  his  old 
commission  is  dated  at  Des  Arc,  April  8th.  He  was  subse- 
quently ordered  to  join  the  forces  operating  at  Corinth,  and 
his  command  took  an  important  part  in  the  battles  th'jrc  and 
at  luka.  It  remained  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  till 
in  the  spring  of  1863,  when  it  was  attached  to  tho  Trans- 
Mississippi  Department,  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
Holmes,  M'ith  headquarters  at  Little  Rock.  It  continued  to 
o]jerate  in  Arkansas  till  the  close  of  the  war. 

At  the  session  of  the  Mississippi  Conference,  held  at 
Jackson  in  November,  the  Woodville  Station  was  tilled  by 
rci^uhii*  a[)pointment.  He  was  there  on  December  6th,  and 
on  the  following  Sal)bath  held  his  last  service.  The  next 
week  he  went  to  Price's  army,  then  at  Grenada,  when  and 
where  his  army  ministry  began.  These  facts  and  dates  and 
much  of  this  period  of  his  history  are  derived  from  letters 
received  b}'  him  at  various  places  during  the  war.  They 
have  all  been  carefully  examined  and  contribute  nmch  to 
the  accuracy  and  interest  of  this  narrative.  From  these 
letters  it  appears  that  he  was  urgently  importuned  to  come  to 
the  army.  "  Come,"  says  one,  "  if  you  wish  to  do  good." 
*'  You  can  do  a  great  deal  of  good  here,"  says  another. 
One  and  another  represent  the  intidelity  and  demoralization 
prevailing  in  army  life.  Some  of  the  appeals  touched  him 
nearly.  Two  letters  are  from  young  men  of  his  charge  at 
Centenarv.  They  bemoan  unfriendly  associations  and  severe 
conflicts — "  the  army  is  a  fearful  gauntlet  to  the  Christian." 
One  letter  has  this  affecting  passage  : 

Yonr  feelings  as  a  father  and  C'.iristiau  sympathies  as  a  minister  of 
the  Cospel,  will  relieve  mo  of  the  iiecessity  of  makiii-x  any  apulugy  for 
sending  you  this  note  ami  tlio  erclosed  letter  to  n  y  son  lie  is  not  yet 
eighteen  years  old.     I  have  endeavored  to  raise  him  with  Christian  pria- 


3l58  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

ciples,  in  the  fear  of  God  ;  bill  I  fear  a  soldier's  life,  in  camp,  sourrounded 
by  tlie  vicious  and  proiane,  is  iniconjienial  to  the  •j;ro\vtli  or  reteutiou  of 
tho>e  principles.  May  I  ask  your  kindness  ^o  far  as  to  find  lilm  out,  to 
enquire  after  his  welfare,  and  to  impart  such  advice  and  encouragement, 
fr.  ni  time  to  time,  as  you  may  de(  ni  needful  and  proper.  And  if  you  can 
spare*  the  lime,  writi' his  posi  ion  as  a  soldier  and  his  moral  status,  and 
whatever  else  you  think  may  interest  an  aged  fatlier  in  a  son  so  young  in 
years  separated  from  home,  fighting  the  battles  of  his  suffering  country. 
May  God  bless  you  in  your  labors  of  love. 

Before  he  left  Woodville  ;i  letter  came  from  a  former 
parif^hioner  at  Centenary,  Edward  J.  Gay,  inviting  a  sojourn 
at  '"  St.  Louis  Plantation,"  at  Pla(|uemine.  He  went  to  the 
arm}'- — a  ticld  of  usefuhiess  to  which  he  was  earnestly  called 
and  providcntiiilly  directed. 

These  calls  to  the  army  were  followed  by  providential 
openinii's  inviting  and  li.xing  his  stay.  Welcome  had  pre- 
ceded his  coming.  "1  am  anxious  to  see  you,"  wrote  Gov. 
Polk  from  the  army.  In  similar  terms  others  wrote — "I 
wish  to  be  near  a'ou."  A  younu;  Missourian  addressed  him, 
*' My  dear  brother  and  friend,"  and  added,  "Yes,  I  feel 
more  like  saying  father,  iov  I  yearn  for  a  father's  care  and 
counsel.  I  do  hope  I  will  see  you  soon."  These  are  rep- 
resentative voices.  lie  would  have  been  at  home  in  a  hun- 
dred camps.  Homes  awaited  him.  "All  List  summer  I 
kept  a  place  for  you  at  my  quarters  but  you  did  not  come 
to  occupy  it,"  was  a  message  from  Dr.  J.  B.  Bond,  chief 
surgeon  of  a  division  <  f  the  army.  His  home  was  at  the 
headquarters  of  tlie  General,  Sterling  Price — there  by 
special  invitation  and  acting  as  chaplain,  respected  and  be- 
loved as  a  minister  and  cherished  as  a  companion.  It  had  not 
been  forgotten  by  Gen.  Price,  perhaps,  that  when  he  was  Gov- 
ernor he  had  occasion  to  test  his  character  as  an  ambassador 
of  Christ.  Instead  of  the  sermon  on  a  popular  theme,  as  re- 
quested by  him  and  his  cabinet  during  a  protracted  meeting 
at  Jefferson  City,  he  had  heard  from  Marvin's  pulpit  only  of 
those  thinirs  in  wlii(  h  sin  and  salvation  were  involved.  The 
reader  will  expect  the  testimony  that  Gen.  Price  held  him  in 


ARMY  LABORS.  3G9 

the  highest  esteem  and  went  to  hear  him  preach  whenever 
he  could,  and  listened  Avith  the  most  profound  interest. 
Another  interestinj;  connection  of  his  former  with  his 
army  history  is  related  by  jSIajor  Isaac  Brinker,  now  a  lead- 
ing merchant  at  Denver,  then  Quartermaster-General  at 
Price's  headquarters.  It  introduces  Marvin  at  his  camp- 
home  and  mess  during  his  residence  in  the  army.  The 
entire  narrative  will  interest  the  reader : 

My  Dkar  Brother  Finney: 

111  compliance  wiUi  your  request  I  take  pleasure  in  giving  some  of  my 
recollrctlous  of  the  greatly-beloved  Bishop  Marvin. 

I  lir>t  met  liiin  on  board  a  Missouri  River  steamer,  on  his  bridal  tour, 
on  ]ii  -  way  to  Conf  rcuce,  then  being  held  at  Cohimbia,  Missouri.  I  think 
it  uas  in  1845.  I  had  not  made  his  acquaintance  but  was  very  much 
plea>.  d  >vith  him,  especially  alter  hearing  him  preach,  which  he  did  on  the 
boat  on  Sunday.  My  first  intimate  acquaintance  with  him  began  when  he 
aileni:ed  the  Missouri  Conference,  at  Brunswick,  in  18'4,  presided  over  by 
Bi-liop  Kavanangli;  he  and  the  Bishop  and  others  being  guests  of  ray 
laniily.  I  met  with  him  many  times  afterwards  and  always  found  him  the 
s..m  •  companion:ible  fiiend;  and  when  the  terrible  strife  came  on,  became 
to  he:ulqu.irter>  of  Geneial  Pi  ice's  army  (of  which  I  was  quartermaster), 
in  abiut  18(12,  and  n  mained  with  us  until  the  surrender  He  was  respected 
jiud  loved  by  all— always  maintaining  the  dignity  of  liis  high  calling  as 
a  1  Ini-tcr  of  Jens,  under  all  c  rcum-tances,  and  at  every  titling  opportu- 
nity pi-eaching  among  the  soldiers,  by  whom  he  was  greatly  respected,  as 
he  was  so  kind,  and  so  good,  and  so  approachable  by  all. 

Ac  heai;(iuarters  a  charming  companion,  playful  and  childlike,  and 
alwa.  >  havi.ig  a  kind  word  for  all— never  failing  when  the  army  was  rest- 
ing to  pi-(  ach  Jesus  to  the  soldiers.  Whilst  we  were  in  Arkansas,  Brother 
E.  M.  Bounds,  now  of  St.  Louis,  came  up  with  us,  and  he  and  Brother 
Aiaiv  n  very  ollen  preached  around  the  country  to  the  people. 

Tlie  close  of  the  year  1S(J3  found  us  at  Camden,  I  think,  where  Brother 
MfccTvin  Ik  Id  an  old-fashioned  watch-meeting,  which,  of  course,  was  a  sea- 
son of  prolit  and  i)leasure  to  some  of  us,  among  them.  Captain  Harry 
Pflazcr,  now  <  f  St.  Louis.  Dr.  McPheeters,  and  some  others. 

He  possessed  a  rich  fund  of  anecdotes,  which  he  told  only  as  he  could 
UH  tliem,  to  ou;-  great  amusement,  and  which  greatly  relieved  the  monot- 
ony oi  cimp  life. 

Le  seemed  to  have  a  particular  fancy  for  gathering  up  and  splitting 
pine  kn  as  with  which  to  kindle  our  tires,  which  afforded  many  hours  of 
real  pleasure 

Whilst  he  lived,  I  presume,  he  never  forgot  Davy,  our  cook  Che  was. 
24 


370  lusHor  AiAiiviN. 

infleed,  a  good  cook),  who  was  always  preparing  somethiiiG;  nice  for  u<?, 
•which  Brother  Marvin  called  "  Davy's  Jokes." 

He  visited  us  in  this  city  during  the  last  few  years  as  Bishop  Marvin, 
in  attendance  upon  our  Conferences.  His  sermons  and  talks  to  the  ch..- 
dren  of  our  Sunday  School  will  l)e  held  in  precious  recollection  by  many  of 
us  until  we  are  called  to  re-unite  with  him  beyond  the  River. 

I  have  thus  hastily  thrown  together  a  few  items,  from  which,  perhaps, 
you  may  cull  an  item. 

Yours  Truly, 

Isaac  Brixker. 

Rev.  Dr.  Kavanaugli  bears  testimony  to  the  friendly 
care  and  generous  hospitality  of  Maj.  Brinker's  anny-lionie. 
*' On  entering  the  army  eneampmcnts,"  he  says,  "he  was 
cordially  invited  to  make  the  (Quartermaster's  quarters  his 
home,  which  invitation  was  accei)ted  and  he  was  well  cared 
for  durino-  his  association  with  the  army.  When  the  army 
was  upon  the  march  Major  Rrinkcr  would  mount  iNIarvin 
upon  a  very  fine  mule,  a  favorite  with  the  j\I:ijor,  and  he 
was  supplied  w^ith  food,  raiment  and  bedding  while  he  con- 
tiimed  in  camp." 

Concerning  his  personal  and  ministerial  relations  and 
associations  at  liead(|uarters,  there  is  an  additional  and  a 
very  interesting  statement  from  the  Chief  of  the  Medical 
Staff,  Dr.  AV.  M.  McPheeters,  who  is  well-known  as  one  of 
the  oldest  living  physicians  in  St.  Louis  and  })rominent  as  a 
Christian  and  church  officer  in  the  Pine  Street  Presbyterian 
Church.  lie  introduces  the  narrative,  furnished  by  request, 
with  the  following  information  and  testimony: 

Although  not  olhcially  assigned  thereto,  Bishop,  then  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Marvin,  was  universally  recognized  as  special  chaplain  to  Major-Generai 
Sterling  Price's  Headquarters.  A  Missourian  himself,  and  personally  ac- 
quainted with  mmy  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  from  that  State,  lie  uat- 
TH-ally  felt  the  deepest  interest  in  their  spiritual  welfare;  while  by  them  he 
was  both  respected  and  beloved— a  feeling  common,  not  only  to  the  officers 
and  men  in  general,  but  which  was  shared  alike  by  General  Price  himself, 
who  li(;ld  him  in  the  very  higliest  esteem,  and  whenever  occasion  permitted, 
listened  to  his  preaching  with  the  deepest  interest. 

As  often,  therefore,  as  his  duty  to  other  portions  of  the  army  would 
permit,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  our  headquarters  in  the  exercise  of 


ARMY    LABORS.  371 

his  purely  spiritual  functions.  On  tliese  occasions  he  would  sometimes 
make  his  liome  with  tlie  mess  to  which  I  belonged,  and  in  this  way  it  was 
my  privilege  to  become  well  acquainted  with  him,  and  to  enjoy  the  liless- 
ing  of  liis  society — for,  indeed,  I  e.-teemed  it  a  great  blessing,  amid  llie 
privations  of  army  life,  thus  to  be  associated  with  one  so  richly  endowed 
by  nature  and  grace  as  lie  was.  I  had  long  been  familiar  witli  the  high 
reputation  of  Mr.  Marvin,  but  it  was  only  when  I  came  to  know  him  per- 
sonally and  intimately,  that  I  learned  to  admire  and  love  him  as  tlie  genial, 
warm-hearted  Christian  gentleman,  tlie  modest,  unselfish,  instructive  com- 
panion, and  above  all,  the  able,  faithful,  powerful  preacher  of  tlie  everlast- 
ing Gospel.  The  influence  of  such  a  man  on  soldiers,  removed  from  the 
restraints  of  home,  and  exposed  to  all  the  temptations  incident  to  camp 
life,  could  not  be  otlierwise  tlian  salutary.  And  so  it  was.  lie  never  for 
a  moment  forgot  his  sacred  calling.  I  well  remember  in  the  winter  of 
18G2,  when  encamped  near  Grenada,  Miss.,  that  on  the  night  of  tlie  3Ist  of 
December,  I  received  an  invitation  to  attend  a  "  watch-meeting"  in  Mr. 
Marvin's  tent,  and  there  aj;  tlie  dead  hour  of  niglit,  on  the  tented  field,  a 
small  company  t)f  soldiers,  lieaded  Ijy  this  ever-faitliful  sentinel,  ctmtinued 
in  prayer  to  God  during  tlie  departure  of  the  old  and  the  usliering  in  of 
the  new  year. 

He  had  no  coniiectiou  with  the  army  by  military  appoint- 
ment. Gen.  Thomas  C.  Reynolds,  acting  civil  and  military 
Governor  of  Missouri  during  the  war,  made  application 
on  his  own  motion  for  such  an  appointment  for  him  when 
lie  was  at  Richmond,  in  1863,  and  states  that  a  commis- 
sion as  Chaplain  Avas  ordered  l)y  the  Secretary  of  War, 
securing  to  him  military  rank  and  pay.  If  the  commission 
ever  reached  him  it  was  declined.  Ilis  laljors  in  the  army 
■were  exclusively  in  the  regular  course  of  his  ministry.  His 
only  official  appointment  Avas  purely  ecclesiastical,  by  com- 
mission from  Bishop  Paine,  as  Superintendent  of  Army 
Chaplains,  The  office  was  created  on  representations  to 
Bishop  Paine  by  Gen.  Price  and  Gov.  Polk  of  the  necessity 
of  a  regular  organization  of  the  chaplaincy  w^est  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River.  "  I  sent  him,"  Bishop  Paine  adds,  "  an 
appointment  as  Superintendent  of  Chaplains  of  our  Church 
in  the  Western  Department  of  the  Confederate  Army." 
The  appointment  was  made  on  Dr.  Kavanaugh's  nomination, 
at  his  own  suggestion.     How  cordially  the  nomination  was 


?,  7  2  BlhllOP  MARVIN . 

approved  l)y  the  Bishop,  it  is  needless  to  say.  Tlic  eonimis- 
s.oii  has  been  preserved  among  his  papers.  It  has  historieal 
value  as  a  Southern  ]Methodist  State  ])aper,  illustrative  of 
tho  olliciil  position  of  the  Chureh  during  the  war.  Its  terms 
are,  hence,  important  and  interesting,  justifjing  permanent 
record.  They  are  such  as  accorded  with  the  views  of  ]\Iar- 
vi:i  and  under  wdiich  he  could  and  did  act  freely,  faithfully 
and  efficiently.  Ihe  commission  reads,  verbatim,  as  fol- 
lows : 

Aberdeen,  Miss.,  June  29,  '63. 

Dk.  B.  T.  Kwamaugii; 

Dear  i?m.:— Yours  of  the  24th  inst.  is  received,  in  which  you  express  a 
preference  for  a  missionary  chaplaincy  in  Gen.  Price's  Army  Corps.  Tliis 
meets  my  approbation  and  I  liercl)y  appoint  you  to  that  worlc.  Your  duty 
is  tovi-.t  a:id  i)reac'li  to  tlie  soldiers  in  your  corps,  to  visit  the  side  and 
AVI)  :ii,I('d,  to  Msceitain  the  moral  necessities  of  the  army  and  recommend 
su'table  persons  as  chaplains  where  they  are  wanted.  In  a  word,  you  are 
expected  to  devote  your  whole  time  and  energies  to  the  wellare  of  the 
cni- ,■>.  You  will  report  to  me  your  acceptance  of  this  appointment,  and 
ivn'.n  the  date  of  your  beghiuinx  the  service  in  your  corp-,  you  may  draw 
\:  .1  i:  V.  E.  II.  Myers,  Ass.  Treas.,  Augu>t:i,  monthly  for  two  hundred 
a  I  i;.ty  dollars  until  relieved  from  this  appointment  by  me,  or  by  another 
a;>.>'  intment  from  the  I  resident  of  your  Conference. 

You  (X press  a  desi  e  ihat  Bro.  Marvin  shbuld  have  a  similar  appoint- 
nieni,  and  ihere  is  no  man  to  whom  I  would  sooner  give  it,  but  I  uuder- 
siaiid  I  can  give  it  only  to  those  wlio  act  f(jr  an  army  corps.  If  he  wishes 
it  and  will  operate  under  Kirby  Smith,  Magruder's  or  any  other  corps  to 
whicli  no  general  mi  sionary  is  appointed  I  will  gladl'/  (jive  it,  and  if  you 
ca  I  communicate  with  him  you  mny  say  to  him  that  he  may  select  his 
corps,  go  to  work  immediately  and  report  to  me. 

Yours  Truly, 

11.  Paine. 

The  appointment  was  received  by  him  late  in  October 
and  was  accepted  by  him.  Dr.  Kavanaugh  having  already 
selected  Gen.  Holmes'  corps,  of  the  two  others  he  chose 
t!i  ..  of  Gen.  Ivichard  Taylor,  operating  in  Western  Louisi- 
ana. In  view  of  his  transfer  to  that  division  of  the  army, 
h,i  vas  iiccredited  by  the  following  letter  of  introduction 
an  1  testimonial ; 


ARMY  LABORS.  373 

Headquarters  Price's  Division, 

Arlvausas,  Camp  Bracig,  Oct.  20,  18G3. 

General : 

AILjw  me  to  introduce  to  you  the  Rev.  Mr.  Marvin,  formerly  of  St. 
Louis  He  lias  linked  his  destiny  with  that  of  our  c  lu-e,  and,  in  las  own 
line,  has  served  with  fidelity,  both  on  the  fli  Id  and  in  camp. 

Holding  a  high  position  at  home,  h  s  course  has  contributed  mucli  to 
our  strengili,  and  to  the  support  of  friends  we  have  left  behind  us. 
Your  friendly  consideration  is  solicited  in  his  behalf. 
I  have  the  honor  to  remain  General, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

Sterling  Trice, 

Major-General. 
Maj  -Gen'I  R.  Taylor,  ^ 

Com.  Dist.,  W.  La. 

This  letter  was  never  delivered.  It  is  found  among  his 
papers.  For  some  reason  he  did  not  go,  as  intended,  to 
Gen.  Taylor's  department;  nor  did  he  elsewhere  execute 
the  commission  he  had  received.  It  would  have  yielded 
good  emolument,  and  its  duties  would  have  been  congenial 
and  in  accord  with  his  views  of  the  proper  relation  of  the 
Church  to  the  Army.  But  it  is  probable  that  the  state  of 
his  health  at  the  time  precluded  necessary  and  faithful  at- 
tention to  the  duties  of  the  office.  As  long  as  he  labored 
in  the  army  it  was,  therefore,  in  the  position  he  held  at  the 
first — as  guest  and  minister  at  headquarters  and  evangelist 
among  the  soldiers.  "  Bro.  Marvin,"  says  Dr.  Kavanaugh, 
"remained  in  and  near  the  army  for  nearly  three  years. 
Yet  he  held  no  office  under  military  appointment,  continu- 
ing with  the  army  wholly  for  the  reason  that  he  found  a 
greater  field  of  usefulness  there  than  in  any  other  field 
within  his  reach.  He  received  his  support  entirelj^  from  the 
voluntary  contributions  of  friends,  who  desired  to  retain  his 
services  anions:  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  our  countrv,  and 
to  preserve  their  morals  and  religious  principles,  under  the 
demoralizing  effects  of  an  army  life." 

Camp  life  and  the  exposure  of  army  labors  were  a  se- 
vere trial  to  his  health.      The  illness  which  thi-eatened  the 


374  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

loss  of  liis  sio-ht  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1S()3,  Bv  skillful 
treatment  he  was  preserved  from  total  bliriduess.  The  sight 
of  one  eye  was  almost  wholly  lost,  though  the  appearance 
of  it  did  not  indicate  the  defect,  and  it  was  not  generally 
known.  A  minute  and  affecting  account  of  this  occurence 
is  jxivcn  bv  Dr.  Kavanauiih 

Oil  my  return  to  Trice's  arm}-,  1  crossed  the  river,  just  below  Bolivar,^ 
by  swiMimiiij;  tlie  river,  on  tlie  3d  of  October,  18G3.  Ou  my  arriving  at  tlie 
camp  of  Gen.  Price,  I  was  informed  tliat  Marvin  bad  gone  to  Lewisville  to 
attend  tl-.e  Ouatcliita  Conference,  and  was  there  siclv.  I  lost  no  time  in 
maliins  my  way  to  him— thirty-live  miles;  and  when  I  found  him,  ho  was 
shut  up  in  a  very  d^irlv  room,  in  the  house  of  a  kind  family,  where  he  was- 
kindly  cared  for.  He  was  affected  with  a  severe  inflammation  in  both  eyes,, 
a  dark  shade  or  tliiek  bandaiic  over  the  eyes,  and  was  in  total  darkness. 
On  taking  him  to  a  window,  and  removing  tlie  tiiiek  curtains  and  opening 
his  eyes,  I  found  the  right  eye  so  deeply  ulcerated,  that  it  was  in  danger  of 
being  lost.  The  other  was  very  much  inflamed,  but  not  seriously  injured. 
Here  he  was  shut  up  in  the  deepest  atfliction,  not  seeing  the  light  for  many 
days,  without  a  physician,  and  quite  unconscious  of  tlie  danger  he  was  in 
of  becoming  permanently  blind,  and  yet  he  seemed  to  bo  cheerful  and  hap- 
py. On  being  informed  of  his  dangerous  condition,  he  seemed  still  cheer- 
ful and  unmoved  by  fear,  but  expressed  great  satisfaction  at  my  timely 
arrival  in  the  hope  t!iat  his  vision  might  yet  be  preserved. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  was  greatly  alarmed,  and  lost  no  time  in  procur- 
ing the  best  remedies  witliin  my  reach,  with  which  to  arrest  the  further 
progress  of  the  inflammation  and  ulceration  of  the  eyes,  and  to  restore  his 
health  sufllciently  to  remove  him  within  r.>ach  of  our  army  encampment, 
■where  lie  would  have  a  good  supply  of  medicine,  and  skillful  physician,  who 
could  give  him  constant  attention.  I  remained  with  him  in  the  room  day 
and  ni'4ht  for  a  few  days,  and  then  took  Idm  in  my  buggy  to  the  house  of 
our  old  and  faithful  friend,  Rev.  Wm.  f Moore,  within  two  miles  of  Camp 
Bragg.  Dr.  Win.  McPheeters,  an  old  St.  Louis  friend,  chief  of  the  medical 
.staff,  wa.s  called  in,  and  took  charge  of  the  case,  and  was  ceaseless  in  his 
attentions  until  the  general  healtli  was  materially  improved,  and  Ilro.  M. 
was  again  enabled  to  resume  his  labors  in  the  duties  of  his  mission,  but 
not  without  almost  the  tot.al  loss  of  the  sight  of  his  right  eye. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  through  life  Bisliop  Marvin  was  sorely 
afflicted  with  a  strumous  diathesis.  It  was  owing  to  this  fact  that  his  eyes 
were  so  seriously  affected,  and  the  same  malady  seri  lusly  invaded  his 
lungs.  Being  acquainted  with  tliese  facts  and  his  constitutional  condition, 
it  has  been  a  matter  of  surprise  to  me  that  he  lived  so  long  as  he  did,  and 
Avas  en:-.bled  to  accomplish  so  much  minis'erial  labor.  On  mentioning 
these  facts  to  Mrs.  Marvin,  ia  a  recent  interview  with  her,  she  remarked 


ARMY  LABOKS.  375 

that  Mr.  Marvin  was  fully  aware  of  tho  nature  of  his  scrofulous  condi- 
tion, a  d  t  >  prevent  it  from  extending  to  more  vital  i>arts,  he  permitted  it 
to  remain  unchecked  upon  the  lower  limb-;.  Under  the  tortures  of  this 
'thorn  in  flesh,"'  as  St.  Paul  called  his  affliction,  t  >  look  upon  the  immense 
amount  of  ]ab;jr  performed  by  this  self-sacrilieing  servant  of  God,  through 
his  whole  life,  the  wonder  and  astonishment  of  the  observer  must  be 
greatly  increased. 

Dr.  McPhecters  has  iilludcd  to  the  case  in  like  terms, 
and  has  added  other  particuhirs  and  a  tribute  to  a  benefac- 
tor whose  memorial  should  appear  in  these  pages  : 

In  November,  18G3,  while  the  army  was  in  winter  quarters  at  Camp 
Bragg,  some  twenty  m.les  froni  Camden,  Ark.,  from  frequent  exposures 
in  his  wo.k,  he  was  attacked  with  a  severe  opLhalmia,  from  which  lie  suf- 
fered greatly,  but  was  ever  cheerful  with  it  all.  With  his  naturally  strum- 
ous constitution,  and  in  the  feeble  condition  of  his  health,  the  inflammation 
spri.  ad  rapidly,  and  soon  resulted  in  an  extensive  ulceration  of  the  cornia, 
whieh  for  a  time  threatened  to  destroy  both  the  sight  and  rotundity  of  the 
eye.  I  was  called  to  attend  him  in  this  attack,  and  realizing  the  importance 
of  the  case,  and  feeling  the  deepest  interest  in  the  patient,  I  bestowed  on 
him  marked  attention,  though  at  this  time  he  resided  at  a  considerable 
diS.anee  from  our  camp.  By  suitable  applications  to  the  ulcer,  and  the 
vigorous  use  of  tonics  and  alteratives,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  the  dis- 
eaoC  was  Anally  arrested,  and  he  made  a  gradual  but  good  recovery  with 
only  a  partial  loss  of  vision  in  one  ej'e.  During  all  this  painful  illness,  he 
found  a  congenial  and  hospitable  home  in  the  family  of  the  Rev.  W.  Moore* 
a  local  Methodist  minister,  residing  in  the  country  some  Ave  miles  distant 
from  (amp  Bragg.  This  most  estimable  gentleman  and  his  good  family 
did  all  that  kindness  could  suggest  to  minister  to  his  comfort,  and  miti- 
gate his  sufferings.  To  the  true  Christian  hospitality  and  genuine  kind- 
ness of  this  good  man  and  his  wife,  not  only  Mr.  Marvin,  but  many  a  sick 
and  weary  Confederate  soldier,  as  well,  had  ample  cause  to  be  grateful. 

The  religious  history  of  the  war,  for  such  there  was  oil 
both  sides  in  the  fearful  internecine  strife,  is  a  grateful 
light  relieving  a  picture  of  horrors.  In  no  part  of  the  large 
area  of  the  country  traversed  by  the  campaigns  of  armies 
and  covered  by  military  forts,  camp  and  hospital,  w'as  there 
a  more  earnest  evangelism  or  such  extensive  revivals  and 
other  remarkable  fruits  of  Christian  labor,  than  in  the 
Trans-Mississippi  Department  of  the  Southern  Army.  Rev. 
W.  W.  Bennett,   at  this  date  the  president  of  Randolph- 


376  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Macon  College,  and  who  held  a  prominent  position  dnring 
the  war  in  charge  of  ])ul)licution  interests  among  tlie  urinies 
of  the  Soutli,  after  the  war  commcneeJ  gathering  materials 
for  the  history  of  evans^elisni  among  the  Southern  soldiers. 
Among  l^ishop  Marvin's  papers  is  a  letter  from  him  solicit- 
ing aid  in  this  Avork  and  requesting  his  offices  to  obtain  like 
assistance  from  Dr.  Kavanaugh,  whose  official  i)ositio:i  in 
the  army  rendered  him  so  competent  to  render  it.  So  far 
as  the  Avriter  knows,  the  intended  publication  was  not  con- 
summated ;  nor  does  he  know  of  printed  accounts  of  the 
army  work  in  the  West  except  in  fugitive  and  inaccessible 
newspaper  notices.  The  following  sketch  of  it,  given  by  Dr. 
Kavanaugh,  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  part  taken 
by  Marvin,  will  l)e  read  with  interest  and  deserves  perma- 
nent and  public  record.  To  the  notice  of  his  services,  as 
heretofore  related.  Dr.  K.  adds  : 

These  services  were  not  fruitless.  Under  the  faithful  ministry  of 
Gospel  truth,  by  Marvin  and  other  faithful  chaplains  a ..d  missionaries, 
very  extensive  revivals  of  leligicm  occurred  in  the  army,  opecially  du- 
riiii?  the  winter  encampment  in  Arl^ansas,  durintrtlie  winter  of  '03  and  H'A. 
At  Little  Rock,  Camden,  Camp  Bvixiig  and  Three  Creel<s,  revivals  con- 
tinued for  months.  I  l<ept  an  estimate  for  two  years  of  llie  numbers  of 
conversions  actually  reported  and  whose  names  were  reported  as  belouLC- 
in2:  to  the  Army  Cliurch,  and  in  two  years  they  amounted  to  more  than 
2,00  ).  Before  these  revivals  c  mmenced  it  was  a  common  remark  among 
many  who  professed  to  be  Christians,  tliat  they  "  could  not  see  how  a  man 
could  live  a  rcliiiious  life  wliile  in  the  army;"  but  after  tiie  revivals  had 
extended  their  salutary  influence  througli  all  our  camps,  then  I  often  lieard 
it  remarked  that  they  didn't  see  how  a  man  could  preserve  his  religious 
character  unless  he  belonged  to  tlie  army  ! 

During  the  progress  of  these  exten-;ive  revivals,  ^Marvin,  with  others, 
felt  tlie  necessity  of  a  church  organization,  by  which  to  unite  and  pre- 
serve the  religious  element,  and  to  administer  a  wholesome  discipline  over 
the  young  converts.  Marvin  was  the  first  to  mature  and  l)i-ing  forward 
a  constitution  and  rules  for  the  desi;ed  organization.  His  plan  proi)osed 
a  temporary  organization  to  be  called  the  "Army  Church,"  based  upon 
the  general  principles  of  Christianity,  wliolly  undenominational,  to  con- 
tinue during  the  period  of  the  war,  and  no  longer.  Bible  morality  and 
Christian  faith  alone  were  re(|uired  of  its  members.  Every  evangel  cal 
minister,  of  every  denomination,  was  recognized  as  equal  in  authority, 


ARMY  LABORS.  377 

"vvithin  his  local  connections  with  tlie  arra}\  The  officers  of  the  Church 
were  selected  and  appointed  by  a  liind  of  ji;eneral  council  held  occasion- 
ally f  r  the  purpose,  wlien  tlie  gL'nerul  p  an  of  the  worlc  was  agreed  upon, 
and  certain  dnties  assigned  to  eacli  laborer.  No  financial  system  was 
necessary  or  provided  for,  as  we  had  but  few  expenses  to  meet.  Records 
were  kept  of  the  dates  of  receiving  members,  and  when  a  member  1>  ft  the 
Array  Churcli,  he  was  furnished  with  a  certificate  of  his  good  standing 
and  recommended  to  the  Christian  fellowship  of  any  regular  Christian 
church  he  might  choose  to  join  wlien  he  returned  to  his  home.  Every 
member,  that  chose  to  do  so,  felt  himself  at  liberty  to  hold  a  prayer- 
meeting  and  to  exhort  his  fellow-soldiers  to  repentance  toward  God  and 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  These  meetings  were  held  and  largely 
attended,  even  when  upon  the  march,  wherever  an  encampment  was  made 
even  for  a  single  night.  The  people  of  the  country  were  surprised,  in 
visiting  the  camps,  to  find  so  many  soldiers  engaged  in  their  devotions. 

The  commanding  officers  of  the  army,  after  the  organization  of  the 
church,  and  tlie  all-pervading  spirit  of  obedience  and  good  order  that 
prevailed  as  a  result,  granted  every  favor  asked  that  Avonld  tend  to 
aidvauce  the  great  reformation,  among  the  men.  One  of  the  generals 
(Gen.  Parsons)  said  to  me,  "  .-ir,  since  these  meetings  have  been  in 
progress  I  have  not  had  a  complaint  made  to  me  of  any  bad  conduct  of 
a  single  man  in  my  division,  and  for  this  reason  I  dispense  with  roll-call 
at  niglit,  that  the  men  may  attend  worship  at  night  without  interruption, 
and  Willi  the  full  assurance  tliat  every  man  is  in  his  place,  when  duty  calls 
him." 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the  men  were  discharged,  and  had 
returned  home,  I  was  ti'aveling  through  T^xas  and  put  up  for  a  night  at 
the  house  of  a  Christian  widow  lady  I  was  telling  her  of  onr  Army  Cliurch 
and  of  its  happy  influence  on  our  soldiers,  when  she  replied  with  a  smile 
and  said:  "Yes,  sir;  I  have  heard  of  it  before,  greatly  to  my  delight;  for 
I  had  two  sons  in  tlie  army,  and  they  have  both  returned  to  me,  converted, 
Christian  men." 

I  have  met  with  others  who  dated  their  Christian  experience  back  to 
their  service  in  the  army. 

In  a  blank-book  kept  by  Marvin  and  carried  with  him 
during  the  war,  on  the  inside  of  the  front  cover  is  pasted  a 
printed  copy  of  wliat  is  styled,  "  Articles  of  Faith  and  Con- 
stitution of  the  Church  of  the  Army."  The  Rev.  Horace 
Jewell,  a  traveling  preacher  in  one  of  the  Arkansas  Confer- 
ences was  secretary  of  the  meeting  which  originated  that 
organization,  and  has  forwarded  a  copy  of  its  minutes.  It 
was  held  at  Little  Rock,  in  March,  1863.     There  were  nine 


378  BISHOP  MARvix. 

ministers  present,  six  of  the  ]\[.  E.  Church,  South,  viz:  E. 
M.  ]Marviii,  Ilortice  Jewell,  Peter  A.  Moses,  C.  F.  Drydcn, 
N.  "M.  Tiilbott  and  M.  C.  Manley.  The  other  three  were 
Thomas  "Welch,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  at  Little 
Rock  ;  J.  ]\I.  Brown,  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Presln^terian 
Church  and  chaplain  in  the  army  ;  and  Rev.  F.  R.  Earle,  of 
the  Cuml)erland  Presbyterian  Church  and  a  military  officer 
of  the  rank  of  major.  ]\Iarvin  was  the  Chairman,  and  to- 
gether -with  ]Mr.  "Welch,  as  a  committee,  reported  the  plan 
of  organization.  In  this  peculiar  history  as  a  church-foun- 
der and  creed-maker,  his  workAvill  be  inspected  with  interest. 
The  entire  report  is  copied  from  the  minutes : 

The  Clirislian  men  of  the  army,  believiiiir  tliat  the  liabitution  of  God 
by  his  Spirit  constitutes  tlie  Church,  ti^ree  ft>r  tlieir  editication  and  for  the 
conversion  of  tlicir  feilow-men,  to  organize  the  Church  of  the  Army,  with 
the  following  Articles  of  Faith  and  Constitution: 

Article  I.  We  believe  tlie  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments to  be  the  word  of  God;  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  obedience. 

Art.  II.  We  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Gliost,  the  same  in  substance,  equal  in  power  and  glory. 

Art.  III.  \\  e  believe  in  the  fall  in  Adam,  the  redemption  by  Christ, 
and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Art.  IV.  We  believe  in  justification  by  faitli  alone,  and  tiiurefore  re- 
ceive and  rest  upon  Clirist  alone  as  our  only  hope. 

Art.  V.  We  believe  in  the  communion  of  saints  and  the  doctrine  of 
eternal  rewards  and  punishments. 

constitution. 

The  Christian  men  who  have  been  baptized,  adopting  these  "  Articles 
of  Faith,"  in  the  regiment,  shad  constitute  one  church,  who  shall  choose 
ten  oflicers  to  take  the  spiritual  oversight  of  the  same.  Of  the  officers  so 
selected,  the  chaplains  or  one  selected  by  themselves  shall  act  as  modera- 
tor The  oflicers  will  meet  once  a  month,  or  oftener  if  necessary,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  discipline  will  be  governed  by  the  teachings  of  Christ. 
They  will  keep  a  record  of  the  names  and  the  manner  in  which  their  eccle- 
siastical ciamecliou  with  the  Church  is  dissolved. 

In  the  jirintcMJ  form  it  is  added  :  "  The  chaplains  and 
officers  of  the  Church  of  the  Army  are  requested  to  re[)ort 
to  Rev.  .].  E.  Cobi),  at  Arkadclphia,  who  will  act  as  Corres- 
ponding Secretary  for  the  Church."     Rev.  j\Ir.  Jewell  ap- 


AnyrY  labors.  379 

pends  tlie  following  further  history  of  the   part  taken  by 
Marvin  and  of  his  army  labors  : 

My  acquaintance  with  Bishop  Marvin  began  in  the  spring  of  1803,  in 
the  city  of  Little  Ilocl<,   Arkansas 

Brotlior  IMarvin  was  tlien  connected  with  that  portion  of  the  Confed- 
erate Army  stationed  at  Lit. le  Rock,  under  tlie  command  of  Major-(Jeneral 
Sterling  Price.  Tl:e  writer  was  a  chaplain  in  one  of  the  Arkansas  regi- 
ments and  was  intimately  a>sociated  with  Brother  Marvin  in  his  labors  for 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  Ihe  soldiers.  I  suppose  that  some  of  the  finest 
efforts  of  his  life  were  seimons  pieached  to  the  soldiers  in  the  camps.  It 
may  be,  however,  that  we  were  in  a  position  to  appreciate  them  more  fully 
than  if  they  had  b"(  n  delivered  under  more  favonible  circumstances.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  he  was  instrumental  in  the  c()nversi(jn  of  hundreds. 
Nut  only  was  he  successful  in  his  personal  ministry,  but  he  was  able  to 
inaugurate  measures  that  assisted  others  in  worising  for  the  cau>e  of 
Christ.  He  directed  the  labors  and  energies  of  others  to  successful  results. 
Illustrative  of  the  Bishop's  ability  to  utilize  the  thoughts  and  labors  of 
others,  the  writer  in  conversation  with  hini  one  day  suggested,  without 
knowing  exactly  how  to  carry  out  the  thought,  that  if  we  could  have  regu- 
lar church  organization  and  as>ociatioa  th.it  it  would  greatly  facilitate  our 
labors  as  chaplains  in  watcliing  over  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  soldiers. 
He  seized  at  once  upon  the  idea,  ca'led  together  a  meeting  of  chaplains 
and  other  ministers,  representing  M  thodists,  Baptists  and  Presbyterians, 
and  organized  a  regular  Army  Church.  Although  the  movement  was  crit- 
icised by  some,  the  vast  amount  of  good  that  was  accomplished  by  it  can 
only  be  fully  known  in  the  day  of  eternity.  (Enclosed  I  send  you  a  copy 
of  the  plan  of  (U'ganization.') 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  these  army  churches  in  the  various 
regiments,  we  were  visited  by  a  gracious  revival  in  which  hundreds  were 
converted  and  gathered  into  these  army  churches.  I  wi>-h  to  state  in  thi;^ 
place  that  my  position  as  a  presiding  elder  on  two  large  districts  since  the 
war  has  given  a  large  oppoitunity  to  observe  the  results  of  the  work  in 
this  organization.  My  conviction  is  that  a  much  larger  per  cent,  of  the 
converts  in  these  aimy  churches  have  remaii:ed  faithful  than  is  usual  in 
our  onfinarj'  revival  meetings. 

The  advantage  of  conserving  the  fruits  of  revivals,  just 
above  named,  is  the  uniform  and  determined  fact  of  the 
Marvin-method,  running  through  his  ministerial  history  from 
first  to  last.  For  that  purpose  he  Avas  fruitful  in  expedients 
and  the  Church  of  the  Army  -svas  a  happy  plan.  It  was 
unique,  so  far  as  known  to  the  writer,  in  the  armies  on 
either  side.     The  nearest  approach   to  it  is  related    of  the 


380  BISHOP  MAKVIX. 

unuv-ministry  of  Dr.  ^NIcFeiTlii.  At  a  meeting  held  at 
Daltoii,  Gii.,  he  opened  the  doors  of  all  churelies,  giving 
certificates  of  a  i)rofession  of  religion  on  which,  being  sent 
to  their  homes,  the  converts  might  be  enrolled  on  the  church 
register  of  the  churches  at  their  places  rf  residence.  There 
were  many  conversions  and  among  them  that  of  an  Irish- 
man, who  presented  himself  for  a  certificate.  There  is  this 
amusing  secpicl  in  the  narrative.  On  being  asked  what 
church  h(^  wished  to  join,  he  replied,  wnth  due  accent :  "  The 
Holy  Catholic  Church."  "Solemnly  and  silently,"  it  is 
said,  "  Brother  Mac.  took  him  in.'" 

Marvin  was  present  with  the  army  on  only  one  battle- 
field— at  Helena,  July  4th,  ISllo.  The  townsman  of  the 
writer  heretofore  named,  Cajit.  James  A.  Carson,  has  given 
a  ver1)al  narrative  of  the  incidents  of  that  desperate  and  dis- 
astrous engagement.  He  also  testifies  that  it  was  strongly 
denounced  by  Gen.  Price  as  a  bootless  adventure,  if  it  had 
1)een  successful.  Standing  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the 
field,  he  was  heard  by  Mr.  Carson  to  sav  to  Gen.  Holmes, 
the  Connnander-in-Chief  :  "  If  I  were  in  command  I  would 
march  my  army  away  from  here.  If  the  ijlacc  Avere  taken, 
it  can't  be  held  under  the  fire  of  the  gunboats  fro.u  the  river 
and  it  will  cost  heavily  in  loss  of  life."  "  Tli  march  on  it," 
was  tlie  answer,  "  if  it  costs  every  soldier  of  my  army." 
The  assault  on  the  enemy's  works  at  the  centre  w-as  assigned 
to  the  Missouri  troops.  The  outer  defenses  consisted  of 
well-constructed  abatis,  with  the  customary  sharpened  ends 
of  the  limbs  of  the  trees  pointing  outward.  It  required 
twenty  minutes,  it  is  said,  to  get  over  and  through  it,  ex- 
posed to  the  nmrderous  fire  from  the  entrenchments  behind 
it.  These,  also,  in  a  furious  onset  were  carried  by  storm 
and  the  enemy  driven  before  it  and  i)ursued  down  the  hill 
and  on  throuirh  their  encampment.  The  noise  of  the  battle 
filled  the  air,  and  in  a  short  time  the  whole  field  Avas  envel- 
loped  in  smoke,   making  it  impossible  to  see  only  at  a  few 


ARMY   LABORS. 


881 


paces  distant.  The  INIissouri  troops  rushing  on  came  upon 
the  lower  fortifications.  The  upper  one  had  heeu  taken  by 
Gen.  Marmadulvc,  but  Gen.  Fagan,  comniauding  the  Arkan- 
sas forces,  was  delayed  in  coming  up  to  the  attack  at  the 
lower.  In  consequence,  a  large  part  of  Price's  command 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  after  great  slaughter.  The 
retreat  Avas  ordered  and  the  army  feU  back  to  its  encamp- 
ment six  miles  in  the  rear  of  the  river. 

From  several  sources  there  are  accounts  of  Marvin's  ap- 
pearance in  various  postures  at  this  battle.  As  the  Mis- 
souri troops  moved  on  to  their  brilliant  charge,  standing  on 
the  roadside,  it  is  said,  he  cried  out,  "Onward,  my  brave 
boys!"  The  next  morning  after  the  lost  day,  Capt.  Car- 
son, reporting  at  headquarters  with  others,  saw  Marvin 
standins:  in  the  door  of  the  General's  tent.  "This  is  bad 
business,"  said  Price  to  the  party  approaching  him,  as  he 
sat  under  a  tree  with  his  coat  off  and  shirt  l)and  thrown 
open  and  face  flushed  Avith  the  heat  of  the  day  and  the  ex- 
citement of  the  hour.  In  what  other  attitudes,  before  and 
after  and  during  the  battle,  the  Chief  of  Medical  Staff,  Dr. 
McPheeters,  testifies  in  the  following  narrative  : 

On  the  3cl  of  July  we  went  into  camp  a  few  miles  in  the  n  ar  of  Hel- 
ena, autl  all  necessaiy  arraugements  were  m  ide  to  commnci-  tin-  altai  k  at 
dayUu'lit  the  next  morning.  With  tuis  view  ord.  rs  were  i  sued  for  the 
army  to  move  just  after  midni-ht.  But  before  retiring  for  a  lew  hours 
rest,  Mr.  Marvin  lield  a  prayer-meeting  in  Major  Brinker's  tent,  for  the 
purpose  of  imploring  the  Divine  blessii.g  and  potection  on  the  morrow. 
Tlie  time,  the  place,  and  the  circumstances  all  coiispir  d  to  render  this  a 
most  solemn  occasion.  There  were  present  at  thi^  me  ■ling  bes  de  Mr. 
Marvin  and  myself,  Maj  Briuker,  Capt.  Pfl  iger,  Dr  w  ooten,  Gov.  Polk, 
and  some  others  not  now  remembered— nmst  of  whom  were  exposed  to 
the  fierce  flre  of  the  enemy  the  next  day,  but  without  injui'y. 

Agreeable  to  arrangement,  the  attack  was  made  at  early  dawn,  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th.  To  Gen.  Price  with  his  Misso  iri  iroops  was  assign^  d 
the  "centre,"  which  rendered  it  necessary  to  eneounti  r  the  strong  foni- 
cation  known  as  "Grave-yard  Hill."  whirh,  however,  was  carried  by 
storm,  though  with  considerable  loss  on  our  pari ;  an  1  had  the  right  and 
left  wing  of  our  army  been  equally  successful,  the  result  of  the  battle 
would  have  been  far  different  from  what  it  was. 


382  BISHOP  MAHVIX. 

Oiu"  loss  from  killed  and  wounded  in  this  engagement  was  heavy,  and 
from  early  morn  to  a  very  Ite  lioiir  of  tlie  niglit,  both  on  the  field  during 
tlie  progress  of  the  battle,  and  in  the  temporory  ImsplLal  in  the  rear  after- 
wards, Mr.  Marvin  was  untiling  in  his  attentions  to  the  wounded  and 
dying.  lu  my  diary  kept  at  Ihe  time,  special  mention  is  made  of  tlie  ef- 
ficient and  valued  assislanee  rendered  by  him  on  this  oeea>ion,  in  minis- 
tering al.ke  to  the  bnlily  wants  and  si)iritu.d  necessities  of  the  unfortu- 
nate victims  of  battle,  thus  establishing  tlie  fact  tiiat  lie  was  not  less  the 
'•good  Samaritan,'  than  the  faithful    'shepherd  and  bislMp  of  souls." 

It  was  a  Slid  day  on  personal  accounts  to  M:u\  in.  Cher- 
ished friends  were  among  the  shiin  and  captured.  Among 
the  hitter  was  Rev.  L.  ]\I.  Lewis,  who  (•r)mmanded  a  brigade 
and  became  a  prisoner  at  Johnson's  Ishmd.  Among  his 
papers  is  a  letter  from  (ien.  Lewis,  bearing  witness  to  the 
heroic  labors  in  camp,  field  and  hospital  of  the  chapla.in  of 
his  brigade,  a  Missouri  ])reacher,  and  known  among  his 
brethren  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference  as  Uncle  Natt  Talbot. 
To  him  and  applicable  to  his  fellow  la])orers  in  the  Army 
Church,  he  l)ears  ehxjuent  witness  :  "  As  I  look  back  upon 
the  dreadful  four  years,  in  which  he  sliarcd  with  us  every 
hardship,  watching  beside  the  bed  of  the  dying,  ever  busy 
in  the  hospital  when  fiery  Avar  had  mutilated  many  a  noble 
breast,  forgetful  of  himself  in  kind  offices  to  others,  preach- 
ing and  praying  incessantly^  doing  anything  he  could  to  help 
a  poor  soldier,  he  will  live  in  the  memory  of  the  good  and 
the  true,  as  one  of  the  a-reatest  moral  lieroes.  In  that  jri'eat 
day,  in  the  hearing  of  an  assembled  universe,  when  our 
deeds  as  soldiers  and  captains  shall  be  forgotten,  his  will  he 
rehearsed  as  worthy  of  immortality.  IIow  manj''  crowns  of 
rejoicing  will  he  have  !" 

In  similar  speech  of  admiring  gratitude.  Dr.  McPheeters 
concludes  his  narrative  :  "  After  his  recovery  from  illness 
in  the  fall  of  1803,  until  the  close  of  the  war,  I  saw  but 
little  of  Mr.  ^Marvin,  as  our  respective  duties  caused  a  wide 
separation  ;  but  I  shall  ever  have  occasion  to  thank  Cod  for 
army  associations  with  him,  as  well  as  with  the  late  Gov- 
ernor Trusteu  Polk." 


CHAPTER     XX 


THE    WAR    INTINERARY. 

War  times— Adjustment  of  his  ministry — His  personal  relations — Oath- 
taking — Political  opinions— Non-political  Church  and  pulpit— Army 
Diary— An  itinrrant  evangelist — Woodville  Station— Off  at  protracted 
meetings— A  Sunday  at  Jaclison— Preaching  at  Little  Rock — At  Jack- 
sonport — A  prayer-meeting  incident — At  Des  Arc — Pastoral  visitation 
— '  reenwood— Doty-home— Preaching  excursions — At  Shreveport — 
Sermons  at  Marsihall— A  personal  tribute. 

^lYHE  surrender  of  General  Lee,  April  9tli,  1865,  was 
^JL^  virtually  an  end  of  the  war.  It  was  followed  rapidly 
hy  that  of  every  command  of  the  Confederate  forces.  The 
iirmies  of  the  Trans-i\lississippi  Department  were  the  last  to 
surrender — Gen.  Taylor,  on  May  4th,  and  Gen.  Kirby 
Smith,  who  was  disposed  to  fight  on,  not  till  a  month  later, 
lifter  negotiations  protracted  from.  May  23d  to  June  2d. 
Tiie  duration  of  the  war  accorded  with  Marvin's  expectations 
when  he  left  St.  Louis,  in  February,  18(J2.  During  this  period 
loss  than  one-half  the  time  was  spent  in  army  labors  pi'oper 
— the  remainder  in  pastoral  charge  and  in  the  work  of  an 
itinerant  evangelist.  Those  labors  Mere  exceedingly  abun- 
dant and  fruitful,  and  belong,  under  its  caption,  to  this 
chapter. 

The  war  was  the  great  event  of  his  times — his  position 
in  reference  to  it  proper  to  be  noticed  ;  and  more  especially, 
what  the  adjustment  of  his  ministry  to  it,  as  an  important 
part  of  its  history.  ISo  more,  however,  is  intended  than  a 
cursory  notice. 


384  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

His  political    views,   held   as   a  eiti/.en,  have   been  suffi- 
cient Iv  iiidicaled.      He  \v()iil(l  not ,  because  he  couhl  not ,  take 
an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the   Federal  Government  at  Wash- 
in'>tou  (1tv.      The  usual   history  of  test  oaths  ti-ansi)ircd 
during  the  civil  war — misleading  and  debauching  the  public 
conscience.      Good  men,  as  judged  by  ordinary  standards, 
Avere  betrayed  into  loose  views  as  to  the  sanctity  of  an  oath 
— ready,  as  it  was  commonly  said,  to  swear  to  anythiigand 
absolving  the  conscience  by  mental  reservation.     As  recpiired 
under  i)ains  and  penalties,  it  was  considered  as  in  the  cate- 
ffory  of  a  hirj-lnvavman's  challen<2:e  to  surrender  and  the  ex- 
torted  i)ledge  to  silence.     In  his  own   view  there  Avas  not 
insurmountable  compulsion,  and  it  was  a  wicked   so[)liistry, 
as  he  termed  it,  by  mental  reservation  to  hold  the  conscience 
unbound  by  the  oath  which   had  been   sul)scribed    l)y    the 
hand.     It  is  manifest  that  his  own  views  are  expressed   in 
his  notice  of  the  oath-taking  by  his   friend,   Ga[)les  :      "He 
took  the  oath  and  his  conscience  Avas  bound  ])y  it.      He  took 
no  sophistical  sedatives  with  it.      He  did  not  admit  to  him- 
self that  he  mi<>-ht  innocently  trifle  with  the  name  of  God  to 
which  he  had  api)caled.     He  was  not  forced  lo  swear.     He 
did  it  freely  as  the  alternative  to  l)e  chosen  in  preference  to 
something  worse.      The  necessity   was  an  incident   of  the 
war.     He  submitted  to  it  and  all  it  involved.     He  took  the 
oath,  and,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief,  kept  it 
inviolate.''    The  oath,  if  taken,  would  have  bound  him,  and 
what  it  involved,  as  shown  by  word  and  deed,   Mould  have 
been  more  intolerable  to  him  than  to  have  gone  to  prison  at 
St.  Louis,  or  than  the  self-exile  in  the  South. 

The  protracted  and  painful  separation  from  home  and 
other  history  of  peculiar  iiardship  and  trial  are  in  evidence 
to  the  sincerity  and  strength  of  his  convictions,  in  reference 
both  to  his  political  sentiments  and  sense  of  duty.  Of  those 
sentiments  it  need  only  l)e  said  that  he  was  fully  allied  in 
sympathy  with  the  Southern  cause  and  held  to  the  Southern 


THE    WAR    ITINERARY.  385 

view  upon  the  questions  ut  issue  in  the  contest.  His  polit- 
ical views  and  the  spirit  of  his  syinpatiiy  with  the  Soutliern 
people  may  be  seen,  as  they  were  recalled  by  travel  amidst 
the  battle-fields  of  Old  Virginia  and  found  expression  in 
eloquent  apostrophe  : 

A  t  four  o'clock  we  reached  the  town  of  Lexington.  The  first  tiling  I  saw 
was  the  ruins  of  a  burnt  mill.  Ah!  tliat  was  a  sad  acciilcnt.  The  earn- 
irgs  (if  a  laborious  life  went  to  ashes  in  an  hour.  Accident!  Oh,  no.  1 
remember!  Hunter  led  his  command  through  hure  in  ISG-f.  That  exphiins 
it.  Tlie  buildings  of  the  Military  Institute  were  burned  at  the  same  time, 
and  Washington  College  was  pillaged.  Old  Virginia!  "  Mother  of  states 
and  statesmen  !"  S!ie  offered  herself  at  last  on  the  altar  of  constitutional 
freedom,  and  (as  a  State)  perished  there,  in  the  midst  of  fire  and  blood. 
She  ft  11  as  l)ecanie  lu  r,  in  grandeur.  Her  history  of  proud  pre-eminence 
in  state-mansliip  cuhninated  in  proud  pre  eminence  of  agony  when  tlie  old 
Union  of  the  States  under  the  Constitution  was  given  to  the  flames,  and 
the  consolidated  despotism  of  the  m  ijority  was  inaugurated  by  the  sword. 
She  received  the  blade  of  the  mad  sectional  Janus  to  the  hilt,  for  the  Con- 
stitution could  not  die  till  Virginia  perislied.  She  covered  it  with  her 
bleeding  body  for  four  years,  until  quivering  witli  a  thousand  ghastly 
gashes,  she  bled  to  death  and  fell.  Upon  the  dead  body  of  the  State  the 
Constitution  was  sacrificed.     The  vandal  work  was  done. 

The  personal  integrity  of  the  man  as  well  as  his  decided 
views  and  ascendant  symptithics  are  recognized  in  words  for 
these  pages  by  Gen.  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  of  the  Federal  Army, 
and  who,  at  the  time,  was  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
but  attended  Marvin's  preaching  and  Governor  Polk's  class- 
meeting  at  Centenaiy  :  "  He  went  one  way  and  I  another; 
neither  of  us  could  have  done  otherwise." 

Such  views  he  held  as  a  citizen,  but  held  them,  it  is  the 
chief  purpose  of  this  notice  to  saj^  in  strict  subordination  to 
his  sacred  vocation  and  ministerial  work.  There  is  no  subject 
on  which  his  sentiments  Avere  moro,  or,  perhaps,  so  strongly 
positive  and  pronounced,  as  upcn  tha  purely  spiritual  fun- 
tion  of  the  Church,  and  the  correlative  fact  of  ji  non-secular 
and  non-political  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  In  some  strictures 
published  in  the  Southern  Review  for  April,  1872,  in  refer- 
ence to  political  partisanship  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  he 

pronounces  this  strong  admonition  : 
25 


38 G  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

The  Cluiri-li  is  tlio  bride  of  Clirist.  Slic  1-  (Icbiuicbed  b.vpoUtical  alli- 
ances. Tlicy  arc  :i  breach  of  li>i- maiilal  vows.  II  r  i)..rity  is  lo-twhvH 
she  goes  after  other  lovers.  A  church  \vhi>  h  becomes  a  polilico-ecclesias- 
tical  orgauizaliou  is  a  hybrid— a  cross  beUveen  religion  and  politics.  The 
progeny  of  this  cross  is  a  monster.  Tlio  very  conscii  nee  that  ernes 
from  the  spiritual  side  of  it-i  pedigree  is  faaitical  and  iiuhaturaliy  s.  nsi- 
tive,  and  by  virtue  of  this  it  is  always  remorseless.  It  is  a  monster  and 
always  a  bloody  one.  The  Inquisition  was  i;s  work.  It  is  the  iiTstic 
Babylon,  drunk  with  the  blood  of  saints.  It  has  had  a  delieious  quaff  of 
blood  in  tliis  country  wiihin  the  last  decade. 

"  This  ureat  fact — '  ]My  kiiio;d()iu  is  not  of  tliis  ^vorld' — 
contains  within  itself,"  ho  Jiddcd,  ''the  jjurity  Jind  the 
safety  of  the  Church  in  ;dl  ages."  In  siniihir  terms  he  rep- 
robates a  prostitution  of  the  sacred  olHce  to  political  ends 
and  Avould  hold  it  free  from  the  contaminating  touch  of  sec- 
ularity  in  any  form.  Among  considerations  of  expediency 
"which  he  names,  this  was  prominent  in  his  sentiment:  "  It 
breaks  up  that  concentrtition  which  is  an  essential  condition 
of  tlie  hiirhest  success  in  the  ministi'v.  A  divided  mind  can- 
not  1)ring  the  full  measure  of  its  force  to  bear  on  any  one 
object.  AVhen  God  appropriates  any  man  for  His  work,  that 
work  suffers  in  the  measure  of  the  diversion  of  personal 
force  u[)on  any  other  ()l)ject."  The  chief  consideration 
specified  by  him  was  conclusive  with  him,  as  a  matter  of 
principle  :  "It  destro3^s  the  fact  and  consciousness  of  conse- 
cration in  the  pulpit.  It  induces  a  secular  character  in  men 
who  ought  to  be  wholly  devoted  to  (Jod  and  His  cause.  In 
the  case  of  ordained  ^Methodist  preachers,  who  have  solemnly 
promised  to  give  themselves  wholly  to  '  this  one  thing,'  it  is 

a  o-ross  violation  of  vows." 

o 

The  above  views  held  hy  him,  it  is  manifest,  had  the 
authority  of  a  platform  of  principles.  It  guided  and  con- 
trolled his  ministry.  Upon  that  his  whole  personal  force 
was  concentrated,  and  in  its  whole  course  he  was  septirated 
unto  the  Gospel.  The  absorption  of  his  ministerial  conse- 
cration ap[)ears  in  :dl  the  chapters  of  this  history.  If  it  had 
been  supplanted  for  a  time  by  the  pervading  and  intense  ex- 


THE    WAR    ITINERARY,  387 

<;itements  of  the  war  it  miglit  not  have  been  considered 
strange  ;  nor  that  the  trcineiiJous  political  disruption  and 
social  upheaval  of  the  times  had  turned  somewhat  the  course 
of  "  cares  and  studies"  from  the  old  channels  in  which  they 
had  flowed  during  his  whole  ministerial  life.  The  war  Avas 
a  severe  test ;  but  his  principles  stood  inviolate,  supreme 
and  commanding.  "While  he  was  within  the  Federal  lines, 
it  is  known  to  the  writer,  he  reprobated  whatever  might 
identify  the  Church,  in  the  conduct  of  its  ministers  and 
agents,  as  a  partisan  in  the  strife.  War-talk  was  universal, 
and  feeling,  commonly,  was  demonstrative.  To  have  escaped 
wholly  the  contagion  of  the  widespread  excitement  would  be 
impossible  ;  but  it  is  known  that  he  proposed  to  himself 
the  utmost  prudence  in  speech  and  behavior  as  a  public 
man.  "The  minister,"  he  has  since  said,  "who  denied 
himself  for  Christ's  sake  at  that  time,  and  kept  his  mind 
and  tongue  employed  about  the  Gospel,  and  that  alone,  was 
surely  in  the  path  of  duty." 

Similar  utterances  made  at  that  time  are  remembered 
m  connection  with  remark  deploring  the  hindrance  to  the 
Gospel  in  the  pre-occupation  of  the  public  mind  by  the  ex- 
citements of  the  war.  Caples,  he  says,  under  the  stress  of 
circumstances  which  he  could  not  Avithout  difficulty  control, 
allowed  himself  to  perform  military  service.  "  I  regret  that 
he  did  so,"  he  adds.  He  did  not  go  to  the  army  at  first — 
not  till  after  he  had  been  in  the  South  ten  months,  and  then 
on  call  to  ministerial  service,  and  there  at  no  time  in  any 
official  connection  Avith  it.  During  the  four  3'ears  the  larger 
part  of  his  labors  was  in  pastoral  charge  and  in  the  visita- 
tion of  the  churches.  It  Avas  not  in  doubt  how  closely  and 
ardently  he  Avas  allied  to  the  fortunes  of  the  Southern  peo- 
ple and  their  cause,  but  peculiarly  he  Avas  among  them  and 
impressed  himself  on  them  predominantly  in  his  office  and 
character  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  He  held  to  liis  min- 
istry, and  held  it  supreme  in  his  affections  and  cares,  and 


388  15ISHOP  MARVIN. 

held  it  above  all  secular  involvements  and  free  from  foreign 
admixtures  of  ^vh:ll('V('l•  l<iiid.  IIo  Avas  in  the  army  and 
coin''"  un  and  down  in  the  land  en^aixed  in  his  loved  emplov 
jMid  on  his  old  errand — preaching  the  Gospel  and  saving 
souls. 

At  date  September  24,  1863,  he  put  on  record  the  course 
of  his  travels  and  labors  up  to  that  time.  Occasional  diary 
entries  are  added  reachins:  to  the  bcirinnins;  of  the  following 
year.  The  Diarv  is  irivcn  here  entire  for  the  various  uses 
it  may  serve.  It  will  be  relished  by  the  reader.  It  is  illus- 
trative of  this  remarkable  man  and  will  be  appreciated — the 
unconscious  self-disclosure  here  and  there,  the  outcropping 
of  underlying  principles,  the  simplicity  of  his  character 
and  the  humility  of  his  spirit.  The  modest  autobiography 
appears  more  illustrious  in  connection  with  the  biographical 
records  which  cover  the  same  period  and  testifying  to  the 
ma^rnitude  of  his  lal)ors  and  the  jjreatness  of  his  fame. 

S-'ptpmher  2i,  18G3.— I  U'ft  St.  Louis  on  the  17tli  day  of  February, 
18(^2.  Since  that  tiinu  many  things  Iiave  occurred  of  sufficient  interest  to 
jus  Ly  a  record.  I  never  kipt  a  diary  at  any  time.  But  wo  are  at  present 
i.i  fircninstanccs  lluit  will  furnish  nialter  of  interest  for  the  future.  I  will 
in  fature  j  )t  d  )\vn  t'.ie  most  striking?  lact>. 

La-t  1  December  I  w.nt  to  the  army  at  Grenada,  Mississippi,  and  met 
wlt'i  Major  I.  Brinkt-'r,  of  Brunswick,  Missouri,  Chief  Qix  irurmaster  of 
P.  Le's  Corps.  He  invited  me  to  his  tent,  which  lias  been  niy  rallyin;? 
point  in  the  aimy  ever  since.  To  Idni  and  Captain  Iflaijer  I  am  indebted 
for  a  thousand  acts  of  Christian  kindness  and  courtesy,  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. 

From  Crenada  wi^  moved,  in  the  winter,  to  Jackson,  Missi>sippi,  and 
in  Marcli  caine  over  to  Li;tle  11  )ck,  Arkansas.  Since  that  tim':  we  liavo 
made  the  disastrous  attack  upon  Helena,  and  retreated  from  Little  Rock 
before  a  superior  force  of  tlie  enemy.  We  are  now  at  Arliadelphia,  oa  the 
Ouachita  River,  awaiting  events. 

I  desire  liere  to  record  my  gratitude  to  God  for  His  mercies,  of  the 
lea  t  of  whic'.i  1  am  not  wortliy.  He  has  brought  mc  in  safety  by  the  way 
by  w  ich  I  have  come  to  tliis  place. 

I  have  no  re  ;ular  conn.ction  with  the  army,  but  am  "  acting  cliaplaia 
of  7'  ic>;'s  Divi-io:i,"  by  courtesy.  In  this  relation  I  have  been  treated 
CO  ■•(•ou'^ly  cver.w'H  re  ii  the  army,  and  (in  I  the  soldiers  alwai'S  ready 
to  liear  the  Gospel ;  God  grant  a  blessing  upon  His  word. 


THE    WAR    ITINERARY.  389 

This  mornini;  I  um  in  camp  and  qnito  unwell.  But  I  st:ive  to  trust  all 
in  the  hands  of  Gud.  His  goodnc>.s  li  us  never  failed  me  to  this  hnn-,  and 
it  would  be  wicked  to  doul)t  Iliui  now. 

Yesterday  was  the  anniversary  of  my  marriage.  Eiirhteen  yeirs  a:?o 
Harriet  Brothertou  Ciark  bi-'came  my  wife,  and  no  man  ever  ha  1  a  better. 
Eiglit  chiLlren,  four  boys  and  four  girls,  have  been  the  fruit  of  our  union. 
Three  of  the  boys  died  in  their  infancy.  The  liviu'^  are  sweet  cluldren. 
Shdl  I  ever  see  them  and  their  mother  again?  M;iy  God  in  His  influite 
mercy  grant  it. 

Sntiirdaii,  October  3. — I  have  been  sick  ever  since  Ihe  former  dit'^ — 
part  of  the  time  very  sick.  I  am  now  apparenth'  convalescent,  but  i  i- 
provement  is  very  slow.  Through  the  kindness  of  Rev.  J.  E.  Cobb, 
Brother  Crouch,  of  Arkadelphia,  was  made  acquainted  with  my  case.  "I 
was  a  stranger  and  he  took  me  in,"  out  of  camp.  He  and  his  wife  have 
been  untiring  in  their  kindness.     The  Lord  reward  them  "  in  that  day  " 

I  have  been  a  very  slothful  and  wicked  servant,  but  a  very  hig!dy 
favored  on  ■.  In  this  sickness  I  feel  that  th;  h'lnd  of  the  Lord  is  on  me  for 
good,  and  though  I  have  suffered  much  think  I  have  not  murmured. 
«Ble<s  the  Lord,  O  my  soul." 

Part  of  the  army  has  moved  forward  toward  Washington,  and  is  now 
camping  on  tlie  "  Little  Missouri,"  sonu  thirty  miles  south  of  this  place. 
My  mess  has  g  )ne  with  the  rest.  We  have  intimation  that  General  Smith 
intends  to  concentrate  his  forces  so  as  to  b3  ready  to  throw  the  whole 
strength  of  t!iis  department  against  the  enemy  at  one  point — the  only  plan 
that  seems  to  promise  any  I'esult  now. 

Sunday,  31  — Able  to  attend  church  this  morning.  Heard  a  sermon 
from  Rev.  Lewis  Garret,  who  has  bjen  in  the  ministry  for  forty-eight 
3'ears.  It  was  a  sensible  sermon — a  type,  I  imagine,  of  the  ordinary 
Methodist  preaching  ha'f  a  century  ago.  It  did  me  good.  After  sermon 
we  hail  sacrament — a  very  pro!lta!)le  season.  It  was  a  Quarterly-meellng 
occasion,  but  the  Presiding  Elder,  Rev.  A.  Iluuter,  was  absent.  The 
■country  is  so  upset  by  war  that  I  suppose  he  did  not  feel  safe  in  leaving 
home. 

The  conference  collection  was  taken  up.  Like  all  collections  now,  it 
was  large.  There  never  was  such  a  time  f  v  rai-iug  money  for  church  pur- 
poses. Money  abounds  more  than  anything  else,  and  not  being  worth 
much,  people  Avould  as  soon  give  it  to  tlie  Lord  as  not.  Tliis  is  tlie  un- 
charitable view  of  the  case.  The  truth  is,  men  give  much  because  they 
have  much  to  give. 

Wickedness  abounds,  but  there  is  much  true  piety  in  the  land  still  — 
and  some  in  the  army ;  and  herein  is  my  hope  that  for  the  elect's  sake  the 
Lord  will  shorten  these  days. 

When  shall  I  worship  God  with  my  own  family  again?  How  my  mind 
recurred  to  home  scenes  in  the  love-feast  this  morning! 


390  BISHOP  MAllVIX. 

At  four  o'clock  attended  daily  prayer-meeting.  This  has  been  kept  uj> 
here  for  a  long  time  past  and  was  well  attended  until  the  church  was  takea 
for  a  hospital.  Since  that  time  services  have  been  held  in  the  Female 
College,  and  but  few  have  attended  the  praycr-mcetiug.  But  some  faithful 
souls  are  there  every  day.     It  was  a  good  meeting. 

A  great  many  of  the  chiiixhes  of  the  South  are  used  as  hospitals  now. 
But  God  can  keep  His  church,  and  will.  The  sick  soldiers  have  a  hard 
time  of  it  at  best.     It  seems  a  wonder  that  they  do  not  all  die. 

Ni>vember  10. — Since  the  last  date,  I  have  been  so  mucli  alllictcd  with 
an  inflamed  eye,  as  not  to  be  able  to  write;  and  even  now  I  have  to  use 
the  hand  of  a  friend. 

From  Arkadolphia  T  went  to  Falcon  with  Father  Garrett,  in  his  bnggjv 
and  stayed  for  more  than  a  week  at  the  house  of  Brother  J.  S  Bryant.  At 
Falcon  I  preachc'd  on  Sunday  to  a  good  congregation,  and  enjoj-cd  tl;e  day 
much.  Employed  Dr.  Roberts  to  treat  my  eye,  but  received  no  benefit 
from  his  prescription.  Enjoyed  much  the  hospitality  of  my  friends;  left 
them  on  Saturday  and  went  to  Leuisville,  where  I  preached  on  Sundaj' — a 
cold  ser.mon  in  a  cold  house,  to  a  cold  congregation — a  chilly  business. 

At  L'-'wisville  I  remained  during  the  session  of  the  Ouachita  Conference,, 
enjoying  the  hospitality  of  Brother  VVelbourne.  I  employed  Dr.  Lee  for 
my  eye ;  received  no  benefit.  Dr.  Kavanaugh  was  in  attendance  at  the 
Confer  nee  and  undertook  to  medicate  my  op'.ics;  but  in  sjilte  of  all  doc- 
tors my  eye  became  ulcerated.  Neuralgia  supervened  and  I  suffered 
much. 

Dr  Kavanaugh  brou'jjht  me  intelligence  of  my  appointment  by  Bishop 
Paine,  on  behalf  of  the  Missionary  Board,  as  Chaplain  of  one  of  the  army- 
corps  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  Department.  Dr.  K  ivanangh  having  been 
appointed  to  the  chaplaincy  of  General  Holmes  Corps,  I  am  at  liberty  to 
choose  between  the  other  two,  and  have  determined  to  take  General  Tay- 
lor's, t )  which  I  shall  proceed  so  soon  as  I  am  able  for  service. 

In  tlie  mean  time  Brother  Moore  very  kindly  invited  me  to  his  house 
where  I  would  be  convenient  to  General  Price's  camp,  so  that  I  might 
placo  mj'self  under  the  treatment  of  Drs.  Wooten  and  McPheeters.  I  have 
now  been  at  Brother  Moore's  for  two  weeks  and  my  physicians  have  put 
me  under  a  very  thorough  course  of  treatment,  both  local  and  constitu- 
tional ;  b'lt  1  am  not  yet  conscious  of  any  relief.  The  prospect  is  discoura- 
gin  ,'.  I  luive  not  preached  for  the  last  three  Sundays,  and  am  in  no  con- 
diti  >n  f;)r  service;  but  the  future  belongs  to  God.  I  have  endeavored 
earnestly  to  be  resigned  to  His  will.  I  tiunk  I  am  so.  I  know  I  am  not 
worthy  of  the  least  of  all  the  mercies  He  has  bestowed  upon  me,  and  in  all 
that  I  htive  suffered — 

"  His  Ptinkcs  arc  fewer  than  my  crimes, 
And  liirlUcr  than  my  guill." 

I  know  that  He  intends  by  this  allliction  to  purge  me  of  my  earthliness.     I 


THE    WAU    ITINEKAKY.  391 

am  on  His  anvil  and  under  His  hammer.      I  l<now  that  the  strokes  are 
wielded  by  a  niaster-iiand.     May  He  fashion  nie  after  his  own  pure  iiiia.:j;e. 

1  li  aid  from  lioin  i  on  Sunday  Ihroiigli  Dr.  McPiieetcrs,  wlio  liad  re- 
ceived a  leiter  from  liis  wife;  it  contained  the  information  simply  that  my 
family  wire  well.  This  meagre  piece  of  intelliijence  from  home  is  ihe  fl"st 
tliat  I  have  received  for  .several  montlis;  but  God  knows  I  am  deeply  grate- 
ful even  for  this. 

December  17.  — I  fear  I  shall  never  be  a  good  hand  to  keep  a  journal.  I 
am  too  inattentive  to  it.     But  may  be  I  will  improve. 

I  was  at  Brother  Moore's  house  live  weeks  laid  up  with  my  eye.  The 
kindne  s  of  that  family  1  will  never  forget.  If  I  had  been  a  son  orbi-olher 
they  could  not  have  been  better  to  me.  May  the  best  blessing  of  God  rest 
on  them  all. 

Bro;her  Moore  went  with  me  to  the  Louisiana  Conference,  at  Homer, 
in  Claiborne  Paii-li,  about  sixty  miles  from  his  house.  Sad  evidences  of 
the  war  were  seen.  Many  of  the  preachers  were  absent.  Much  of  their 
wo;k  is  in  the  enemy's  lines  and  has  been  abandoned.  Many  of  the  preach- 
ers are  therefore  without  work.  Several  of  them  are  ready  to  take  chap- 
laincies in  the  army. 

I)r  Keener  presided.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  capacity  and  great  dignity 
of  eharacter,  and  is  Avell  fitted  for  a  presiding  officer.  Would  make  a  good 
bish  'p.  He  preached  on  Sunday  morning,  on  the  Temptation  of  Christ— a 
sermon  that  edifi.  d  me  much. 

At  the  ConfiM-ence  I  delivered  a  missionary  address,  on  Saturday  night, 
with  g  lod  liberty.  Received  much  kindne.-s  from  preachers  and  people, 
and  will  remember  the  Homer  confeience  with  pleasure. 

From  lIouK  r  came  t>  Minden  and  lodged  at  Brother  Wimberley's. 
Preach  d  with  liberty  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday  evenings.  Saw  some 
Missouri  friends  and  enjoyed  much  hospitality.  Readied  Shrevep'irt  Sun- 
day mirning  a:id  preached.  Enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Sister  Douglass 
and  li  id  the  sad  duty  to  perform  of  burying  her  mother,  on  Friday.  Mrs. 
Lewis  had  been  at  churcli  Sunday  and  died  Wednesday. 

Religion  is  iit  a  1  >w  ebb  in  Shreveport,  so  it  seemed  to  me.  I  have 
made  a  i  abortive  eff  )rt  to  preach  of  nights  tliis  week. 

Have  had  sad  news  from  home.  My  wife  has  been  arrested  for  hold- 
ing secret  correspondence  with  me.  What  was  done  with  her  I  have  not 
heard.     May  God  have  mercy  upon  my  fanuly. 

I  see  no  prospect  of  an  end  of  the  war.  Bragg's  late  disaster  at  Chat- 
tanooga is  very  b  id  for  us.  The  North  will  be  encouraged  and  our  people 
disheartened.  Our  wickedness  is  great  and  we  deserve  and  need  chastise- 
ment.    May  we  be  brought  to  repentance. 

.My  eye  is  not  yet  well,  thcmnh  it  is  not  hurting  me  much. 

JiDiuanj  22,  18(14. —  For  more  than  a  montn  I  have  not  touched  my 
journal.  I  came  from  Shreveport,  in  the  latter  ])irt  of  December,  into  tlie 
ueiguborhood  of  Greenwood  and  have  been  enjoying  the  hospitality  of 


3i)2  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Messrs.  James  aiulJones.  Brother  Harpir  and  Brother  Doty,  from  a)I  of 
whom  I  liave  had  much  khulncss.  I  have  preached  twice  in  the  time  ut 
Greenwood  to  sma.l  congreirations.  Have  had  pleasant  iiiossa;:es  from 
home  wliicli  seem  to  contradict  the  j^looiny  news  heretofore  received.  Oh, 
that  I  could  but  see  a  letter  from  my  wife  ! 

In  this  first  entry  f.)r  tliis  year  I  must  record  my  jjratitnde  to  God  for 
His  mercies  during;  tlie  past.  A  very  unworthy  life  is  protracted — for  wiiat 
purpose  He  alone  knows.  May  the  future  be  more  prolltable  than  the 
past. 

Fi'hruarii  4. — Really,  my  life  is  too  monotonous  just  now  to  make  it 
worth  while  to  keep  a  journal.  I  am  still  here  in  Caiklo,  preaching 
of  Sundays  and  doin.i;  nothing  all  the  week.  It  i^  noteworthy,  however, 
that  I  have  lately  heard  from  home,  and  all  are  will.  New  Year's  Day 
was  the  coldest  on  record  there,  as  it  wis  here.  I  have  also  heard  fr  m 
my  friends  in  Mississippi:  Judge  McGhee's  and  Brotlicr  Burrus'  fau)ilies. 
I  count  them  my  best  friends  in  the  South.  For  six  months  I  was  at  home 
with  them — as  much  at  home  as  a  man  can  be  out  of  his  own  house.  I  can 
never  forget  it.  It  is  a  most  painful  thing  to  me  to  be  cut  off  from  com- 
munication with  tiiem.  Woodville  seemed  a  sort  of  oasis  in  my  desert. 
Their  lettei's,  when  I  used  to  receive  tlifin,  were  messengers  of  peace. 
Acquaintance  and  association  wi  h  them  made  an  event  of  my  life  They 
have  suffered  from  Yankee  raids  wiihin  the  last  few  months.  May  the 
Shepherd  of  Israi  1  keep  them  through  this  tempest. 

It  it  were  not  for  the  difficulty  and  hazzard  of  crossing  the  river,  I 
would  go  and  see  them  this  winter.  I  know  of  nothing  this  side  of  home 
that  would  give  me  so  much  pleasure. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  year  1864,  witli  liis  home  at 
]\Ir.  Doty's,  near  Greenwood,  La.,  he  made  i)reaching  tours 
in  that  section  of  the  country,  and  at  intervals  visiting  the 
army  encami)ments  in  Southern  Arkansas.  After  the  sur- 
render, in  ISO,"),  he  took  charge  of  Marshall  Station  as  a 
su})ply  and  remained  in  charge  till  the  spring  of  18(56.  Those 
two  i)laces  and  Woodville  Station  were  the  location  of  his 
more  settled  ministrv  and  the  base  of  extensive  labors  on 
both  sides  of  the  INIississippi  River  during  the  greater  part 
of  his  residence  in  the  South. 

Woodville  was  his  first  field  of  labor.  On  the  16th  of 
March,  1 862,  he  was  still  at  Memphis.  From  there  he  started 
southward  to  reach  the  home  of  Edward  J.  (iay,  atPlacque- 
mine.     At   Vicksburg    he    appears   as    the   guest    of    llev. 


THE    WAR    ITINERARY.  393 

AVliitefield  ILirrington,  preacher  in  charge  at  that  station. 
Subsequently  he  was  a  sojourner  at  Woodville,  and  while 
he  was  there  tlie  pastor  was  compelled  by  ill-health  to  relin- 
quish the  charge,  and  he  Aras  engaged  to  take  it  till  Confer- 
ence. This  fact  is  communicated  by  the  wife  of  an  itiner- 
ant preacher  of  the  Mississippi  Conference,  Mrs.  Mary  J. 
Parker.  What  she  adds  concerning  his  labors,  together 
with  the  little  incidents  which  are  characteristic,  will  interest 
the  reader : 

It  was  at  Woodville  that  I  first  knew  and  loved  him.  Indeed,  the 
charm  and  fascination  which  he  held  over  all  hearts  was  wonderful.  His 
<lecp  humility,  too,  was  a  striking  trait.  On  one  ocsasion,  airentleman  ad- 
dressed him  several  times  as  "  Z>/-.,"  thinking,  of  course,  such  a  gieat 
man  must  be  a  D.D.  Marvin's  modesty  could  not  allow  this  mistake  to 
go  uncorrected.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  ''I  am  simply  Mr.  Marvin;  please  do 
not  say,  Doctor.''''  While  in  Woodville  he  visited  many  country  churches 
throughout  the  county,  and  some  of  his  fine-t  discourses  I  heard  delivered 
in  those  "  piney-woods"  log-houses.  Many  conversions  followed  his  min- 
istry during  those  months,  and  some  of  our  best  members  in  this  section 
of  the  country  (Wilkinson  County,  Mississippi),  ascribe  their  conver>ion 
to  his  ministry.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  much  in  his  society,  at  dif- 
ferent times  that  year,  and  it  constitutes  a  bright  page  in  my  life's  history. 
I  remember  two  other  instances  of  his  modesty  and  self-abnegation.  We 
were  returning  from  church  to  the  parsonage  one  day,  when  a  young  lady 

passing  him  on  the  street,  said  :  "  Mrs. requested  me  t;>  ask  when 

you  would  preach  aga-n,  as  she  wished  to  be  present."     (A  protracted 

meeting  being  then  in  progress.)     Said  he  :   "  Tell  Mrs. to  come  at 

any  time,  and  she  will  hear  a  good  sermon,  as  all  our  preachers  are  good 

preachers."     Mrs. was  High  Church.     At  the  close  of  the  year  the 

Church  in  Woodville  idolized  Marvin  and  were  almost  clamorous  to  have 
the  Bishop  appoint  him  to  that  charge  for  another  year;  but  M  tirmly  re- 
fused, saying  it  would  be  depriving  some  member  of  the  Conference  of  a 
good  appointment.  Woodville,  Mississippi,  was  at  that  time  one  of  the 
most  important,  as  it  was  one  of  the  strongest  and  wealthiest  stations  ia 
the  Conference.  I  could  relate  much  more ;  but,  perhaps,  you  can  make 
no  use  of  this.  It  is  reliable,  as  I  speak  from  personal  observation.  The 
name  of  Marvin  has  been  a  household  word  ever  since  at  Woodville. 

Than  at  Woodville,  perhaps,  there  is  no  historj-  of  his 
pastorate  during  his  entire  ministry  which  was  so  much 
prized  and  cherished  by  him.     It  was  in  his  thought  ever 


394  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

after,  as  well  as  in  the  nearer  memory  recorded  in  his 
Diary:  '*  \\'()()dvillc  seemed  an  oasis  in  my  desert."  One 
of  the  most  memorable  of  his  "  i^reacher's  homes"  was  at 
the  charming  home  of  Judge  McGehee.  As  pastor  in  that 
family,  some  of  his  most  interesting  labors  were  performed. 
It  began  im  endeared  mutual  friendship  and  its  association 
was  kept  up  by  correspondence  and  an  occasional  meeting 
till  the  end  of  his  days.  Many  of  the  war-letters  received 
by  him  arc  from  the  matron  and  daughters  of  this  Christian 
household.  They  show  by  abundant  testimonials  how  the 
endearments  of  fricndshij)  which  he  has  expressed  in  his 
Diary  were  cherished  reciprocally  at  the  McGehee  mansion. 
He  was,  it  seems  in  those  letters,  a  joyful  presence  at  their 
hearthstone  and  at  the  family  altar.  *'  His  morning  and 
evcnino- prayer,"  it  is  said,  "  briiihtcned  and  halk)wed  the 
bciiinninii'  and  end  of  each  day." 

When  the  last  above  sentence  had  been  written,  it  is 
mentioned  as  a  coincidence,  the  mail  was  laid  on  the  writer's 
table,  containing  the  Western  2IethocUst,  of  January  l.Sth, 
which  had  a  notice  of  the  venerable  head  of  this  family, 
which  may  be  found  in  the  foot-note.*  His  consort  died 
October  31st,  1873.  Her  letters  evince  the  accomplish- 
ments for  which  she  was  noted.  They  are  aglow  Avitli  in- 
tellectual brightness  and  the  noblest  sentiments  of  humanity 
and  rcliirion.     Liberty  is  taken  to  appropriate  one  for  this 


*Thc  venerable  Judge  E.  McGehee,  of  Wilkinson  County,  Mississippi, 
for  a  long  time  known  as  one  of  the  princes  in  our  Israel.  Ikis  been  recently 
threatened  with  paralysis.  He  is  now  in  his  ninety-fourth  year— a  very 
long  life  he  has  enjoyed,  a  life  of  remarkable  usefulness  and  prosperity  as 
a  citizen  and  as  a  Christian.  Great  wealth  he  acquired  and  it  was  liberally 
dispensed  by  him.  The  Natchez,  INIississippi,  Dcmormt  says  of  Judge 
McGehee  :  "  As  a  contributor  to  the  educational  institutions  of  the  Metli- 
odistCliurch  he  has  been  surpassed  by  none,  and  in  tli'.^  excclknt  and 
prosperous  female  school  now  doing.so  much  good  in  Woodville,  he  has 
established  for  himself,  we  hope,  an  enduring  raonuuient.  Full  of  years, 
he  is  also  full  of  honors." 


THE    WAR    ITINERARY.  395 

page,  which  exhibits  her  as  a  type  of  the  noble  women  of 
the  South,  who  illustrated  the  heroism  of  the  Southern 
cause.  It  is  appr()i)riate  to  this  history  in  the  allusions  it 
contains  to  his  former  charge  at  "VVoodville  and  his  new 
field  of  labor  in  the  army,  upon  which  he  had  just  entered 
and  concerning  which  he  had  advised  her.  The  following  is 
the  entire  letter,  except  some  passages  referring  to  domes- 
tic history  : 

At  Home,  January  9th,  18G3 
Rev.  E.  M.  IVtARVix: 

Miiy  you  live  to  see  many  happy  returns  of  many  a  New  Year,  in  your 
own  beloved  Missouri  home,  my  dear  bi-other,  and  surrounded  by  the  dear 
onc-s  from  whom  you  are  now  exiled.  M;iy  it  please  God  lo  grant  that  the 
next  New  Year's  Day  shall  find  our  country  in  peace,  and  long  separated 
families  re-united. 

We  owe  you  thanks  for  your  two  pleasant  letters,  lo  Mary  and  to  Mr. 
McGehee,  full  of  intere-t  and  information.  We  sympathize  in  all  that  con- 
cerns you  and  j-)y  in  your  joys  Your  notice  of  Gen.  Price's  aimy  and  of 
thi!  especial  condition  of  the  Missouri  troops  is  deeply  interesting  to  us. 
Our  hearts  beat  and  our  eyes  moisten  at  tjie  recital  of  thu  suffering-,  the 
endurance,  the  bravery  of  that  band  of  heroes— may  lliey  live  to  realize 
and  to  enjoy  all  that  they  hive  struggled  for -live  to  see  their  now 
"crownless  and  prostrate  mother  rai-ed  into  the  sunlight  of  peace  and 
prosperity."  If  I  never  felt  the  emotion  of  gratitude  before  this,  I  cer- 
tainly feel  it  now,  toward  the  self-tlenyiiig  and  heroic  men  who  have  made 
of  their  own  bodies  a  bulwark  for  our  defense.  I  would  love  to  pv.Tform 
for  them  the  offices  which  gratitude  dictate^;  to  bithe  the  toil-worn  fee't; 
to  smooth  the  pillow  for  the  head,  so  often  pillowed  on  the  bare,  cold 
earih;  to  nurse  the  sick,  t)  feed  (oh,  how  gladly!)  the  hungry.  I  am  con- 
scious how  impotent  mere  words  are  to  express  these  emotions,  and  long  to 
make  to  them  some  palpable  demonstration  of  our  sen-e  of  obligation.  May 
the  Almighty  God  crown  their  later  days  with  happiness  and  give  them  to 
see  the  blessed  fruits  of  their  suff.Ting  and  tiieir  Unl.  You  have  the  privi- 
lege to  preach  to  them !  I  can  Will  imagine  how  the  occasion  a. id  the 
scene  must  have  stirred  your  heart  to  its  profoundest  di-pths.  A;;d  you 
thank  God  for  the  privilege,  I  doubt  not!  Oh,  the  precious  message  of 
love  and  pardon— the  news  of  recoui-iliation  through  a  dyi  g  and  a  risen 
Saviour — with  what  strange  power  it  must  be  offered  to  such  hearers  as 
these!  Thank  God  for  this  honor  whirh  he  has  put  upon  you— and  to 
preach  Christ  to  these  soldieis  of  their  country,  that  you  and  they  may  re- 
joice together  in  a  coming  day  over  the  message  given  and  the  blessing 
received.     Our  sick  soldier,  Martin,  died  on  the  19th  of  December,  but 


390  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

died  in  peace,  hoping,  trusting,  believing  in  Jesus.     IIo  professed  to  find 
lorgivcncss  more  than  a  week  l)efore  liis  dcalli  and  continued  in  a  very 

calm  and  happy  frame  of  mind  till  he  passed  away. 

******* 

Mr.  McGeliee  continues  about  as  you  left  him  lie  misses  you  sorely, 
nnd  recurs  to  tlie  hours  spent  with  you  as  among  his  past  pleasures.  When 
shall  we  see  you  again?  Shall  it  be  on  these  shores  of  time,  or  must  we 
wait  for  a  final  meeting  beyond  the  Jordan?  When  you  write  to  your  ex- 
cellent wife,  tell  her  she  has  friends  in  Mississippi — friends  who  thank  God 
for  the  good  words  heard  from  the  lips  of  her  luisband.  Pray  for  us. 
Very  truly,  your  friend  and  sister, 

Mary  Bukuuss  McGehee. 

Ill  answer  to  his  letter  announcing  his  arrival  with  the 
army  at  Little  Rock,  the  same  noble  heart  dictated  the  sen- 
timent of  sympathy  in  the  trial  of  his  exile  from  home  and 
family,  and  of  a  generous  devotedness  in  personal  friend- 
shi[),  Avhich  are  expressed  in  the  following  extract  from  her 
letter  in  reply : 

May  your  marches  and  journeyings  be  all  ordered  by  God  and  may  you 
be  kept  in  peace  and  safety.  I  do  enter  most  heartily  into  your  tri.il,  and 
can,  perhaps,  imagine  something  of  its  bitterness.  Oh,  that  it  might  please 
the  Omnipotent  God,  soon,  very  soon,  to  overrule  the  purposes  of  our  foes 
and  to  gather  scattered  households  together  once  more,  under  their  own 
roof-trees.  But  remem.ljer,  that  if,  in  the  providence  of  God,  you  or  yours 
should  be  cast  out  of  your  own  h  )me  and  left  lo  seek  shelter  somewhere, 
remiinber,  that  as  long  as  we  have  a  roof  to  shelter  oursclvefs,  you  and 
yours  shall  lind  a  welcome  there. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  passages  in  the  history  of 

his  pastoral  labors  is  connected  with  the  indoctrination  and 

Christian  nurture  of  a  daughter  of  this  family,  then  in  bright 

and  joyous  youth.     It  has  fallen  to  her,  now  Mrs.  Snowden, 

to  furnish  for  these  pages,  in  response  to  call  for  them,  the 

memories  of  the  Woodville  pastorate,  of  which  she   said  in 

one  of  her  letters,  "  God  sent  you  to  us."    Her  conmiunica- 

tion  is  in  the  form  of  a  letter  to   the  author.     It  is  written 

out  of  a  full  heart.     The  following  are  extracts  : 

About  ten  days  since  (during  a  visit  to  the  homestead,  which  my  father 
is  still  pcrmltti  d  to  adorn  and  bless  with  liis  presence')  your  letter  to  my 
brother  was  handed  me,  with  the  request  that  1  would  reply  to  it. 


THE    WAR    INTINERARY.  397 

Your  letter  opened  a  door  into  the  sweet,  sad  past,  which  has  let  in  a 
tide  of  muniorics  from  ils  shores  iiiio  my  present— refi  eshluii  and  c!iecrin<; 
me  in  a  lime  of  sadness.  Mr.  Marvin  was  so  dear  a  friend,  and  my  associ- 
ation with  him  was  so  peculiarly  lillcd  witii  the  higlie-t  and  purest  emotions, 
that  I  cannot  lecur  to  it  without  a  return  to  the  slates  of  mind  and  feeling 
in  wliicli  1  then  lived.  I  think  he  elevated  everyone  with  whom  he  had  any 
intimacy,  and  beiuj^  just  at  that  aj-e  wlien  my  tastes  and  opinions  were 
forming  and  being  most  intimately  associated  with  him  in  the  home-life  of 
my  father's  fireside  during  his  exile,  1  was  peculiarly  susceptible  to  his  in- 
fluence. To  him  I  carried  all  my  grave  doubts,  wliich  I  could  have  carried 
to  no  other  human  ear;  doubts  of  the  orthodox  ieaehings  on  every  point, 
which  sprang  hydra-headed  in  my  mind,  as  soon  as  I  began  at  thirteea 
years  old  to  think  for  myself — doubts  of  the  orthodox  trinity  and  atone- 
ment, of  God's  g  lodness  and  mercy  in  permitting  evil  to  emer  the  world, 
and  allowing  tlie  Devil  to  be  a  power  in  it.  From  my  dear  friend's  patient 
and  careful  teaching,  God  only  knows  how  much  peace  I  found.  From 
his  hands  I  received,  and  by  his  counsel  read,  Bledsoe's  Tlieodicy  and  sev- 
eral kindred  works.  Tlioui:h  many  doubts  have  assailed  me  since,  and  al- 
though I  cannot  yet  number  myself  among  the  thoroughly  oithodox,  I  can- 
not consider  myself  heterodox,  altoiiether,  while  I  remember  the  broad 
foundation  of  love  and  faitli  which  he  gave  me,  or  helped  me  to  find 
in  God's  words,  and  still  seek  to  build  upon  that.  I  remember  wt  11  his 
charge  to  me  concerning  the  Devil:  "  My  cliild,  never  let  go  your  belief 
in  the  Di^vil,  for  I  have  always  found  that  a  fruitful  source  of  unbelief  in 
everything  else  taugiit  in  God's  word.  Assurely  as  you  live,  there  is  a  Devil. 
He  will  win  you  for  hell  if  lie  can." 

You  ask  how  Bishop  Marvin  came  to  find  his  way  to  Woodville,  and 
who  the  minister  was  who  gave  place  to  him.  It  is  very  strange,  that  ran- 
sack my  memory  as  I  will,  I  cannot  recall  how  it  was — where  he  came 
from  (  r  why  he  came.  I  only  remember  that  he  took  charge  of  our  church 
when  we  liad  been  without  a  preacher  for  some  time.  We  were  in  a  state 
of  drought  literally,  when  Mr.  Marvin  came.  Mr.  Marvin's  glorious 
arsumentative  sermons,  and  the  persuasive  ones,  and  the  clear,  forcible, 
didactic  ones,  all  came  as  "  showers  on  the  dry  ground,''  and  our  church 
waked  into  a  life  unknown  to  it  for  years. 

For  five  delightful  months  our  house  was  Mr.  Marvin's  home,  and 
from  it  he  went  out  to  his  parochial  duties,  and  back  to  it  he  brought  the 
spirit  of  cheerful,  true  Christ iaiiitj';  day  after  day  making  us  love  and  re- 
vere him  more.  He  had  long  chats  with  me  under  the  summer  moon, 
telling  of  his  home  and  children  and  noble  wife,  and  often  with  tears; 
wondering  when  he  should  rejoin  them  — wonderinir  if  the  circle  would  be 
unbroken  when  he  sliould  be  united  to  them — and  most  of  all  sorrowing  that 
they  should  be  subjected  to  the  taunts  and  humiliations  of  Yankee  asso- 
ciates and  Yankee  rule. 

It  was  in  October  that  he  held  a  protracted  meeting  in  "Woodville — 


398  UISIIOI*  MARVIN. 

proacirm.u:  most  powerfully,  once  and  often  twice  a  day  for  two  weeks  and 
lioklui;,'  various  niefUiij^s  between  the  rej;;ular  service  liours.  A  large 
number  joined  the  cliurcli  and  many  professed  conversion,  and  to  many 
who  bad  not  the  latter  blessing  a-sured,  was  ?:ivin  a  deeper  insight  into 
the  truth  and  stronger  detenninaiion  to  live  as  servants  of  Christ. 

Ill  :i  letter  from  Mrs.  Snowdeii  received  by  him  in  the 
army  at  Grenada,  there  is  this  paragraph,  Avelcomc  to  him 
at  the  time  and  characteristic  of  him  jind  his  ministry: 
"  All  the  servants  wish  to  be  remembered,  each  byname,  to 
you  ;  l)ut  the  list  Avould  be  too  long.  The  messages  of  all 
are  very  much  the  same — '  Wishes  of  health  and  ha})piness 
to  you  and  a  determination  to  meet  you  in  a  l)etter  world,  if 
not  in  this.'  Most  of  your  young  seekers  have  stood  lirni, 
notwithstanding  all  the  temptations  of  Christmas  balls  and 
holiday  frolics."  "  All  the  children  send  their  love,"  is  a 
message  to  him  from  the  houses  of  his  sojourn.  How  he 
won  their  hearts  !  How  his  character  and  the  savins:  truth 
were  impressed  upon  them  ! 

This  paragraph  must  be  given  as  "the  little  corner  in 
3'our  book,"  requested  by  liosa  Brown,  for  an  incident 
which  kindled  a  light  at  the  time  in  the  path  of  childhood 
and  which  has  not  ceased  to  illumine  her  way : 

I  knew  the  Bishop  before  he  was  made  Bishop.  He  came  to  Wood- 
ville,  Mississipi)i.  as  a  refugee  during  the  war,  in  the  year  lS(i2.  He  vis- 
ited us  quite  often  at  our  home  not  far  from  Woodville.  Although  I  was 
quite  young  he  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  nie  as  being  the  holiest 
man  I  ever  met.  One  niglit,  in  the  year  1802,  hv.  spent  the  night  with  us. 
After  having  jirayer,  he  was  preparing  to  retire  for  the  n  ght;  but  as 
lie  wa<  to  sleep  in  a  room  a  little  distant  from  the  house,  and  it  was  dark 
and  raining,  we  gavi;  him  a  lantern,  so  that  he  could  see  the  way  to  go. 
Just  as  he  was  having  the  parlor  he  held  the  lanicrn  down  at  his  feet,  and 
quoted  the  10;")th  vei'-e  of  tlic;  1  lilth  I'salm  :  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my 
feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  i)'.ith."  He  has  proved  it,  too,  by  his  life.  Often 
and  ofien  h;ive  I  tiiouglit  of  tli.it  verse  while  listening  to  him  preach,  and 
wli  le  leading  his  "  Letters  of  Travel  Around  the  World."  I  send  you 
this  little  incident  of  our  dear  Bishop's  life.  I  thought,  maybe,  it  would 
do  to  go  in  some  little  corner  in  your  book. 

While   stationed  at  AVoodville,   he  appears  in  his  old. 


THE    WAIl    INTINERARY.  399 

customary  history — off  at  other  charges,  hohlhig  protracted 
meetinjis.  Lexinijtoii  and  other  interior  towns  are  among 
jDhices  mimed.  There  is  a  letter  arranging  for  a  meeting  at 
Yicksburg ;  and  another  from  Rev.  P.  Lane,  the  pastor  at 
Jackson,  entreatinij  his  aid  at  a  meeting  which  he  wouhl  com- 
mence  on  the  22d  of  September,  if  he  could  attend.  Tlie 
appeal  was  an  intiuential  call  to  ]Marvin — "  desiring  a  great 
awakening."  He  had  made  a  visit  to  Natchez,  where  he  first 
met  George  H.  Clinton,  then  the  station  preacher,  and  be- 
gan an  association  which  became  intimate  in  after  years,  as 
will  appear  in  subsequent  pages. 

There  are  invitations  cordially  soliciting  his  attendance 
at  the  Mississippi  Conference,  held  in  18(32,  in  November,  at 
Jackson.  His  home  was,  probablv,  in  a  family  by  name  of 
Hamilton,  whose  letters  followed  him  in  his  army  life,  in- 
vitin<>*  affectionatelv  and  hoiiing  for  renewed  visitation.  His 
appearance  and  labors  at  the  Conference  have  been  noticed 
by  Mr.  Forsj^the,  his  old  pastor,  in  an  early  chapter  of  this 
history.  In  the  following  contribution  from  Rev.  H.  P. 
Waugh,  of  the  Holston  Conference,  a  Sunday  service  at 
Jackson  appears,  which  will  interest  many  readers. 

'in  the  latter  part  of  February,  18G3,  I  visited  Jackson,  Mississippi,  on 
busines-;,  and  spent  two  or  three  days  in  that  beautiful  city,  and  then  and 
there,  for  the  first  and  last  time,  I  saw  the  lamented  Dr.  E.  M  Marvin.  It 
w.is  on  Sunday  morning  as  1  was  going  down  the  street,  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  city.  I  saw  a  tall,  slender,  flue-looking  man  coming  across  the 
^street  from  the  direction  in  which  I  was  goin  r,  and  overheard  some  one 
remark,  '  There  comes  Rev.  Mr.  Marvin."'  and  wlien  I  met  him  I  spoke  to 
him  and  introduced  mj'self  to  him  as  a  Metliodist  minister,  chaplain  in  the 
Confederate  army  and  a  member  of  the  Holston  Conference.  He  gave  me 
a  very  cordial  shake  of  the  hand  and  seemed  glad  to  meet  me.  I  tank  he 
was  then  coming  in  from  camps,  and  had  the  appearance  of  being  much 
worn  down  and  fatigued. 

Learning  that  he  was  to  preach  that  day  in  the  principal  Methodist 
church  of  the  city,  of  which  Rev  J.  J  Wheat  was  the  pastor,  I  concluded 
ti)  attend  that  church  that  day  and  heanl  him  for  the  first  lime.  I  had  read 
his  sfirmon  in  the  Methodist  Pulpit  South,  and  knew  that  he  was  one  of 
the  ablest  ministers  in  oui  connection.  At  the  appointed  hour  he  was  in 
the  pulpit  and  preached  to  a  large  and  intelligent  congregation  of  oflacers, 


400  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

soldiers  and  citizen-,  a  grand,  heart-ch  erins;  :ind  soui-stirring  sermon, 
that  t>ecuied  to  melt  all  hearts  to  tears.  His  sermon,  I  think,  was  on  the 
divinily  of  Christ,  and  was  haiullcd  in  a  masterly  manner.  The  pastor  in- 
viiCd  him  t  >  preach  aj^aiu  at  niiiht,  which  he  did  to  a  csowded  house.  His 
subject  was  eternal  punishment  and  the  loss  of  the  soul;  and  no  doubt  that 
sermcju  was  indelibly  impressed  on  the  minds  and  hearts  of  many  tint  were 
present,  an  1  t'.ivi  fruit  of  it  will,  n  >  doubt,  be  seen  in  Etemity's  morniug! 
Oh,  such  burning  words  of  eloquence,  and  such  awful  description  of  the 
loss  of  the  soul!  I  ui-ver  expect  to  hear  the  like  again.  The  pa-tor  re- 
qne-ted  me  to  take  a  seat  in  the  pulpit  and  conclude  the  services  after  him. 
I  gave  out  that  familiar  hyuin,  "Jesn<,  Lover  of  my  Soul,"  and  requested 
the  congregation  to  sing  it  in  the  spirit,  to  the  tune  of  "Bozra."  which 
they  did;  the  spintual  thermometer  ri-ing  to  a  high  degree,  and  none 
seeming  to  enjoy  it  more  than  Dr  Marvin  himself,  and  Ex-Governor  Polk, 
of  Missoui  i,  who  was  present.  Brother  Wheat,  the  pastor,  at  the  close  of 
the  services  gave  a  special  invitation  to  Dr.  Marvin,  Governor  Tolk  and 
myself  to  dine  with  him  on  the  next  day  at  the  parsonage,  which  we  did, 
spending  several  hours  together.  It' was,  no  doubt,  a  source  of  pleasure 
to  Dr.  Marvin  aud  Gov.  Polk  to  meet,  as  they  both  belonged  to  tlic  same 
ch:irc'.i,  and  lived  in  the  same  city,  St.  L  aiis,  Mo.  1  well  remember  how  Dr. 
Marvin  would  rise  aud  walk  th;^  fljor  as  he  would  g;t  into  animated  c  )n- 
versalion.  How  I  enjoyed  their  society  and  was  edilied  l)y  their  godly 
conversation.  A  little  more  than  three  years  from  that  time  Dr.  Marvin 
WIS  clevatfd  to  the  Episcopal  office,  and  ten  years  from  then  made  his 
not  d  tour  around  the  world.  Marvin  and  Polk  have  since  met  in  the 
sun  b  ight  clime.  May  all  the  readers  and  the  writer  meet  them  iu  "the 
far  away  home  of  the  soul." 

One  of  the  most  notable  meetings  of  his  war  itinerary 
occurred  at  Little  Rock.     It  is  related  by  Dr.  McPlieeters  : 

Early  in  March,  ISCS,  General  Price  and  staff  crossed  the  Mississippi 
River  at  Port  Hudson,  and  proceeded  to  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  where  they  ar- 
rived o:i  the  25lh.  Mr.  Marvin  followed  shortly  thereafter,  and  on  reach- 
ing Little  Rock  he  beram^'  the  guest  of  the  Rev.  T.  R.  Welch,  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  At  the  earnest  solicitation  of  Dr.  Welch,  he 
continued  t)  preach  for  several  m  mths  in  the  Presbyterian  Churcdi,  with 
great  power  and  acceptance,  to  large  and  interested  cougregatious,  com- 
posed of  ciiizens  aud  soldiers. 

I  have  never  known  the  Gospel  more  ably  or  effectively  preached  than 
by  h  m  at  this  time.  Many  of  these  discourses  made  a  deep  impression — 
on- e--pecially  I  remember  distinctly,  even  now:  the  subject  was  "The 
Pa-able  of  the  Sower  "  His  delineation  and  a,nalysis  of  the  various  char- 
acter-! mentioned  by  our  Lord,  under  the  similitude  of  the  different  soils 
into  which  the  seed  fell,  was  striking  and  original,  and  the  whole  subject 
was  applied  to  the  hearts  aud  couscieuces  of  Ms  hearers  with  a  power  aud 


THE    WAR    ITIXERARY.  401 

unction  peculiarly  his  own.  The  impression  that  he  made  in  Little  Rock  as 
a  pre.iclier  was  of  tiie  hinhest  order,  and  when  he  1<  ft  the  city  Dr.  Welch 
took  occasion  to  think  nie  for  having  introduced  him  to  "our  good  bro- 
ther, Marvin,"'  as  he  justly  styled  him. 

Towards  the  middle  of  June,  the  army  under  command  of  Lient.-Gon. 
Ilolmis  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  Helena,  on  the  Mississippi  River, 
with  the  view  of  attacking  that  strongly  fortified  post.  On  this,  as  ou 
other  occasion^.  Gen.  Price  commanded  the  Missouri  troops,  and  Mr. 
Marvin  accompanied  the  expedition. 

Thcfc  Avas  a  blessing  of  his  ministry  at  Jacksoiiport, 
Ark.,  daring  Price's  encamprnent  at  that  place.  In  all  the 
places  of  his  sojourn  he  sought  the  House  of  God.  In  his 
circumstances  his  ministiy  must  be  largely  "  out  of  season." 
He  nuide  it  "  instant."  Opportunity  was  sought  as  well  as 
seized  upon.  There  he  was  preaching  and  holding  prayer- 
meetings  at  the  church,  and  the  impression  has  reiuained  to 
this  day  in  the  heart  of  the  pastor  and,  doubtless,  in  many 
other  hearts.  A  praj^er-meeting  incident  related  by  the 
pastor  is  a  touching  episode  in  the  land  of  exile  and  life  of 
a  pilgrim  and  stranger.  "  So  the  Lord  alone  did  lead 
him.''* 

When  1  first  became  acquainted  with  Bishop  Marvin,  I  was  stationed 
at  Jacksonport,  Ark.  He  was  tliere  with  General  Price,  and  spent  a  part 
of  the  time  in  my  office,  reading,  conversing,  etc.  It  was,  however,  in  the 
pulpit,  and  in  Cdnducting  a  prayer-meeting,  that  I  realized  the  greatness 
of  the  man.  I  was  verj'  much  impressed  by  a  personal  narrative  which  he 
gave  in  one  of  tlie  prayer-meetings,  and  wliich  showed  the  true  character 
of  his  pi 'ty.  He  stated  that  he  had  recently  been  traveling  in  the  wilds  of 
Arkansas— his  m'ud  was  oppressed,  his  heart  sad.  He  had  been  driven 
from  his  fami  y  and  home  by  the  invading  foe,  and  could  not  hear  of  their 
wolfai'e,  and  it  seemed  to  liim  that  clouds  and  darkness  had  completely  en- 
veloped him.  In  this  state  of  hea't  he  approached  an  old  log  cabin  in  a 
veiy  dilapidated  condition.  As  he  drew  nearer  he  distinguished  the  sound 
of  some  female  singing,  "Nearer,  mv  God,  to  Thee."  He  at  once  alighted 
and  went  in,  for  the  sound  seemed  to  enter  his  very  soul.  He  found  there 
the  singer — a  poor  old  widow  woman,  in  the  midst  of  poverty,  but  who 
WIS  happy  in  spite  of  her  loneliness  and  want.  He  felt  and  said  that  if  an 
old  widow  in  such  want  could  sing  such  a  song,  that  certainly  lie  could. 
He  gave  to  the  wind  his  fears — his  full  confidence  in  an  overruling  Provi- 


*Deut.  xxxii.  12. 

26 


402  UISIIOP  MARVIN. 

dencc  was  brouixlit  into  lively  exercise,  and  from  that  day  lie  went  on  sina- 
iiii,'  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee."  This  siuiph!  i)rrsonal  narrative  made  a 
deeper  impression  oil  my  mind  than  even  tlio  rich  .sermons  lie  preached 
juul  with  whicli  I  was  diliiihtid.  And  now  doubtless  he  sinsjs  in  a  nobler 
fstraii,  as  he  grazes  with  ineffable  plca-nre  npon  the  jrlory  of  Ihe  Infinite, 
"Nearer,  my  Ood,  to  Thee."  This  narrative  was  j^iven  the  week  bef'  re 
the  terrible  fight  at  Helena,  Ark. 

There  is  u  note  of  his  preaching  at  Des  Arc,  ami  con- 
nected with  it  an  interesting  account  of  his  ministry  to  chil- 
dren and  in  the  homes  of  the  people.  This  from  a  lady, 
Mrs.  Nannie  Evans,  now  resident  at  Memphis  : 

Tt  was  on  a  lovely  Sabbath  morning  in  July,  18G.^,  that  I  was  in  my 
beiniiful  home  near  Des  Arc,  Ark.,  blessed  with  the  presc  nee  of  my  a-ied 
and  Christiun  parents,  my  father  having  been  a  minister  in  the  Methodist 
E.  Church  nearly  fifty  years.  I  felt  sad  and  desolate;  clouds  of  anxieiy 
had  broken  in  npon  the  ca"m  home,  where  previously  joy  and  peace  had 
found  a  phiee  to  dwell.  But  now  it  was  lonely  because  of  the  ab.sence  of 
my  Kind  and  devoted  hu>band,  who  had  volunteer  d  his  services  in  behalf 
of  our  country.  My  nephew  came  out  to  accompany  me  to  churcli,  saying 
that  a  celebrated  minister  from  Missouri,  chaplain  of  Gen.  Price's  division, 
vould  fill  the  pulpit  that  morning.  I  immediately  prepared  my  elf  for 
church,  and  when  the  Rev.  E.  M.  Marvin  rose  before  me.  1  felt  that  he  was 
a  man  of  God,  and  my  first  impression  will  never  be  erased,  for  no  min- 
ister ever  impressed  me  as  he  did. 

I  was  like  the  woman  who  desired  to  touch  the  hem  of  the  Saviour's 
garment,  and  at  the  closing  of  service  I  remarked  to  my  sister,  t!iat  I  felt 
as  if  I  would  be  made  a  better  woman  by  shaking  hands  with  the  strange 
minister,  and  was  introduced  by  our  pastor,  Rev.  B.  G.  Johnson.  I  in- 
vited them  to  my  house,  and  on  the  following  Tuesday  boh  came  and 
spent  the  day.  1  shall  never  forget  the  pleasant  aud  profitable  conversa- 
tion we  had  in  the  parlor  that  day— to  me,  a  blessed  privilege.  Bi>hop 
Marvin,  our  pastor,  my  parents  and  nephew  were  present.  My  little  darling 
■was  then  fifteen  months  old,  and  Aviihout  a  name.  I  requested  the  Bishop 
to  give  her  one.  He  suggested  his  favorite  name,  and  on  Friday,  loth  of 
July,  spent  another  day  at  my  house  and  administered  the  rite  of  baptism, 
and  gave  the  name  of  Ada.     1  added  Marvin. 

Bishop  Marvin  remarked  to  me  on  that  day,  that  a  very  little  thing 
oftm  made  a  deep  impression;  he  was  away  from  home  among  stran- 
gers; his  heart  was  sore  and  tender;  and  that  the  invitation  to  visit  our 
house  had  proven  to  be  an  enjoyable  occasion.  Ho  spoke  of  his  family  in 
the  most  affectionate  manner,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  to  the  fullest  extent 
the  hospitality  I  was  enabled  to  give.  In  the  afternoon  he  took  an  atfec- 
tionate  leave  of  all,  and  started  on  his  journey  to  the  southern  part  of  the 


THE    WAR    ITINERARY.  4Q3 

State,  •whither  the  army  was   then  marchins,  leavinp:  in  each  heart  many 
pleasant  remembrances,  with  a  name  as  familiar  as  "  household  words." 

Greenwood,  La.,  was  the  head- quarters  of  his  ministry 
during  the  remainder  of  the  war,  from  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber, 18G3.  The  Uist  entry  in  his  Diar}^  at  that  date,  introdu- 
ces him  to  liis  Doty-home.  Later  entries,  if  made,  would 
have  connected  this  home  in  his  grateful  acknowledirments 
M'ith  the  McGehce  "At  Home,"  at  Woodville.  It  had  a 
simihir  phice  in  his  affections  and  the  same  history  of  life- 
time correspondence,  and  other  associations  of  a  histing 
friendship  and  an  undying  Christian  fellowship.  Its  mem- 
ories were  often  on  his  lips  and  the  sojourn  has  never  faded 
out  of  the  memory  and  heart  of  the  family.  The  noble  and 
beloved  matron  of  the  houseliold  has  gone  to  her  high  re- 
ward— his  sad  jirivilege  to  preach  her  funeral  sermon.  In 
like  manner  a  daughter,  now  ]\Irs.  Annie  E.  Norris,  of  Gal- 
veston, as  at  the  Woodville-hotne,  w^as  blessed  by  his  minis- 
try, as  testified  by  a  letter  to  him — "  Never  to  be  forgotten 
is  the  prayer  you  offered  in  my  behalf  when  I  was  a  peni- 
tent at  the  altar ;  and  M'hilc  I  live  I  will  bless  you  for  it." 

Mr.  Doty  is  well  known  in  his  ministerial  history  as  one 
of  the  oldest  and  having  been  in  the  days  of  his  prime  one 
of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Louisiana  Conference. 
Thouoh  unknown  to  each  other,  Doty  ns  chairman  of  his 
tlelea'ation  and  Marvin  as  visitor  were  brouGfht  to2i:ether  at 
the  General  Conference  at  St.  Louis  in  1850.  His  name  is 
still  on  the  Conference-roll  as  a  venerable  and  honored  su- 
l^erannuated  preacher.  During  the  war  his  house  was  a 
home  for  refuirecs — wide  open  for  refuire  to  a  ]\Iethodist 
Preacher,  as  Marvin,  the  St.  Louis  refugee,  found  it  during 
two  years  for  himself,  and  for  his  family  as  well  as  himself, 
when  they  were  rejoined  and  dwelt  under  his  roof  for  two 
months.  "  If  I  outlive  Doty,"  he  once  said,  "  this  shall  be 
his  epitaph — '  Here  lies  the  ^lethodist  Preacher's  friend.'  " 
The  older  man  is  survivor  and  has  written  the  memorial 


404  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

words  of  personal  f ricnclsliip— "  I  loved  him  dearly  and 
hope  to  meet  him  in  heaven."  He  has  added  the  larger 
teslimouial  in  this  history  of  their  association  : 

Lat'^  ill  the  winter  of  1803,  immediately  aft'^r  the  Louisiana,  Confer- 
ence, wliic'.i  was  held  that  year  iu  Homer,  a  genllenia;i  ciiue  to  my  house, 
lookins  weary  and  sad,  poorly  clad  iu  a  worn  suit  of  homespun.  He  said 
to  me.  as  lie  opened  the  door,  "I  am  a  Methodisf  preacher— have  been 
dircitedby  some  brethren  at  Conference  to  come  to  your  house,  where  I 
cou  d  be  quiet.  I  am  feeble,  in  poor  health,  liave  sore  eyes,  barely  cau 
see,  can't  return  to  my  family  in  Missouri  because  I  am  a  Southern  Meth- 
odist preac'.ier— I  want  a  home  and  quiet  for  awhile— can  I  get  it  with 
you?"  His  appearance  and  the  humility  of  his  manner  took  hold  upon  my 
htart.  If  I  ever  can  cry,  it  is  when  I  see  a  Meth>.di>t  preacher  in  distress. 
Our  home,  heart  and  sympathies  were  open  to  the  stranger.  We  were 
or  >wded  with  refugees.  At  the  proper  time  the  stranger  was  a-ked  to 
hold  prayer  for  us.  The  condition  of  his  eyrs  was  sucli  that  he  could  no,t 
read,  but  he  read  from  memory  a  chapter  without  tlie  failure  of  a  sentence ; 
and  such  was  the  emphasis  and  manner  of  reading  th  t  upon  every  verse 
new  lig'.itwas  thrown.  I  hjoked  at  the  stranger  again— I  could  see  uo 
co.resp  )ndjncT  between  the  elegant  reading  and  his  appearance. 

Tinij  augmented  my  appreciation.  Sabbath  morning  came,  and  to  the 
refugees  and  servants  of  tlie  household  he  preaclud  a  sermon  f  .r  power 
an  I  pathos  I  never  heard  surpassed.  I  thought  he  had  no  mo:c  in  s:ore 
oft'.iat  s.irt,  but  I  soon  found  my  mistake;  for,  to  congregations  large 
and  small,  to  white  or  black,  liis  sermons  were  great.  I  heard  him  preach 
the  funeral  sermon  of  Gov.  Allen,  of  the  State,  and  then  of  a  faitliful  old 
plantation  servant— of  the  two  sei-mons,  the  latter  was  tiic  greater.  Then 
hi>  prayer>  around  the  family  altar— he  talked  to  God,  iuid  pleaded  as  a 
child  to  its  fa- her.  I  thought  t!un,  and  now,  that  I  never  heard  sncli 
prayrrs,  such  unction,  such  fiirvor.  God's  spirit  was  in  every  heart,  and 
in  every  crevice  of  the  house,  i  i  answer  t  >  his  prayers.  Antl  then  such 
gon'^s-"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thec,"  "Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul,"  etc.. 
Cirri  d  us  with  him  to  the  third  heaven,  lie  was  consecrated  to  God  to  a 
greater  extent  than  any  man  I  ever  knew. 

T,!;-.  Doty  furnishes   an  ad  litional  statement  concerning 

his  hame  and  health  and  labors : 

He  made  his  home  with  me  until  about  the  time  of  the  surrender. 
During  th.it  time,  however,  he  was  a!)sent  freqncnily  in  the  army  and  in 
long  preaching  excarsions.  General  Price  and  Staff  came  three  times  to 
see  him.  He  was  a  great  favorite  wiih  the  General.  Though  a  mm  of 
peace,  at  Helena  he  cried  to  the  sold  ers,  "  Onward,  my  brave  boys!  '  He 
kept  his  room  at  my  house  from  January  to  about  the  1st  of  April,  1864 ; 


THE    WAR    ITINERARY.  405 

then  he  took  a,  trip  off;  buf.  much  of  the  year  was  spent  inpreachin? 
through  the  parish  and  adjoining  counties  in  Eastern  Texas.  In  Pentda 
County',  huiuh-eds  were  converted  through  his  instrumentality.  The  win- 
ter of  1804  and  'Go  was  spent  principally  at  my  lioiue,  as  the  former.  When 
the  spring  of  18G4  opened,  he  was  either  in  the  army  or  preaching  in  the 
surrounding  country.  In  the  summer  he  was  feeble,  and  I  provitled  liira  a 
room  w.tli  my  family  at  a  watering  place  in  reach,  called  Breckenridge 
Springs  in  Penola  County,  a  new  place,  with  a  Doctor  Campen,  where  he 
made  lull  proof  of  las  ministry. 

Prominent  among  the  preaching  excursions  to  which  Mr. 
Doty  alludes  was  an  extraordinary  meeting  held  at  Shreve- 
port.  It  is  reported,  wnth  interesting  details,  by  Rev.  Johu 
H.  McLean,  of  the  Northwest  Texas  Conference  : 

To  embalm  in  graceful  remembrance,  the  worthy  deeds  of  the  illustri- 
ous dead,  is  alike  praiseworthy  and  profitable.  You  cannot,  therefore,  fail 
of  the  coinmen(lati.)n  of  an  appreciaiive  pMblic,  in  your  labor  of  luve  — in 
writing  up  the  life  and  labors  of  our  lamented  Marvin.  To  aid  in  this 
good  work,  and  in  accordance  with  your  general  request  and  private  note, 
I  furnish  this  impei'fect  sketch  of  personal  recollections  of  this  good  and 
great  man. 

I  had  known  something  of  E.  M.  Marvin  through  public  print,  but  not 
until  the  spring  of  18G4  was  I  privileged  with  a  personal  acquaiutauce. 
He  had  retired  from  Price's  Army,  and  found  rest  and  relief  under  the 
hospitable  roof  of  Rev  W.  E.  D.ity,  near  Greenwood,  La.  I  heard  of  his 
preaching  iu  that  community,  and  addressed  liim  an  invitation,  to  visit  my 
pastoral  charge  at  Jefferson,  Texas,  and  hold  a  protracted  meeting,  to 
which  he  kindly  consented,  and  put  in  a  prompt  appearance. 

Our  tir>t  interview  was  in  the  parlor  of  that  large-hearted  layman, 
John  C.  Murphy,  who  has  since  gone  to  his  reward.  I  readily  recall  his 
benign  countenance,  unpretentious  manners,  plain  apparel,  a  carelessly 
tied  cravat,  good-fitting  brown  jeans  coat,  with  black  collar  and  cuffs,  vest 
and  pants  to  suit. 

Though  jaded  by  travel,  he  preached  that  evening  the  first  of  six  con- 
secutive sermons  on  the  great  commission,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  Go-pel  to  every  creature,"  etc.  His  incisive  mind  br  'Ught 
forth  clear-cut  views  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  whilst  his  earne^t  impass- 
ioned soul  fallowed  the  ground  for  their  reception.  His  voice  was  full  — 
a.  little  hoarse;  his  manner  easy  and  natural.  Beginning  iu  rather  meas- 
ured tones,  he  would  warm  and  quicken  with  ids  theme,  until  his  earnest 
appeals  b.came  quite  irresi.-tiiile.  He  had  versatility  of  style,  could  be 
analytical,  metaphysical,  argumentative,  descriptive,  but  always  earnest, 
and  generally  pathetic-.  He  was  a  man  of  results,  his  mission  wis  to  all, 
the  lofty  and  the  low.  The  courtly  and  the  abject  shared  alike  his  m.nis- 
trations. 


40G  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

This  meeting,  of  three  weeks  continuance,  resulted  in  about  fifty  con- 
versions, and  as  many  acces.sijns  to  the  Churcli.  lis  conserved  the  re- 
sults of  his  1  ibor.  The  raoruing  piayer-mee  ings  were  among  the  most 
useful  services.  His  close,  searching  talks,  ab  -unding  in  scriptural  allu- 
sions, could  not  fad  to  beget  deep  iutrospecti.ni  of  heart,  on  the  part  of 
his  hearers;  wliilst  his  f ervi  nt,  sometimes  wre-tling,  prayers,  and  spiritual 
mellowing  songs,  such  as  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"  would,  as  by  sweet 
cons' raiut,  draw  all  hearts  nearer,  closer  to  God.  What  a  magnetic  nature 
he  hid!  How  he  drew  all  hearts  unlo  him,  and  how  wonderful  his  hold 
upon  the  people,  witliout  seeming  to  see  .  it  a:id  wiliiout  seeming  to  know 
that  he  had  it!  My  predecessor,  the  sweet-spirited  Rev.  Charles  L.  llam- 
mill,  rendered  good  service  in  this  meeting,  and  not  many  mouths  after 
passed  from  labor  to  rest. 

I  cannot  forbear  the  mention  of  a  suggestion  of  his  to  the  penitents — 
"they  tliey  would  read  prayerfully,  upon  their  knees,  in  secret  belore  God^ 
the  lil'ty-hrst  Psalm;"  and  in  so  doing  a  l)ril!iant,  cultivated  young  maa 
realized  the  blessing  of  a  "  clean  heart  "  and  "right  spirit." 

AtthecK'se  of  the  meeting,  Dr.  Marvin  delivered  an  instructive  ad- 
monitory sermon,  from  the  allegory  of  the  'Vine  and  the  Branches" — 
mainly  intended  for  the  young  converts.  And,  with  the  figure  in  hand,  right 
happily  did  he  impress  Uj)on  them  the  vital  union  between  CMirist  and  his 
people,  and  their  utter  deptmdence  upon  idm  for  continued  spiritual  life. 

From  this  time  until  fall  lie  was  engag(;d  almost  continuously  in  pro- 
tracted meetings,  in  and  around  Jefferson  and  Marshall,  and  everywhere 
having  good  success. 

Another  principal  station  within  convenient  reach  of  the 
Doty-home  was  at  Marshall,  Avhich  he  visited  on  several  oc- 
casions during  the  year  1(SG4.  On  a  visit  there  in  the  fall 
of  that  3^ear  he  preached  on  special  topics  by  request.  I'he 
reporter,  Ilev,  IVIr.  Lcaton,  represents  the  pulpit  of  the  day 
as  masterly,  and  was  himself  so  impressed  as  to  remember, 
besides  the  general  argument,  particular  passages  in  the 
discourses.  In  the  sermon  in  the  morning  on  Baptism,  from 
the  text  "  Leaving  the  tirst  i)rinciples  of  the  doctrine  of 
Christ,"  etc.,  he  stated  the  fact  that  he  had  not  been  bap- 
tized in  infancy,  which  he  regretted.  *'  He  had  to  go  back 
to  first  principles  when  he  became  a  man  and  commence  de 
novo.'''  His  night  sermon  was  on  Joshua's  choice,  introduced 
by  an  apostrophe:  "  The  grand  old  man  !  I  love  the  firm 
man — I  love  the  solid  man — I   love  the  man  that  stands 


THE    WAR    ITIXERARY.  407 

brav^ely  to  his  principles  in  emerijent  times  !  Such  a  man 
always  ct)aiinands  \nv  veneration  and  mv  love."  It  so  hap- 
pens  that  those  characteristic  utterances  close  the  record  of 
his  War  Itinerary. 

Of  the  historical  data  furnished  for  this  chapter,  that 
visit  to  ]Marshall  bears  the  latest  date.  About  the  same  date 
he  mot  the  ]Military  Governor  of  Missouri,  who  had  his 
headquarters  at  Marshall.  That  interview  has  occasioned 
the  following  testimonial  and  tribute,  which  may  properly 
close  this  chapter:  i)rcsented  by  it  in  an  attitude  of  charac- 
ter and  office,  which  his  whole  history  vindicates,  and  which 
he  rendered  eminent  and  preserved  unsullied — the  man  of 
God  and  the  Christian  minister. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  18,  1878. 
Rkv.  Dr.  T.  M.  Fixxey: 

T)"ar  Sir,— In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  give  you  my  recollec- 
tions of  the  late  Bishop  Marvin's  soj  )ura  in  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

I  had  often  heard  of  h'nn  as  an  eloquent  and  greatly  beloved  preacher 
of  the  Gospel  i;i  Gon.  Price's  division  of  ConfeJorato  tro  ips,  and  was  sur- 
prise I  to  learn,  wlien  i  i  Richmond,  in  Janu:iry,  18Jj3,  that  he  had  served 
all  the  time  without  p  ly  or  suit  ible  military  ranis:.  I  called  the  attention 
of  the  Confederate  Secretary  of  War  to  those  facts,  and  he  at  once  direct- 
ed Mr.  Marvin  to  be  commissioned  as  chaplain.  I  did  not  see  him  person- 
ally until  sometime  in  the  summer  of  1S(U,  wli  m  he  dined  at  my  house  at 
Marshall,  Texas,  and  this  was  the  only  occasion  on  which  we  met  during 
the  late  civil  war. 

Mr.  Marvin,  although  very  quiet  and  unpretending,  was  a  prominent 
figure  in  the  Confederacy,  on  account  of  the  great  esteem,  in  which  he  was 
universally  held,  and  the  wholesome  moral  and  religious  influence  he  ex- 
ercised over  the  Missouri  troops,  and  all  with  wh  ch  he  was  at  any  time 
connected.  I  was  impressed  and  charmed  by  him  in  an  unusual  degree. 
He  realized  the  idea  of  a  "saintly"  man,  and  j'et  I  have  never  met  a 
clergym  m  who  had  less  of  purely  clerical  ways  and  manners;  in  social  life 
he  was  simplv  the  well-bred  courteous  gentleman.  In  conversation  on  re- 
ligious subjects  (which  happened  to  be  touched  upon  during  his  vi^it  to 
me)  he  was  brilliant  and  yet  profound;  decided,  but  chadtable.  The  simi- 
larity of  his  Church  to  that  of  which  I  am  a  member,  (the  Protestant 'Epis- 
copal,) prevented  anything  resembling  discussion  between  us,  but  his  re- 
marks left  upon  me  the  impression  that  he  had  a  mind  of  great  logical 
power  and  comprehensive  grasp.     This  was  only  confirmed  by  the  dis- 


408 


BISIIOr  MARVIN. 


courses  I  heard  him  make,  after  we  hael  both  returned  to  Missouri.  I  sin- 
cerely mourned  his  death;  ami  consider  it  a  very  great  lo>s,  not  only  to 
his  own  church,  but  also  to  the  religious  world  generally,  and  to  the  entire 
community  in  wliich  he  lived  and  successfully  labored. 

I  remain,  dear  sir,  very  truly  yours, 

Thos.  C.  Reynolds. 


;^tX    )ip^    XK    X"^ 
(^         #         ^         ^ 


CHAPTER     XXI. 


MARSHALL    STATION. 

Appointocl  to  Marshall  Station— Joined  by  liis  family— Their  journey— Mrs. 
Marvin's  narrative—The  meeting  of  the  family— On  the  road  — Inci- 
(lents— Riieben  and  Sukey— At  tlie  Louisiana  Conference— Ea>tT  xas 
Conference  at  Jefferson— The  Waco  Conference— Third  visit  to  Louisi- 
ana Conference— His  relation  to  St.  Louis  Conference— Its  Sessions 
resumed  in  18G4— Remained  in  the  South  at  Marshall— His  last  pastoral 
charge — A  characteristic  sentiment. 

■s 

^T  is  a  noticeable  incident  that  the  war-intinerary  closed  as 
^  it  began,  with  the  supply  of  a  vacant  cliarge — at  Mar- 
shall. It  occurred  under  circumstances  detailed  by  a  citizen 
and  member  of  the  Church  at  that  place,  Mr.  W.  M.  John- 
son : 

In  May,  18G4,  it  was  announced  by  our  pastor,  that  Dr.  ^Marvin  of 
Missouri,  would  fill  the  pulpit  at  this  place  on  the  next  Sabbath.  His  fame 
as  a  mm  and  preacher  had  preceded  him,  and  as  the  hour  for  service  ar- 
rived all  were  eagerly  looking  for  him,  he  being  a  stranger  to  all  except 
our  i)astor.  Soon  a  strange  minister,  handsomely  dressed,  came  walking 
up  the  aisle.  All  eyes  were  turned  upon  liim,  while  it  was  whispered  from 
one  to  another,  that  is  Dr.  Marvin.  In  a  few  minutes  another  man  in 
soldier's  garb  came  up  the  aisle  and  ascended  the  pulpit.  He  had  only 
spoken  a  short  time  bef  ire  the  hushed  whisper  again  ran  through  the  con- 
gregation, tliat  is  Dr.  Marvin.  Such  power  of  thought,  energy  of  style 
and  profound  reasoning  coukl  emanate  from  no  one  less  gifted  than  E.  M. 
Marvin. 

From  the  very  beginning;  of  his  ct^reer  in  this  place  he  was  popular; 
and  as  his  real  character  became  known  in  a  social  as  well  as  ministerial 
capacity,  a  deep  love  sprang  up  in  the  Cimrch,  which  h"as  fljwed  on  un- 
interruptedly. 

During  1864,  he  preached  often  in  Marshall  in  connection  with  C.  L. 
Hamill,  who  was  then  onr  pastor.  In  February,  1865,  after  visiting  the 
army,    of   which  Dr.   Marvin  was    chaplain,  our  pastor  returned  home, 


410  BISHOl'  MARVIN. 

and  in  a  few  weeks  died.  After  the  death  of  this  good  man,  we  requested 
Dr.  Marvin  to  supply  the  Stalion,  letters  wore  excliaii^xed,  his  con>ent  ob- 
tained, and  lie  was  formally  appointed  to  tliis  Siatiou  by  tlie  Presiding 
Elder. 

At  about  the  date  of  these  ne^iotialions  an  influential 
application  is  before  President  Lincohi  for  pci mission  to 
Mrs.  Marvin  and  family  to  i)ass  through  the  Federal  lines. 
It  is  granted,  and  in  March,  18tj5,  the  brave  woman  is  on 
her  way  South.  The;  husband  is  at  Homer,  La.,  holding  a 
meetino;  amonn^  the  soldiers  of  Gen.  John  B.  Clark's  Divis- 
ion  of  Missouri  troops.  The  rumor  has  ti'aveled  several 
hundred  miles — "Mrs.  Marvni  has  been  seen  at  Gaines' 
Landing."  The  three  years  have  expired.  The  family  are 
re-joined. 

The  date  is  Avithin  a  few  days  of  the  surrender  of  Lee. 
In  the  narrative  of  Mrs.  Marvin,  her  travels  mingle  Avitli  the 
closing  scenes  of  his  dramatic  war-history  beginning  inFeb- 
ruarv,  1862. 

A  special  permit  to  pass  tliroiigli  Ine  Federal  lines  was  ot)tamed  for  us 
from  President  Lincoln,  and  m  Manai,  180.'),  wu  started  South.  We 
tniveled  on  the  steamer  Henry  Ames,  ;ind  were  put  off  on  a  gun  boat,  and 
ashoi-e  in  a  skiff  at  (iaines' Lanuing.  Wi.'  were  d-tuiued  at  and  near  the 
Landing  about  ten  days,  on  account  of  high  waters  in  the  bayous  and 
floods  which  had  washed  away  tlie  bridges —stopping  at  Mr.  B.itchelor's 
at  the  Lauding,  and  a  week  at  Gen.  Gaines',  a  mile  or  two  furtlier  on. 
The  place  was  neutral  ground  between  tlie  armies,  mm  our  stay  was  ex- 
pensive— about  five  dollars  a  day — and  no  informaiion  accessible  to  direct 
our  movements.  Before  leaving  Missouri,  we  had  not  been  al)le  to  cora- 
muni'-.ate  with  Mr.  Marvin  and  did  nut  know  where  he  was  Our  plan  was 
to  get  within  the  Confederate  lines  and  await  an  op;)ortunity  to  comnuini- 
cate  with  him.  Starting  on  we  were  met  by  Confederate  sohliers,  who  as- 
sisted us  t )  cross  a  bayou,  and  we  journeyed  on  till  we  reached  the  house 
of  Mr.  H-'ury,  where  we  remained  three  or  four  days.  Our  arrival  excited 
interest  in  the  neighborliood;  and  among  the  callers  were  Mr.  Daniel  and 
Judge  James  F.  Lowry.  Mr.  Daniel  was  satisfied  of  our  identity  at  once, 
saying,  tliat  our  daughter,  Marcia,  was  the  image  of  her  fatliei-,  whose  en- 
graved likeness  in  the  Methodist  Puljiit,  South,  he  had  at  his  hoii-e.  They 
at  once  took  us  in  charge,  offering  the  hospitalities  of  their  honu-s.  We 
weie  conveyed  to  Judj;e  Lowry's,  and  after  a  few  days,  by  our  preference, 
we  occupied  a  house  in  his  yard  and  cared  for  ourselves,   being  liberally 


MARSHALL    STATION.  411 

fiirnishod  with  family  supplio-!  by  thoin  and  other  ijcnerous  friend^,  with- 
out any  cliarge.  lluro  wo  avv.iited  iutellii^eiice  froin  Mr.  Marvin.  A  month 
had  passed,  when  one  afternoo  i  lie  appeire.l  u  ie.\,)ecto(Ily  and  un-m- 
nounce  I  on  tlie  powM  and  in  the  do  irvvay.  I  flew  to  meet  iiim.  Tlie 
cliildrcn  did  no",  at  once  recoirnize  inni  in  his  straugj  attire;  but  soon  we 
were  all  in  his  arm<,  and  the  girls  crying  for  joy. 

The  frequent  niessaires  sent  by  passing  soldiers  came  to 
him  in  the  rnmor,  which  reached  his  ears  at  Homer.  Ho 
started  at  once  with  George  W.  Primrose,  formerly  a  preach- 
er in  Missouri,  as  traveling  comp anion  and  guide.  Thirty" 
miles  away  he  met  a  man  who  had  seen  the  family  at  Judge 
Lowry's.  As  soon  as  he  reached  the  premises,  "  Brother 
Primrose,"  he  said,  "  my  family  are  there,  in  that  cabin  " 
— there  his  longing,  "  more  than  they  that  watch  for  the 
morning,"  came  to  an  end. 

Among  her  notes  by  the  way,  Mrs.  M.  mentions  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  old  Dr.  Lacy,  the  fatlier  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Lacj'^  of  Missouri,  at  El  Dorado,  "  He  had  formerly  lived  in 
our  section  of  ^lissouri,  in  St.  Charles  County.  He  was  a 
venerable  old  irentleman,  his  snow-white  beard  reachin*'* 
down  on  his  breast.  It  was  a  pleasant  re-union  in  the  land 
of  exile." 

She  relates  an  amusing  incident  happening  at  that  place 
and  about  the  time  of  Lee's  surrender  and  when  it  was 
expected  that  the  leaders  would  flee  to  Mexico.  "Mr. 
Marvin,"  she  says,  '•  rode  a  large,  line  horse,  named  Beaure- 
gard. His  attire,  when  he  met  us,  and  which  disguised  him 
a  moment  from  his  children,  Avas  odd — a  suit  of  2:rav,  frock 
coat,  hat  of  white  wool  and  broad  brim,  hair  untrimmed 
and  lonix  beard  reachino-  down  on  his  breast.  As  he  rode 
througli  the  town  of  El  Dorado,  where  he  was  a  stranger, 
with  the  brim  of  his  hat  turned  down  and  his  whiskers 
flowinir  in  the  Avind,  our  son  overheard  the  remark — 
"  There  soes  Jeff  Davis  in  disjzuise." 

The    Doty-home    Avas    the    destination    of    this    travel. 
What  welcome  awaited  them  is  in  the  Avords  of  Mr.  Doty : 


412  BISIlOr  MAKVIN. 

*' WluMi  lu>  arrived  :it  my  house  he  said  with  emotion,  'I 
have  brought  my  wife  and  ehildreii  to  your  home  because  I 
kiiosv  that  1  am  welcome.'  And  so  he  was,  as  much  so  as 
my  own  mother's  son  would  be."  Mrs.  Marvin's  narrative 
concludes  with  the  testimony  to  the  kindness  of  that  home 
aud  settlement  at  her  own  : 

Mr.  Marvin  had  received  from  Mr.  Doty  and  his  Ijrothers-ln-hiw,  Mr. 
VinUler  and  Mr.  Jones,  the  utniosl  l^indness;  and  tliese  families  extended 
the  most  liospitable  atentions  to  lis  all.  There  were  in  tlie  iieiuliborhood 
many  refugees  from  Mississippi  and  Louisiana,  and  tlie  society  of  the 
place  was  most  delightful.  Mr.  Doty  had  considerable  fortune  and  a 
large  plantation  and  roomy  house,  furnislicd  with  a  fine  library  and  many 
attractions  of  home;  and  he  dispensed  there  abundant  and  elegant  hospi- 
tality. During  our  three  weeks'  stiiy  at  his  liouse,  we  met  (Jen.  Price,  who 
called,  as  he  was  leaving  the  couulry  for  Mexico,  to  bid  Mr.  Marvin  good- 
bye. The  little  girls,  Minnie  and  Necly,  greatly  prized  tlieir  luss  from  the 
General.  W(!  had  now,  sincj  1  ;aving  St.  Loui<,  been  wayfarers  and 
sojourners  during  three  and  a-half  months.  At  1.  ngth  we  were  settled  at 
home  in  Marshall,  where,  it  seem  d  providential,  Mr.  Marvin  had,  before 
joining  us,  concluded  an  engagement  to  supply  the  station. 

At  that  tiin;i  the  i)opulation  was  about  three  or  four  thousand.  Our 
church,  a  good  bricli  edifice,  was  the  best  in  the  place.  The  membership 
numbered  ab  mt  two  hundred,  and  the  congregation  was  the  lariiest  in  the 
city.  The  Federal  sokliers  attended  liis  church  and  vi>itetl  liim  at  the  par- 
sonage ;  and  at  times  he  preached  for  them  a',  their  barraclcs.  It  was  one 
of  the  mo-t  pleasant  residences  in  our  itinerancy.  We  were  conti-iucd 
there  the  following  Conference  year,  the  charge  being  left  to  be  supplied 
by  Mr.  Marvin. 

Mrs.  Marvin  has  not  omitted  from  her  narrative  one 
incident  of  domestic  history — the  sc[)aration  from  the  old 
family  servants  on  leaving  Missouri.  The  personal  attach- 
ments subsisting  between  the  whites  and  their  household 
slaves  is  illustrated  by  a  passage  contained  in  one  of  Mr. 
Marvin's  army  letters  received  from  a  Missourian,  Avhose 
servant  went  South  with  him.  He  had  mentioned  intel- 
ligence of  the  death  of  a  friend,  a  Confederate  otHccr,  and 
adds:  "At  the  same  time  I  received  another  dispatch, 
statin"-  the  sadder  intelliiience  of  the  death  of  my  favorite 
nc'-ro,  whom  I  loved  as  a  brother,  having  been  the  favorite 


MARSHALL    STATION.  413 

of  our  whole  family  in  Missouri.  Though  a  poor  negro, 
still  the  long-continued  relation  to  our  family,  and  his  per- 
sonal merit  and  piety,  and  noble  conduct  toward  me  during 
my  lifelong,  cause  me  to  grieve  over  his  death." 

Reuben  and  Sukey  are  cherished  names  in  the  Marvin 
household.  When  he  went  South  for  a  three  years'  absence, 
he  intrusted  his  family  to  thair  care  and  protection.  At 
their  departure  to  rejoin  him,  in  the  parting  scene,  they 
said  :  "  Missus  Harriet,  yoxi  see  you  leave  us  ;  you  can't  say 
we  left  you."  During  all  the  time  the  'Home  Guards" 
and  the  Germans  of  the  nei<2;hborhood  were  keei)ing  the 
iiCLrroes  a<2:itated  and  excited  al)0ut  leavins:  their  old  homes. 
But  it  could  not  shake  their  fidelity.  "  Ri3uben,"  says  Mrs. 
M.,  "  was  proud  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  him.  He  was 
about  seventy  jxuirs  old,  small  in  stature,  active,  hardy  and 
industrious  ;  of  good  intelligence  and  business  judgment. 
He  took  on  him  the  whole  manaijement  of  the  farm  and 
disposed  of  the  [)roduce,  rendering  intelligent  and  faithful 
account  of  sales.  His  wife,  Sukey,  was  about  sixty  jx'ars 
old,  black  complexion,  strong  and  stout,  and  an  excellent 
household  servant.  Slie  had  been  in  our  family  on  hire  for 
several  years,  till,  in  the  course  of  the  administration  and 
distribution  of  the  estate  to  which  she  belonijed,  she  was 
sold.  She  begged  Mr.  Marvin  to  buy  her,  in  Avhich  her 
husband  joined.  He  did  so,  purchasing  first  the  life  estate 
from  the  widow  and  afterwards  the  full  title,  at  a  cost  alto- 
gether of  one  thousand  dollars.  She  is  a  o-ood  Christian 
woman  and  has  served  us  with  the  ijreatest  faithfulness. 
At  the  parting  she  cried  like  a  child  ;  and  Reuben  was 
deeply  affected.  We  left  them  on  the  "Old  Place,"  where 
they  remained  as  tenants  till  187G,  when  they  purchased  a 
small  farm  about  six  miles  away  to  the  northeast,  near 
Wright  City." 

While  the  first  chapters  in  these  pages  were  being 
written,  the  following  postal  was  received: 


411  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

You  have  heard  us  speak  of  the  faithful  old  servants,  Uncle  Reuben 

and  Aunt  Sukey.     Tlie  old  man  diid  last  Friilay.     Cornelia  and  Minnie  and 

I  vviiit  up  to  his  funeral.     They  almost  raised  Cornelia  and  Minnie,  and 

there  was  nearly  the  attachment  of  i)ueiits  and  children  between  tliem. 

Uncle  Rt-uben  (Renlicn  Pratt)  was  b  'rn  in  Culpepper  (bounty,  Va.,  Oct.  3, 

1808.     Died  in  Warren  Co.,  Mo.,  Aug.  2,  1878. 

Yours,  F.  M. 

Anions:  the  unused  mnterials  for  this  liistorv,  there  is 
some  c()iiiuH!tnig  it  with  the  hist  days  of  the  great  Civil 
War  and  the  career  which  this  chapter  intro(hjces.  One  of 
his  particuhir  friends  and  correspondents  during  the  war 
was  the  present  su[)crintendeiit  of  the  Mission  to  Mexico, 
Rev.  W.  M.  Patterson.  He  has  accompanied  the  trans- 
mission of  some  letters  of  Bishop  Marvin  with  the  foHowing 

note : 

City  ok  Mexico,  June  20,  1878. 
De.vr  Bro.  Finney. 

I  iuelose  some  letters  of  Bishop  Marvin.  They  contain  nothing  new, 
perhaps,  but  they  are  all  I  can  udw  liud.  I  had  otlier  and  b  tter  ones— and 
I  remember  of  seeing  tliem  among  ray  papers  just  before  leaving  the 
States.  But  I  cannot  lind  tlicm  now.  Tliere  was  one  very  long  Irttrr,— a 
]et,:er  of  friendsliii),  written  in  a  lively  style,  combining  wit,  piiilosopliy 
aud  religion,  which  I  esteemed  very  highly,  but  it  is  among  the  lost. 

I  was  with  him  much  during  the  war,  principally  in  Mississippi  and 
Texas,  but  I  have  forgotten  dates,  etc.  After  the  surrender  of  Vicksl)urg, 
I  went  to  tlie  Trans-Mississippi  departnirnt,  by  authority  of  tlie  Church,  to 
engage  with  Bro.  Marvin  in  puljlishing  a  papir,  tracts,  etc.,  for  tliat  section 
of  country.  He  accepted  the  commission  I  bore  him,  and  while  I  was 
arranging  the  business  department  of  the  work,  I  was  taken  prisoner  and 
kept  to  tlie  close  of  the  war.  Tliis  put  an  end  to  our  publisliing  eutt  r- 
prise.  After  the  war  closed  we  arranged  to  publish  a  paper,  "^S'.  W.  JETr'aft- 
fifeZ/s^"  at  Marshall,  Texas,  at  which  place  lie  was  pastor  of  our  church. 
The  General  Conference  at  N.  O.  settled  that  matter  for  us.  He  did  valu- 
able service  for  me  while  I  was  stationed  in  Mimiphis,  l)ut  you  have  plenty 
of  such  services  already  t )  mention.  Once  he  came  to  hohl  a  protracted 
meeting  for  me — was  complaining— and  when  I  asked  liim  what  he  would 
have  me  do  for  him,  he  replied  tliat  he  thought  jileuty  of  hard  work  would 
make  him  all  riirlit,  though  many  a  pieacilier  had  located,  who  was  in  no 
wo'se  condition  than  himself.  I  gave  him  the  work  to  do,  and  he  did  it  as 
faitli  tilly  as  ever  any  minister  of  the  Gospel  did  his  work. 

I  am  gl  id  you  are  to  pni)lis|i  his  life.  I  must  get  a  copy  when  it  is 
ready.  Ri!memi)er  me  very  kindly  to  his  family,  who-e  pleasant  hospital- 
ities 1  have  often  shared. 

Your  brother  in  Christ, 

W. M.  Patterson. 


MARSHALL    STATION.  415 

One  of  the  most  marked  characteristics  of  Marvin  was 
his  hearty  participation  in  the  A^^pril  de  Corjjs  of  th(;  body 
of  Methodist  preachers.  As  a  chiss  of  men  he  was  bonnd 
to  them  by  sentiments  of  the  deepest  admiration  and  affec- 
tion ;  and  among  his  lii2:hest  enjoyments  was  the  associ- 
ations of  tlie  session  of  an  Annual  Conference.  In  addition 
to  such  occasion  of  official  business  as  might  have  called  for 
his  attendance,  he  embraced  every  opportunit}^  to  meet  the 
preachers  at  their  annual  gathenngs,  when  he  was  a 
sojourner  among  them  in  the  South.  His  presence  at  the 
Mississipi)i  and  Ouachita  Conferences  has  been  already 
noted.  From  the  latter  in  the  same  year  he  went  to  the 
session  of  the  Louisiana  Conference.  His  presence  and 
labors  there  and  subsequently  at  other  places,  are  reported 
hv  Rev.  W.  H.  Moss,  at  present  of  the  North  Texas  Con- 
ference : 

I  tir^t  saw  Enoch  M.  Marvin  at  a  session  of  the  Louisiana  Conference, 
lield  in  the  town  of  Homer,  Louisiana,  in  tlie  fall  of  18G3.  He  was  tlien 
connected  with  the  army  as  chaplain. 

One  da}',  immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Conference,  I  was 
introduced  to  r>rother  Marvin.  But  I  diil  not  think  of  its  being  E.  M. 
Marvin  of  Missouri,  whose  sermon  I  had  I'ead  in  tiie  Methodist  Pulpit, 
JS'mth.  lie  was  dressed  in  home-made  jeans,  considerably  worn,  having  a 
leather  shade  over  an  ulceratt'd  eye.  I  did  not  see  the  greatness  in  the 
man  then.  But  the  next  niornin-r'  when  Dr.  Keener,  who  was  presiding, 
asked  brother  Marvin's  opinion  of  some  question,  as  soon  as  he  began  to 
speak,  my  eyes  were  opened  as  to  who  he  was. 

He  was  appointed  to  deliver  the  Missionary  address,  on  'Saturday 
evening.  It  was  doubtless  an  address  well  prepared,  which  he  had  deliv- 
ered some  time  before.  It  appeared  tome  th:it  it  was  everj-thiiig  neces- 
sary to  constitute  such  a  thing  great  —  thought  beautiful  and  sul)lime, 
delivery  easy,  correct  and  pathetic.  From  the  lirst  word  he  uttered  till  he 
elosed,  i)rofound  attention,  quiet  and  delight  reigned  in  the  congregation. 
I  went  away  from  the  c.iurch  lliat  night  feeling  that  I  had  seen  the  greatest 
and  best  man  I  had  ever  seen  -that  one  of  the  old  propliets  had  risen,  and 
that  mighty  works  showed  forth  themselves  in  him.  I  did  not  think  he 
was  so  great  by  nature,  but  that  grace  had  done  the  work.  He  impressed 
me  as  a  servant  and  f :  iend  of  God,  living  in  close  communion  with  him. 

On  Sunday  evening  he  preached  on  "'Ihe  last  enemy  that  shall  be 
<lestroyed  is  death."     I  have  heard  him  since,  but  never  have  I  heard  him 


416  JJISIIOP  MARVIN. 

whou  lu;  came  up  to  that  effort,  although  some  of  liis  hloas  were  now  to 
me,  to  whJL-h  I  did  not  at  the  time  nor  dij  I  yi't  accede  to  as  correct.  I 
allude  t  )  his  ])osiiioii,  that  i)h.vslcal  death  is  not  jienal  but  lemedial  and 
corrective.  Never  shall  I  forgi  t,  while  he  was  speaking  of  ihe  benefits  of 
atlliction,  he  cried,  "I  am  on  G  )(rs  anvil  in  this  war,  and  while  I  lake  this 
view  of  the  subject,  I  will  sav,  '  Strike  on  !  strike  on!  stnkeon!'' 

After  the  close  of  the  Conference  he  went  to  Shreveporr,  whm-  he  had 
sent  an  appointment  to  preach  on  KabbaMi.  lie  spent  Saturday  night  on 
the  west  side  of  the  11  '1  Iliver,  and  crossed  over  in'o  t>wn  iic-xt  ni  <ridng 
and  went  into  the  church.  IJro.  Le",  fi'om  whom  I  learncil  these  facts  was 
in  the  house.  Bro.  Marvin  asked  him  if  there  was  to  be  preaching  tliere 
that  day.  He  answered,  a  man  named  Marvin  has  an  appointment  here 
He  preached  at  eleven,  to  a  small  cougr.  gatiou ;  but  the  news  si)read  >  ver 
town  that  a  g  eat  preacher  was  in  town,  and  that  night  he  prcacheil  a  line 
sermon  t  >  a  house  full,  on  "1  am  the  bright  and  the  morning  star." 

lie  •-pent  sometime  at  the  house  of  Rev.  W.  E.  Poty,  where  I  visited 
him  a  few  times  (I  was  thOn  a  member  of  the  Louisiana  Conferei.o  ),  and 
found  h'm  to  be  one  of  the  hnmble-t,  swe-test  spirited,  and  most  sociable 
men  ii  h  is  ever  been  my  privilcLre  to  know  And  wh  n  I  was  there  he  h  id 
on  a  pair  of  liomc-inaJe  cotton  i)ants  that  some  sister  (I  sup|)ose  Sisier 
Doty  or  Si>tir  Jones)  had  given  him.  He  said  "  1  would  not  take  a  hundred 
dollars  for  my  breeches."  Hioiher  Doty  snguesied  thai  he  was  exagger- 
ating, but  lie  persisted  that  he  would  not.  I  fell  so  much  in  love  with  him 
that  wlun  our  oldest  son  (now  living)  was  born,  I  called  liiin  Marvin. 

Ill  18(;(),  afti'r  he  was  made  Bishop,  he  preached  the  c 'inmencem 'tit 
sermon  of  the  Mansfield  Female  College,  of  which  ll.'V.  C.  15.  Suart,  was 
President,  from  Ecclesiastes  Chap.  11  and  v.  I.  Th  :  gentlema  i  wh  >  was 
selected  to  deliver  the  address  to  the  griduat  iiz  class  not  b  ing  present, 
brotlier  Marvin  delivered  it.  When  he  arose,  his  fir-t  words  wer  :  "I 
graduated  in  a  \nx  si^hool-housi;  in  a  bl.ick-jack  thicket  in  Mi-sou:i,  a  id  I 
had  actually  ciphered  clean  througli  I'ike  s  .Arithmetic.  If  any  body  had 
told  me  then  that  I  should  ever  [ireach  a  colh'ge  commencement  sermon  I 
w^ould  have  thought  they  were  making  fun  of  me." 

It  was  at  his  suj:gesiion  I  transferred  to  the  East  Texas  Cohfcrenco, 
at  a  seo>ion  of  which,  held  at  Crockett,  in  the  fall  of  1871,  1  met  wi.h  him 
for  the  last  time  in  this  worhl.  There  I  saw  that  lie  was  a  Bi-liop  as  widl 
as  a  Pieacher.  1  tliaiik  God  that  he  was  made  Bishoii.  He  wis  not  on'y 
honored  by  the  Church,  but  he  was  an  honor  to  the  Church  as  Bi>hop. 

Rev.  John  H.  McLean,  with  whom  he  became  closely 
associated  in  personal  friendship  and  ministerial  ]a])()rs,  has 
narrated  his  visitation  at  the  Louisiana  Conference  the  fol- 
lowing 3^car,  18G4,  and  at  the  Texas  Conference  in  that  and 
the  year  1805  : 


MARSHALL  STATIOX.  417 

In  October  of  this  year  (1804),  ha  met  with  the  Ea-^t  Texas  Confer- 
ence, in  Iheii-  iinnnnl  session  at  Jeffer.-on,  Ilev.  J.  B.  Tullis  presiding;. 
Ileie,  also,  we  had  Dr.  (now  Bisliop)  Keener,  Dr.  J.  E.  Cobb,  and  other 
intere^tini^'  ministers  from  sister  Conferences.  This  was  an  interesting 
and  important  session  of  the  Conference— to  steer  aright  tlio  ship  of  Zion, 
ami  1  tliose  perilons  war  times  was  matter  of  no  small  moment  to  God's 
ministers.  The  Conference,  perhaps,  partook  a  little  too  much  of  the  war 
fever,  but  found  considerable  apo!op:y  in  the  pressure  and  provocation  of 
the  limes,  and  their  deep  solicitude  for  their  people  and  tlie  cause  of  the 
co'.mtry.  The  "  Maiinales  '  of  this  occasion  were  Drs.  M.  and  K. ;  their 
speec'.ies  and  sermons  were  listened  to  with  great  interest  and  profit.  A 
novice,  in  attendance  upon  the  Conference,  conceived  the  idea,  that  these 
"D.D's"  were  rivalii:^  each  other  in  their  pulpit  ministrations.  And 
upon  leaving  Conference  and  having  occasion  to  make  mention  of  his 
visit,  stated,  in  his  own  characteristic  way,  "that  he  saw  two  big 
])re  .chers  at  Conference,  trying  to  beat  each  other  preaching — they  had  it 
nip  ad  tuck— until  one  (M.)  got  hold  of  the  Golden  Candlesticks,  and 
the:i  he  ou  shincd  th  nx  a!l."  To  none  was  the  laughableness  of  this 
supp  'sed  r'valry  more  enjoyable,  than  to  those  ab'e  divines  themselves — 
Dr.  M.  being  no  little  amused,  at  the  grounds  upon  which  the  "palm" 
wa>  :i  warded  him — his  shining  tex%  Rev.  2,  1.  Out  of  this  text,  he  evolved 
a  most  impressive  and  appropriate  sermon  to  the  ministers;  but  strange 
to  say,  afterward,  in  private  conversation,  chidcd  himself  for  having  pre- 
su;n  1  to  ]ire:ich  to  ministers,  on  the  ministerial  office — such  was  his  char- 
acteri>t'c  inode>'y.  P'rom  this  Conference,  he  Avent  to  ^Yaco — the  seat  of 
the  Tcxis  Conference. 

From   several  other   contributors  there    is    cumulative 
testimony  to  the  pleasure  the  members  of  that  Conference 
had  in  his  visit,  and  the  deep  impression  made  upon   them 
by  the  saintliness  of  his  spirit  and  character,  as  well  as 
eminent  pul[)it  power.     One  of  the  most  brilliant  passages 
in  his  entire  ministerial  history  is  connected  with  his  visit  to 
Waco.     The  enthusiasm  of  admiration  was  unbounded,  and 
the  impression  mtide,  deep  and  abiding,  is  shown  by  practi- 
c;d  testimonials  of  it,  appearing  further  on  in  this  history. 
Of   that  visit   and   at   ]\Iinden,   the  seat  of  the  Louisiana 

* 

Conference,  Mr.  McLean  vvrites : 

Fro  n  J  fferson  he  went  to  Waco,  the  seat  of  the  East  Texas  Confer- 

enc  ,  liavinu;   been   equipped  for  this  trip,  two  or  three  hundred  miles, 

wi  h  a.  bntrgv,  si)an  of  mules  and  driver,  by  that  same  steadfast  friend, 

liev.  W.  E    Doty.     With  consent  of  Dr.  M.,  the  driver  and  I  exchanged 

27 


418  BISHOP  MAllVIX. 

conve3'ances,  and  with  profoniid  plcisure  do  I  remember  the  intimacies 
of  llie  trip.  Dr  II.  Alexand  r,  a  veteran  of  Texas  Methodism,  presided 
over  the  C'onferenc  •. 

The  lei'Utalion  of  i)r.  M.  had  preceded  him  to  tlie  Conference,  and 
with  <;reat  cordialit}'  av.i-  lie  received  :;nil  with  eagerness  listened  to.  His 
.sermon  S..bbath  morning,  on  the  "  Niglit  .>  issage  of  tin  Galilee,"  Clirist 
con^trainin'j:  his  disciples  to  go  before  him  to  the  otlier  side,  the  inter- 
vening storm,  and  tli  ■  timely  deliverance,  were  ad  portrayed  in  lifelike 
nianiicr,  and  viih  tliiilling  effect  u;><  n  tlie  congregation. 

He  prtacht  d  ag;  in  at  iiiglit  f  <  ni  the  "  Paiable  of  the  Prodigal  Son." 
This  text  was  piihai's  suggi  .sted  by  the  arrival  of  an  old  .Missouri  friend, 
Capt.  S.,  who  h..d  riddi  n  sixty  miles  lo  see  him  and  hi  ar  him  preach.  He 
felt  the  responsibility  of  preaching,  imder  the  cirenmstances— his  friend 
was  unconverted-  he  mn>t  not  daub  wi  h  untempered  niortir ;  tlie  Gospel 
must  give  no  uncerlain  sound.  Mis  soul  was  full.  In  traeing  the  pr  );li- 
gal  he  traced  h:s  friend  in  his  waywardness  and  wanderini^s ;  waxing 
warmer  and  warmer,  louder  and  hauler,  until,  in  the  acme  of  bis  solici- 
tudi',  heexclaimed:  '■  Wan  lere:',  co  ne  iiome  !''  and  ho  came,  over  benches, 
through  the  press,  and  prostrated  himse.f  at  the  feet  of  the  impassioned 
speaker.  The  whole  congregation  seemed  to  be  moved  and  melted,  and  a 
good  old  local  preacher  developed  into  an  old-fashioned  case  of  "jerk-," 
the  first  I  had  ever  seen,  but  had  no  trou  lie  in  diagnosing  it,  from  wliat  I 
liad  re:ul  of  this  lingular  affection  in  former  limes. 

This  Conference  over,  he  started  for  the  Louisiana  Conference,  to 
meet  at  Minden.  On  the  way  we  broke  the  buggy  at  a  very  opportune 
time  and  place,  and  lay  up  in  "  dry  d  >ck"  a  few  days  in  the  town  of  11., 
where  I  served  my  lirst  year  in  tlie  ministry.  He  could  but  twit  me  with 
having  broken  the  buggy  on  purpose,  suspecting  I  had  lingering  affection 
there,  and  which  the  sequel  seems  to  have  vindicated.  But,  be  that  as  it 
may,  it  was  a  good  plaee  to  brea  down,  and  he  did  good  preaching  there, 
and  will  long  be  kindly  remembered  by  those  hospitable  villagers.  At 
Minden  he  preached  with  his  accustomed  power  and  pathos,  and  a  revival 
influence  broke  out,  extending  to  citizens  and  soldiers. 

Having  filled  the  station  at  Marshall,  he  attended  the 
Conference  in  the  fall  of  18G5,  and  also  made  a  third  visit 
to  the  Louisiana  Conference,  where  he  had  formed  strong 
personal  attachments.  Several  interesting  incidents  of  these 
two  visits  are  given  by  the  same  informant. 

He  met  again  with  the  East  Texas  Conference  October,  1865,  at  Paris, 
Rev.  VV.  II.  Hughes  presiding.  Ills  foinier  visit  to  this  Conference  only 
made  this  visit  the  more  welcome.  He  preached  on  Sabbath,  on  the  "Au- 
thenticity  of  the   Scriptures,"   by   invitation.     And   a  most  convincing 


MARSHALL    STATION.  419 

sermon  it  was.  A  promising  young  lawyer,  Capt.  L.,  from  that  sermon, 
renounced  scepticism,  and  during  the  progress  of  the  meeting  embraced 
reliiiion  and  joined  the  church.  The  meeting  continued  several  days  after 
the  adjournment  of  Conference,  under  the  ministry  of  Dr.  M.,  and  with 
liappy  results. 

En  route  to  this  Conference,  he  spent  a  Sabbath  at  McKenzie  College, 
preached  to  the  students,  and  cultivated  a  most  agreeable  acquaintance 
Avith  tlie  principal,  Itev.  J.  W.  P.  Mclvenzie,  who,  though  still  lingering 
upon  the  shores  of  time,  must  soon  meet  his  ascended  friend. 

From  Paris  he  went  to  Mansfleld,  the  seat  of  the  Louisiana  Confer- 
«nce,  Bishop  Andrew  presiding,  and  the  first  Bishop  to  preside  west  of 
the  Mississippi  Kiver  since  18(;i,  the  war  preventing  Bishop  A.  was 
received  with  great  joy,  and,  though  in  age  and  feebleness  extreme,  yet 
was  his  heart  full  of  failh  and  the  Holy  Gliost,  and  he  rendered  efficient 
service.  Dr.  Marvin's  presence  and  preaching  were  received  with  accus- 
tomed favor  at  this  Conference.  . 

In  going  to  Ihi^  Conference  he  exemplified  the  virtue  of  patience  with 
a  balky  team.  Most  men  would  have  al)audoned  the  team  and  the  trip,  but 
he  did  neither,  and  made  it  through,  much  to  the  joy  of  the  young  ladies 
accompanying  him,  his  eldest  daughter  of  the  number,  and  much  to  the 
improvement  of  the  quality  of  tlie  team. 

In  the  fall  of  1864,  the  St.  Louis  Conference  held  its 
first  session  since  the  year  1861,  or,  perhaps,  more  prop- 
erly, since  1800,  whi  h  was  the  last  session  at  which  there 
was  a  full  attendance,  and  that  was  presided  over  by  a 
Bishop.  Its  annual  sessions,  though  small  in  attendance 
during  the  times  of  political  reconstruction,  were  held 
regularly  thereafter.  IVIany  of  the  meml)ers  had  gone  into 
self-exile  or  banishment.  Their  names  were  duly  called  and 
laid  over,  awaiting  intelligence  from  them  and  their  return 
to  the  State.  Marvin's  name  was  in  that  class.  He  him- 
self continued  his  connection  with  his  Conference  in 
Missouri ;  but  his  purpose  was  not  certainly  known,  and 
only  that  he  had  committed  himself  to  the  supply  of  the 
pastoral  charge  at  Marshall.  In  consequence,  and  owing, 
also,  to  his  long  absence  from  the  State  and  Conference, 
he  was  not  on  the  list  of  delegates  elected  to  the  General 
Conference  of  1866. 

Under  the  circumstances  of  his  history  during  the  war 


420  BISIIOr  MARVIX. 

he  had  not  received  a  Conference  appointment  for  five 
years.  His  travels  and  labors  were  undrr  providential 
direction  purely,  and  in  answer  to  the  voice  of  the  people. 
Marshall  Station  is  signal  in  the  history  of  his  pastorate,  as 
the  la.-t  and  one  of  the  most  acceptable.  Mr.  Johnson  has 
added  to  his  statement  the  following  testimonial : 

I  think  soiut!  of  liis  mist  powerful  efforts  as  a  minister  were  certainly 
m:ule  while  liUiuu;  this  station.  >  ot  oi.ly  in  the  pulpil  did  he  exert  an 
iiithieM(  e,  but  he  had  the  capacity  of  brinirini;  his  great  minil  under  con- 
tnl,  and  s)  sinipiitied  hi  i  conversation  tiiat  even  the  chiklrcn  could 
con)pnl)cnd  the  great  truths  of  which  he  was  so  faithful  an  expounder. 
Nivcr  c;:n  the  picple  of  Texas  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  know  him 
forg  t  luiAv  faithfi  lly  he  van:cd  sinners  of  the  dangers  that  were  in  store 
for  tU  ni  witliont  i'(  iH-ntance  ai  d  return  to  God,  with  wliat  earnestness 
ar'l  z  :d  h(?  wouhl  urge  tlicm  to  make  their  peace,  calling  and  election 
s  I  .  Oi'len  would  he  arise,  read  a  hymu,  and  ask  the  audience  to  adopt 
t..e  sentinieuis  con;ained  therein,  and  pledge  themselves  to  do  it  by  ri-ing 
fi  m  tin  ir  seals:  then,  such  singiiiL;;  it  would  seem  that  heaven  and 
eitli  had  almost  met.  Very  many  of  those  songs  are  endeared  to  us 
from  tlui.-  a-sociaiions  with  the  sainted  Marvin. 

i\Ir.  INIcLean  has  furnished  several  incidents  of  the  Mar- 
shall Station.  One  is  the  mention  of  a  remarkable  prayer 
ininic  at  the  Baptist  Church  at  a  morning  meeting.  It  was 
tit  iio  time  of  the  break-up  of  the  Confederacy  in  the 
clo-.iig  davs  of  the  war.  "  It  was,"  says  our  informant, 
"  :i  J  looniv  time.  The  people  were  depressed  ttiid  in  a 
grctit  measure  impoverished.  His  prayer  had  reference  to 
this  condition  of  the  country  and  of  the  times.  None  who 
heard  it  will  ever  forget  thatremarktd)le  prayer.  He  talked 
wiili  (lod.     All  hcai-ts  were  melted." 

Soon  after,  military  rule  was  being  inaugurated  ;  and  Fed- 
er;;l  .voldlcrs  were  quartered  over  the  country.  Arrest  be- 
c.  ('  frc(puMit  on  slight  cause,  and  sometimes  without  cause. 
M  •.  ?.IcLean,  giving  the  above  facts,  adds,  that  Dr.  Marvin 
Avas  i;()t  Avltliont  solicitude,  and  tells  a  characteristic  anecdote 
in  lefcrcnce  to  It  :  "  Upon  one  occasion  seeing  a  file  of  sol- 
diers coming  into  his  yard,  he  made  sure  the  time  for  his 


MARSHALL  STATION.  421 

arrest  had  come  ;  but  upon  being  approached  l)j  an  oflicer, 
and  handed  a  paper,  he  read  to  his  great  surprise,  a  polite 
invitation  to  appear  at  camps  and  preach  to  the  sokliers. 
This  he  unhesitatingly  did  and  attracted  many  officers  and 
soldiers,  by  his  preaching  in  camps,  to  hear  him  on  the 
Sab])ath  at  his  church.  Their  relations  became  pleasant, 
and  he  would  sometimes  facetiously  remark  to  them,  '  not 
to  press  re-construction  too  fast,  but  allow  the  Southern 
2)eople  a  little  time  to  sulL'"' 

The  other  incident  is  the  last  record  of  Marvin's  imme- 
diateh' pastoral  relation  to  the  Church.  The  date  of  it  is  fixed 
from  record  evidence  in  March,  ISGfi.  It  shows  the  same 
spirit  of  high  consecration,  as  at  the  beginning,  so  at  the  end 
of  his  pastorate.  The  sentiment  which  concludes  its  history 
crowns  and  glorifies  it.  "  I  have  already  referred,"  says 
Mr.  McLean,  "  to  the  depression  of  the  times — few  were  in 
circumstances  to  feel  it  more  acutely  than  Dr.  M.  and  his 
family.  Without  a  home,  and  only  such  resources  as  an 
impoverished  charge  could  offer,  he  passed  a  crucial  test. 
A  newspaper  enterprise  was  contemplated  by  some  of  his 
friends,  and  he  was  solicited  to  take  the  editorial  man- 
agement, with  assurance  of  ample  salary  to  support  his 
famih'.  He  took  the  matter  under  advisement.  It  insured 
support  foi-  his  family,  but  was  a  divergence  from  his  life 
and  heart-work.  A  Sundav  or  more  after,  when  enofaired  in 
preaching,  the  matter  was  finally  and  fully  settled.  As  by 
inspiration,  his  faith  quickened,  and  a  flash  of  triumph 
played  upon  his  countenance,  as  he  exclaimed  :  '  Brethren,  I 
am  resolved  what  to  do.  As  long  as  God  gives  me  and 
mine  coarse  clothes  and  corn  bread,  I'll  preach  the  Gospel.'  " 


CHAPTER   XXII. 


180(>. 

The  General  Conference  at  New  Orleans— The  State  of  the  Church— The 
Address  of  the  Bishops— Sireuijihenuig  the  Episcopacy — Action  of  the 
Conference — Election  of  f.>ur  Bishops  — His  name  i)roininent— Choice 
of  the  West— Provid  nlial  iiiarivs— Incidents  of  his  uianifestation  to 
the  Cliurcli— The  ollice  not  songlit— -Tlie  vo'e— Arrival  at  New 
Orleans — Fir-t  inforni:ition  of  liis  Election — Hesitation  to  accept  the 
Office — Incidents — Ordained  Bishop. 


The  Genenil  Conference  of  ISCG,  holding  its  session  atNe^v 
Orleans  in  the  month  of  April,  was  the  most  memorahle  in 
the  history  of  the  Southern  Church.  As  INIarvin  was  not  a 
deleifatc,  it  does  not  Ix^long  to  these  pages  to  review  its  pro- 
ceedinirs,  except  as  to  the  election  of  Bishops.  That  action, 
however,  has  connection  with  tlie  peculiar  condition  of  the 
Church  at  the  time  of  the  assembly  of  that  body.  It  is  set 
forth  at  laro-e  in  the  address  of  the  Bishops. 

It  emanated  from  the  Senior  Bishop — so  the  writer  was 
mforined  a  few  years  ago  by  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  J.  A.  Duncan, 
who  read  it  to  the  Conference  at  the  request  of  Bishop  An- 
drew. The  address,  it  is  well  known,  reviewed  an  interval 
ill  lliH  sessions  of  that  l)ody  of  eight  j^ears,  spoken  of  as 
embracing  a  period  during  which  im})ortant  and  startling 
events  had  crowded  on  each  other  in  rapid  succession.  Four 
of  the  years  were  marked  by  the  convulsions  of  political 
revolution  and  the  desolation  of  war.  From  the  firing  of 
the  lirst  <run  at  Fort  Sumpter,  there  was  not  a  State  within 


ISfiG.  423 

the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  except  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
nor  a  Conference  in  its  I)oun(is,  in  which  the  roar  and  clash 
of  arms  had  not  been  hoard.  Following  the  end  of  the 
conflict  in  battle,  was  the  disastrous  history  of  political 
reconstruction  under  military  rule,  completing  the  humili- 
ation and  impoverishment  of  a  conquered  people.  Under 
auspices  of  the  militaiy  power  and  attaching  itself  to  the 
machinery  of  government,  ecclesiastical  aggression  had 
been  openly  proclaimed  and  was  vigorously  prosecuted. 
The  address  declines  detailed  account  of  the  state  of  the 
work,  and  specifies  only,  in  general,  the  wreck  and  disaster 
to  the  leadino-  institutions  of  the  Church — the  Publishing 
interest  jrreatlv  damaged,  Male  colleijes  closed,  the  Mis- 
sionary  work  nearly  ruined,  and  the  pastoral  work  straight- 
ened bv  the  impoverishment  of  the  people  and  the  disturbed 
social  condition  of  the  times. 

The  condition  of  the  times — its  emergencies  and  its 
opportunities — required  the  largest  wisdom  of  the  legis- 
lature of  the  Church  and  the  utmost  enterprise  of  episcopal 
administration  and  executive  force  ancl  vigor.  Such  con- 
siderations were  specifically  enunciated  in  the  Episcopal 
Address  ;  and  doubtless,  they  entered  into  the  ballot  for 
Bishops  and  into  the  question  of  the  number  recommended 
by  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy.  The  Address  held  the 
following  language : 

On  only  one  of  the  points  suggested  do  we  regard  it  becoming  in  our 
position  to  speak  directly ;  and  that  is  in  i-espect  to  the  increa>e  of  the  num- 
ber of  the  Bishops.  For  such  an  increase  as  will  give  the  Church  a  more 
efficient  Episcopacy,  v/e  think  there  is  an  urgent  necessity.  Tlie  Infirmities 
of  aue  press  heavily  upon  some  of  us,  and  diminish  our  ability  to  answ.  r  to 
the  demands  of  the  work  for  gL-ncral  Episcopal  Visitation.  Tlie  great  and 
increasing  extent  of  our  territory  should  be  considered.  Wc  should  by  all 
means  have  a  Bishop,  for  obvious  reasons,  residing  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
And  while  we  do  not  recomnii'ud  a  Bishop  for  every  State  or  Conference, 
we  are  fully  persuaded  that  the  number  of  Bishops  should  be  so  increased 
as  to  enable  them  to  be  pastors  of  the  people  as  well  as  chairmen  of  con- 
ferences and  pastors  of  the  preachers.     If  we  would  carry  out  the  iuvalu- 


424  Bisiior  .AiAuviN. 

able  plan  -of  onr  itinerant  frencral  stiporintondeiify,  wo  must  have  an 
addition  of  a  number  of  vigorous,  active,  and  pious  men  to  your  present 
College  of  Bishops. 

The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  at  an  early  ix'iiod  in  the 
session  reported  tlio  following  resolutions,  with  recommen- 
dation for  their  adoption  : 

Resolved,  first,  That  the  following  b'3  incorporated  in  the  Eo  >!<  of 
Discipline,  to  tal<e  tlie  place  of  Item  1  1,  under  question  3d,  section  5,  page 
C3:  "To  travel  during  tlie  year,  as  far  as  practicab  e,  through  the  Pre- 
siding Elders'  districts  of  each  Annual  Conference  which  may  be  inchided 
in  his  Episcopal  District,  in  order  to  preach  and  to  oversee  tlie  spiritual 
and  temporal  wants  of  the  Church." 

Hesolved,  secondhj ,  That  the  Episcopal  College  be  strengthened  by 
the  election  of  six  additional  Bishops 

As  appears  from  the  legislative  history,  tho  resolutions 
were  coupled  together,  as  mutually  conditioned — on  tho  idea 
of  the  memorial  of  the  Virii-Inia  Conference  and  of  the  Bish- 
op's  address,  the  more  extensive  travel  of  the  Bishops  and 
more  prominently  the  relation  of  pastors  to  tho  people; 
and  for  that  purpose,  tho  strengthening  of  the  Episcopacy 
largely.  That  idea  obtained  widely  in  the  bodv.  It  was 
contained  in  the  proposed  project  of  Episcopal  Districts  for 
a  quadrennium,  which  received  fifty-four  votes.  It  was 
indicated,  also,  in  the  final  action  on  the  report  in  its  second 
resolution.  On  a  question  of  the  change  in  the  number  of 
Bishops  to  be  elected,  in  the  various  propositions  it  ranged 
from  two  to  ten.     It  was  fixed  at  four. 

In  the  data  furnished  by  various  contributors,  there  is 
review  of  the  ballot,  and  by  some,  interpretation  of  it,  as 
respects  the  election  of  Bishop  Marvm.  "On  the  coming 
of  the  delegates  together,"  says  Rev.  Dr.  F.  A.  Morris,  of 
the  St.  Louis  Conference,  "  it  seemed  to  l)e  conceded, 
without  any  opposition,  that  a  man  west  of  the  Mississippi 
was  to  be  one  of  the  new  Bishops  ;  and  E.  M.  Marvin  was 
the  spontaneous  choice  of  all  the  Western  and  South- 
western Conferences.  No  one  else  was  thought  of,  and  his 
election  was  reofardcd  as  a  certaintv." 


18G0.  425 

To  the  same  effect  is  the  understanding  of  Rev.  C.  I. 
Vandeventcr,  of  the  Missoui-i  Conference,  who  says  :  "  The 
minds  of  the  preachers  of  the  West,  at  least  of  Missouri, 
seemed  to  have  been  turned  instinctive!}'-  to  him,  as  one 
who  woukl  likely  be,  and  ought  to  be,  chosen  for  the  Epis- 
copacy. Such,  I  think,  was  the  prevailing  conviction  in 
the  Missouri  Conference  ;  and  such  was  perceived  to  be  the 
wish  in  several  Conferences  further  South,  where  he  had 
been,  providentially,  sojourning  and  laboring  in  the  cause 
of  the  Redeemer  for  some  years." 

According;  to  information  from  other  sources,  though 
not  literally  an  unanimous  vote,  yet  the  voice  of  the  Mis- 
souri delegations  was  full  and  hearty.  "It  will  do — we 
will  go  for  him,"  was  Morris'  sentiment,  and  a  representa- 
tive one  for  Missouri. 

What  the  favor  of  the  Conferences  Southward  has 
appeared  in  the  pages  of  the  foregoing  chapter.  His 
nomination  came  primarily,  perhaps,  and  certainly  was 
earnestly  advocated  from  that  section.  It  has  been  seen 
how  general,  and  how  profound  the  impression  made  during 
the  period  of  his  sojourn  and  labors  at  the  South  may  be 
seen  in  the  following  extract.  The  writer,  Mr.  Doty,  was 
impelled  to  take  an  active  part  in  bringing  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Church  his  fitness  for  the  Episcopal  office,  of 
which  he  had  himself  the  earnest  conviction,  expressed  by 
him  in  concluding  Avords  of  a  review  of  his  ministry 
during  the  period  of  the  war  :  "  Now,  permit  me  to  say  that 
after  the  closest  intimacy  for  nearly  three  years,  I  have  not 
known  his  equal  among  men.  The  clearness  of  his  head, 
the  depth  of  his  piety,  and  his  entire  consecration  to  God 
were  unsurpassed.  As  a  preacher,  take  him  all  in  all,  he 
was  the  best  I  ever  heard.  To  the  little  group  in  the  pine 
woods,  to  the  freedman  in  his  cabin,  to  learned  and 
unlearned,  to  the  rich  and  the  poor,  it  was  the  same  mes- 
sage.    It  was  the  power  of  God.     Is  it  strange  that  I  craved 


426  BISHOP  MAliVIX. 

that  such  a  man  should  be  one  of  the  Chief  Pastors  of  the 
Church  of  God  ?  With  this  conviction  I  went  to  New 
Orleans  and  conferred  with  delegates,  believing  that  his 
election  Avould  promote  the  cause  of  God." 

"  He  was  a  providential  Bishop,"  ]Mr.  Doty  says,  adding, 
"  I  hope  all  our  Bishops  are."  The  reference  particularly 
to  BishoD  Marvin  is  made  in  connection  with  the  broad  line 
of  i)rovidential  direction,  which  appears  in  his  whole  life 
and  ministry,  and  which  marked  him  out  as  the  choice  of 
preachers  and  people  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf — 
then,  Avhen  a  Bishop  was  to  be  taken  from  the  West.  In  the 
same  view  the  reader,  perhaps,  vv'^ill  recur  to  the  sentiment 
of  Dr.  Morris  in  regard  to  his  history  at  the  South:  "I 
think  that  he  was  called  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  wlio  sees  the 
end  from  the  beorinninjz;,  to  leave  all  thinijs  here  and  go 
forth  on  a  new  and  wide  field  of  labor  and  usefulness." 

It  was  the  second  instance  in  the  history  of  the  Church, 
of  the  choice  of  a  Bishop  from  the  West.  The  first  nearly 
fifty  years  before — Bishop  McKendree.  The  historian  notes 
in  it,  "  the  finger  of  Providence."  Two  indices,  as  named 
by  Dr.  Bangs,  are  quoted  by  Bishop  Paine  in  his  Life  of 

McKendree — one  in  these  words  : 

Mr.  McKendree  had  been  commended  to  the  attention  and  approbation 
of  the  Conference  b_y  a  \<m^,  hiborions  and  faithful  service  in  the  intint-r- 
ant  lield  of  hibor,  during  which  time  God  had  set  his  seal  to  his  ministry 
in  a  most  reniarl^able  manner.  *  *  *  j^  y^.^^  from  this  field  of 
labor  (the  West)  that  Mr.  McKendree  came  to  the  General  Conference  iu 
1808.  And  sucli  was  the  contldence  inspired  in  his  wisdom  and  integrity, 
in  his  zeal  and  prudence,  in  promoting  the  cause  of  God,  and  such  a  halo 
of  glory  seemed  to  surr)und  his  character,  that  the  finger  of  Providence 
appeared  to  point  to  him  as  the  most  suitable  person  to  fill  the  office  of  a 
Superintendent. 

The  other  was  the  memorable  sermon  preached  at  Light 
Street  Church,  Pjaltimore,  the  Sabbath  before  the  General 
Conference  of  1808  assembled.  Dr.  Bangs  heard  and  has 
described  it — in  the  ap])carance  of  the  man,  "clothed  in 
the  very  coarse  and  homely  garments  which  he  had  worn  in 


ISHG.  437 

the  woods  of  the  West  ;"  in  the  first  impressions  of  the 
preacher,  made  upon  him,  like  many  sut-h  of  ]Marviii  by 
stransfcrs,  "  h)()kiii<2-  at  him  not  without  some  feelini^  of 
distrust;"  and  of  the  sermon,  portraying  which  would 
alike  describe  the  unction  and  jjower  of  Marvin's  pul[)it  u[) 
and  down  the  Mississippi  Valley  on  both  sides  of  the  river, 
and  tiie  effect  of  the  Baltimore  sermon  like  that  of  Mar\  in 
at  Waco:  "The  con2:re£ration  was  instantlv  overwhelmed 
with  a  shower  of  divine  grace  from  the  u[)per  world.  At 
first  sudden  shrieks,  as  of  persons  in  distress,  were  heard  in 
different  parts  of  the  house,  then  shouts  of  praise,  and  in 
every  direction  sobs  and  groans.  The  eyes  of  the  people 
overflowed  with  tears,  while  many  were  prostrated  upon  the 
floor  or  lay  helpless  on  the  seats.  A  very  large,  athletic- 
looking  preacher,  sitting  by  my  side,  suddenly  fell  upon  his 
seat,  as  if  pierced  by  a  bullet,  and  I  felt  my  heart  melting 
under  emotions  which  I  could  not  resist." 

The  intuition  of  the  Church,  as  a  divine  finger,  pointed 
out  the  one,  as  it  did  the  other  Western  Bishop — "  when 
he  descended  from  the  pulpit  all  were  filled  with  admiration 
of  his  talents,  and  were  ready  to  '  magnify  the  grace  of 
God  in  him,'  as  a  chosen  messenger  of  good  tidings  to  the 
lost,  savino;  in  their  hearts,  '  Tliis  is  the  man  whom  God 
delights  to  honor. ^  " 

A  similar  sentiment  was  universal  at  the  West,  where 
Marvin  was  known.  The  entire  and  combined  vote,  how- 
ever, of  the  seven  Trans-Mississippi  Conferences  amounted 
to  less  than  half  the  number  required  for  election.  His  repu- 
tation soon  became  widely  and  favorably  known  to  tlie  whole 
General  Conference.  It  was  sterling — "the  more  talked 
of,"  as  one  of  the  Bishops  said,  "the  better;  as  his  char- 
acter was  like  orold,  the  more  it  was  rubbed,  the  briii'hter  it 
shone."  The  spontaneous  choice  of  the  West  was 
remarkal)le.  Inquiry  was  general  and  responses  assuring. 
"Some   of    the  Virginia  delegates,"    says  Mr.  Patterson, 


428  Bisiiur  MARVix. 

"  asked  me  about  Brother  Marvin.  I  told  them  there  was 
not  a  man  in  the  Church  who  could  do  move  or  better  work, 
as  a  r>isho[),  than  he." 

In  this  history  of  his  manifestation  to  the  Church,  some 
of  the  incidents  are  peculiar  and  curious.  The  following 
are  contributed  by  Rev.  W.  J.  Cotter,  of  the  North  Georgia 
Conference.  "Brother  Crumle}^"  he  relates  it,  "one  of 
the  Georo-ia  dclcirates,  was  entertained  during  the  General 
Conference  in  New  Orleans  by  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  In  one  of  their  first  conversations 
liis  host  inquired  of  Mr.  C.  about  the  business  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  and,  among  other  things,  he  told  him  that 
very  likely  some  new  Bishops  would  be  elected,  and,  proba- 
bly, one  from  the  West.  '  Well,'  said  his  host  '  let  me 
suggest  to  you  the  name  of  Mr.  Marvin.  I  was  up  in  Texas 
and  saw  and  heard  him  preach,  and  regard  him  as  one  of 
the  great  men  of  the  day  ;  and  I  think,  that  of  all  your 
irreat  and  ijood  men,  no  one  would  make  a  better  Bishop 
than  my  man,  Marvin.'  " 

Mr.  Cotter  adds  the  following,  concerning  his  own  im- 
pressions : 

It  ^va^  never  my  good  fortune  to  know  nnich  of  Bishop  Marvin,  per- 
sonally. However,  I  will  state,  that  as  far  back  as  1848  or  about  that  time, 
I  first  saw  articles  from  his  pen  iu  the  E^cposUor,  edited  by  Dr.  Laita,  and 
since  then,  when  Ik;  wrote  for  the  Christian  Advocate,  at  Nashville,  about 
1858.  I  was  drawn  to  Ifnn  thonirh  a  total  stranger  by  his  letters.  I  had 
never  then  heard  a  word  of  his  ability  as  a  preacher  and  of  his  promise  to 
the  church,  but  the  opuiion  I  formed  of  him  then  was,  tliat  if  he  averaged 
up  in  other  respects,  he  was  certainly  a  man  of  fine  abilities.  During  the 
■war  I  lost  sight  of  him,  till  after  its  close.  I  saw  an  obituary  of  a  Georgia 
lady,  written  by  him  at  Marsliall,  Texas.  This  obituary  breathed  to  me  the 
same  charming  spirit.  I  was  glad  that  he  had  survived  the  war  and  that  I 
had  heard  of  him  once  more. 

Without  heariui;  a  soul  mention  it,  he  was  my  man  for  a  Bishop.  As 
Brother  Anthony,  one  of  our  de.egates  to  the  General  Conference  of  18G6, 
and  my  presiding  elder  then,  was  starting  to  the  General  (Conference,  1 
asked  liim,  "Will  you  not  elect  some  new  Bishop?"  "Yes,"  said  he  "  per- 
haps two,  or  possibly  four;  and  there  will  be  some  Western  man  elected, 
but  I  don't  know  whom."     Saiil  I,  "  Elect  my  man,  Marvin."     Not  know- 


18GG.  420 

In^jj  who  Marvin  was,  but  jjuessing,  and  for  an  answer,  he  said,  '  T  am 
afraid  ho  is  tt)o  much  Young  America."  I  answered,  "None  oi  that;  you 
don't  l<no\v  liim." 

AfUT  liis  elevation  to  the  episcopacy,  of  course  we  all  soon  received 
information  of  his  brilliant  career  in  his  own  Conference,  and  1. 'Oked  f  <r- 
wanl  with  great  interest  to  his  llrst  episcopal  visit.  It  was  in  Atlanta,  a  .d 
one  of  the  most  delightful  sessions  of  the  Conference  we  have  ever  hud. 
Of  his  go  )d  less  an  1  greatness  th  ;  half  had  not  been  told  us.  Oh  rs  will, 
no  doubt,  furnish  you  with  tlie  particulars  of  that  visit  to  oir  Conference. 

The  only  obj(  ct  that  suggested  itself  to  7ny  mind,  inducing  the  mi'tiiion 
of  the  cases  of  the  Presbyterian  and  myself,  was  that  it  seemed  as  if  t\\e 
Lord  was  showing  him  to  the  Church  as  an  acknowledged  light  and  leader 
in  Israel.  ' 

An  incident  of  similar  character  is  mentioned  as  hap- 
pening in  the  case  of  a  preacher  from  another  of  tlie  Gulf 
States,  who,  it  is  reported  by  himself,  said  on  mention  of 
]\Iarvin,  "  Yes,  I  will  vote  for  him.  I  was  so  impressed  by 
a  dream  on  the  way  that  it  was  my  duty  to  do  so,  that  I  then 
determined  to  vote  for  Marvin."  From  various  sources  of 
information  it  appears  that  among  the  delegates  from  the 
East  as  well  as  from  the  West,  their  minds  turned  strongly, 
and  in  some  instances  strangelv,  towards  Marvin,  Though 
nominated  by  the  West,  the  vote  for  him  was  in  an  unusu  il 
extent,  perhaps,  general,  representing  every  section  in  the 
Connection. 

In  this  review  of  the  history  of  the  election,  a  final 
statement  is  a  word  of  testimony  from  his  own  li[)S.  It  was 
spoken  under  peculiar  circumstances  in  an  opening  address, 
in  18G9,  at  the  session  of  the  Pacific  Conference  :  "  Stand- 
ing face  to  face  with  these  responsibilities,  I  feel  a  pi-ofound 
personal  gratification  in  the  fact  that  I  never  sought  this 
relation  to  the  Methodist  preachers."  He  was  aware  of  the 
sentiment  in  reo;ard  to  his  election  to  the  Episco')a(V  and 
discouraged  it.  "  For  more  than  a  year,"  saj's  Mr.  Doty, 
"  I  felt  that  he  ought  to  be  in  the  Episcopacy,  and  naming 
it  to  him,  he  said  that  I  was  the  first  to  intimate  such  a 
thing,  and  the  thought  seemed  preposterous  to  him.  lie 
did  not  know  what  manner  of  man  he  was.     Others  as  well 


430  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

as  myself  tliouuht  lie  ought  to  be  Bishop,  among  them  Dr. 
Keener,  now  Bishop."  It  is  an  interesting  fact  in  the  per- 
sonal relations  of  this  living  and  the  dead  Bishop,  that  each 
sought  the  elevation  of  the  other. 

It  has  l)cen  remarked  that  his  election  in  his  absence  is  a 
solilarjMustance  of  such  a  thing.  More  remarkable,  in  that 
his  absence  was  on  purpose  and  for  the  reason,  as  a  col- 
league has  stated,  "  that  he  knew  he  had  been  talked  of  for 
Bishop  and  was  sensitive  about  even  the  appearance  of  per- 
sonal influence."  It  was  a  rare  instance  of  discretion,  and 
performed  under  much  self-denial.  lie  longed  to  be  present 
at  New  Orleans.  In  an  autograph  letter  written  at  that 
time,  lying  before  the  writer,  is  this  sentence  :  "Give  my 
love  to  the  Missourians.  Oh,  how  much  good  it  would  do 
me  to  see  their  faces  !  "  ^The  letter,  addressed  to  Mr.  Pat- 
terson, shows  that  he  was  projecting  work  for  the  future 
other  than  Episcopal  labors — not  a  word  about  the  election, 
and  making  this  record  in  the  month  the  Conference  was 
making  him  Bishop.  "  I  spent  a  week  at  Rusk.  Had  a 
meeting  of  extraordinary  interest  and  power.  There  was 
a  number  of  bri<»:ht  conversions." 

On  the  twentieth  day  of  the  session,  April  24th,  the  bal- 
lot was  taken— its  history,  copied  from  "  The  General  Con- 
ference Dailv,"  as  folh)Ws: 

Bishop  Early  took  the  chair. 

Ill  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted  at  the  eveuluij  session  of  j^es- 
terday  the  Conference  spent  au  hour  in  prayer,  and  then  proceeded  to  the 
electi  )n  of  Bishops. 

T  le  Chair  appointed  Rev.  Dr.  J.  E.  Edwards  and  Rev.  Dr.  B.  Craven 
as  tell -rs. 

Tlie  following  is  the  result  of  the  first  ballot: 

W.  M.  Wiglitinan,  75;  Thos.  O.  Summers,  20;  J.  A,  Duncan,  27;  J. 
E.  Evans,  8;  J.  C.  Keener,  42;  S.  Register,  10;  Enoch  M.  Marvin  73;  II. 
N.  Mc  '  yelre,  43;  D.  S  Doggt'tt,  43;  C.  F.  Deems,  14;  E.  H.  Myers,  1 ;  J. 
B.  McFerrin,  45;  E.  W.  Selion,  44;  B  Craven,  8;  Jessie  Boring,  IG ;  A. 
Mun'oe,  1;  W.A.  Smith,  2;  A.  Hunter,  5;  A.  L.  1\  Green,  9;  E.  E  WHley, 
24;  F.  A.  Morris,  7;  O.  P.  Fitz-^er.dd,  2;  J  H.  Linn.  G ;  S.  Watson,  1  ;  S. 
S.  Roszell,  7;  L.  D.  Huston,  3;  J.  C.  Cranberry,  1  ;  J.  Hamilton.  7;  C.  K. 


1866.  431 

Marshall,  1 ;  F.  B.  Sar^ont,  1 ;  W.  M.  Steele,  1 :  R.  Alexander,  2 ;  J.  M.  P. 
Hinckersoii,  1 ;  IJ.  R.  McAnall}',  5;  Whiteford  Smith,  1 ;  W.  II.  Anderson, 
3;  L.  M.  Lee,  2;  J.  Anderson,  2. 

The  Bishop  announced  the  whole  number  of  ballots  cast  144.  Rev. 
Dr.  W.  M.  Wightman,  of  the  Mobile  Conference  and  Riv.  Enoch  M.  Mar- 
vin, of  the  St.  Louis  Conf^Tence,  havinsj  each  received  a  majority  of  the 
votes  cast,  were  declared  duly  elected  Bishops  of  the  M.  E.  Ciiurch,  Soutli. 

Bi'^hop  Pierce  suggested  tliat  Rev.  E.  M  Marvin  slionld  be  uotitied, 
by  telegraph,  of  his  election,  and  his  attendance  here  requested. 

Rjv.  W.  M.  Prottsman,  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  said  that  he  and 
another  brother  were  about  attending  to  tliat  duty. 

A  second  ballot  was  tlien  had  to  elect  ihe  two  remaining  Bishops,  with 
lie  f  >1  lowing  result  • 

SF.COXD    BALLOT. 

J.  B.  McFerrin  44;  E.  W.  Sehon,  3S ;  E.  E.Wiley,  (5;  J.  C.  Keener, 
44;  H.  N.  McTyeire  56;  D.  S.  Doggett,  57;  C.  F.  Deems,  5;  J.  A.  Dun- 
can, 2:?;  T.  O.  Summers,  5;  scattering,  7. 

Bishop  Early  announced  that,  no  one  having  received  a  majority  of  the 
votes  cast,  there  was  no  election.  A  tliird  ballot  was  then  had,  with  the 
following  result: 

THIRD    BALLOT. 

D.  S.  Doggett,  80;  H.  N.  M<'Tyeire,  75;  J.  C.  Keener,  43;  E.  W. 
Sehoi),  20;  J.  B.  McFerrin,  43;  J.  A.  Duncan,  7;  scattering,  8. 

Bi>lu)p  Early  announced  tliat  Rev.  Dr.  D.  S.  Doggett,  of  tue  Virginia 
€onf  'i-ence,  and  Rev.  H  N.  McTyeire,  of  the  Montgomery  Conference, 
having  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast,  were  duly  elected  Bishops. 

Later  in  the  session,  when  he  supposed  the  election  would 
have  transpired,  he  started  for  New  Orleans  to  see  his  Mis- 
souri friends.  Whilst  telegrams  were  being  dispatched  here 
and  there  over  the  country,  summoning  his  attendance  for 
ordination,  he  was  on  a  boat  steaming  down  Red  River. 
Mr.  McLean  gives  this  note  of  the  journey,  as  Bishop  Marvin 
related  it :  "  He  was  sitting  on  the  bow  of  the  boat  in  medi- 
tation, when,  he  said,  '  the  devil  suggested  to  me,  as  I 
thought,  that  I  was  going  down  to  New  Orleans  to  be 
ordained  Bishop,'  Staitled  at  the  temptation  as  he  regarded 
it,  he  went  immediately  into  his  state-room  and  kneeled 
before  his  Maker,  bewailing  the  mere  thought."  Rev.  Dr. 
Deems  was  the  first  to  meet  him  on  his  arrival  at  New 
•Orleans.    With  a  pleasant  note  authorizing  its  use,  he  sends 


432  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

from  the  "  Editor's  Portfolio  "   of  Leslie's  Sunday  Maga- 
zine his  printed  report  of  the  interview. 

It  so  happened  that  we  were  the  first  man  to  tell  Mr.  Marvin  that  he 
was  a  bishop-elect.  It  wa.s  in  New  Orleans.  The  Geieral  Conference  of 
his  Cliurch  had  elected  hhn  in  his  absence.  lie  had  been  roughing  it  ia 
Texas.  Sixteen  years  before,  lie  ami  we  had  become  friends  in  St.  Louis. 
On  leaving  the  steamer  he  came  direct  to  our  lodgings  in  New  Orleans.  At 
the  foot  of  the  stairs  we  met  him  with  the  salutation  : 

"Why,  Bishop  ftlarvin,  wlieie  are  you  from?" 

He  looked  suri)risid  and  displeased. 

'   Did  you  get  the  telegram?"  we  said. 

"Tell  me  what  you  mean  by  all  this  stuff?"  he  replied,  looking  agi- 
tated. 

Willi  serious  face  and  tone,  we  said  : 

"You  were  elected  Bislio[)  yestenhiy,  and  telegrams  have  been  sent  in 
several  directions  +'or  you,  and  I  supposed  oue  had  lound  you  and  brought 

you.'' 

"No,"  said  he,  "I  had  business  with ,  and  came  to  see  him.." 

He  was  deeply  agitated  and  stretched  himself  upon  the  bed. 

Other  ministers  entered,  and  in  the  general  conversation  he  seemed  to 
revive.  He  was  the  first  man  in  his  Church  who  had  been  elected  to  the 
Episcopacy  with  a  full  suit  of  beard.  We  recollect  distinctly  that  the 
senior  bishop  called  us  to  him  l)efore  Mr   Marvin's  consecration  and  said : 

"  See  here.  Doctor,  couldn't  you  persuade  the  new  Bishop  to  have  his 

face  shaved." 

"  Don't  know,  Bishop :  It's  dangerous  to  take  a  man  by  the  be:ird." 

Tliat  evening,  while  tlie  conversation  was  general  and  genial,  we  took 
the  liberty  to  suggest  that  the  beard  was  an  offense  to  some  of  the  brethren. 

"They'll  have  to  stand  it,"  said  he;  "  they  elected  me  in  my  beard 
and  they  must  endure  me  in  my  beard." 

"Yes,"  we  suggested;  "but  remember  that  you  were  not  present 
when  you  were  elected.  I  d^ubt  whether  they  could  have  been  persuaded 
to   elect  you  if  they   had  seen  what  a  homely   man  you  are,   shaved  or 

beai'ded." 

Ho  laughed  at  this  sally,  but  insisted  on  keeping  as  much  of  his  home- 
liness as  possible  "under  hair." 

In  a  private  note  Bishop  McTyeire  reminds  us  that  sixteen  years  ago 
we  remarked  that  Bishop  Marvin's  nose  stood  on  his  face  as  the  nose  of 
Calvin  is  painted  on  his.  We  l)elieve  we  did  notice  that,  but  we  do  not  .see 
that  our  engraving  quite  brings  out  that  characteristic.  But  it  is  a  capital 
likeness. 

"On  his  first  appearance  in  the  Conference  room  after  his 
arrival,"  said  Bishop  Paine  to  the  writer,  "  I  saw  him  come 


ISfiG.  433 

in  and  lake  a  seat  on  tho  rear  IxmicIi  in  tlie  corner  of  the 
Church.  His  attire  was  common  and  worn,  and  his  liair 
was  untrimmed,  and  liis  beard  long,  antl  covering  liis 
face.  I  called  liro.  Doty  to  me  at  the  jjlatform  and 
told  him  to  take  Bishop  Marvin  to  the  barbershop  and 
clothing  store,  and  have  him  in  order  for  the  ordination 
next  day."  INIr.  Doty  reports  asf()lh)ws:  "On  his  arrival 
in  the  city  he  put  up  at  a  boarding  house.  I  i)rocured 
an  invitation  from  my  host,  Hon.  W.  H.  Foster,  to  stay 
with  me.  He  was  very  poorly  clad  and  I  took  him  down 
into  the  city  and  dressed  him  in  a  Bishop's  suit  at  a  cost  of 
sixty-five  dollars.  I  then  proposed  that  we  go  to  the  bar- 
bcr-sho}),  as  Bishop  Paine  had  suggested.  This  he  pleas- 
antly declined." 

Joshua  Soule  refused  an  election  to  the  Episcopacy  on  a 
question  of  Episcopal  privilege  and  prerogative,  and  was  not 
ordained  till  the  Conference  re-inyested  the  office  of  Bishop 
Avith  the  appointment  of  the  presiding  eldership.  Willmr 
Fisk  declined  his  election  entirely  and  finally,  on  a  question 
of  personal  conviction  as  to  his  providential  Mork  in  another 
field  and  his  better  adaptation  to  it.  These  are  the  only  two 
instances  of  such  character  in  ]Methodist  history.  A  third 
instance  was  pending  in  a  serious  doubt  in  the  mind  of 
Bishop  ]Marvin — a  question  of  conscience.  It  is  narrated  by 
Rev.  O.  R.  Blue,  of  the  Alabama  Conference  : 

My  iicqiiaiiitaiice  -with  Bishop  Marvin  began  at  the  General  Conference 
held  at  Columbus,  Geor_ia,  in  IMaj',  1854.  An  incident,  trifling  in  itself, 
but  characteristic  of  the  man,  drew  me  towards  him,  and  made  me  wish  to 
know  more  of  him.  After  that  I  saw  or  heard  little  of  him,  until  I  met  him  iii 
the  Conference  room  at  New  Orleans  on  the  day  after  he  was  elected 
Bishop.  As  .^oon  as  I  found  he  was  present,  I  went  over  to  where 
he  was  sitting  alone,  and  congratulated  him  on  his  election,  lie  replied, 
"I  don't  know  that  you  can  congratulate  me."  When  I  asked  why 
he  said  this,  he  answered,  "1  don't  know  that  I  can  stand  up  there 
and  say  I  believe  that  I  am  called  of  God  to  this  office."  "  \Vell," 
said  I,  "  if  any  man  ever  could  truly  say  that,  I  think  you  are  the  man."  I 
then  told  him  that,  bofore  leaving  home,  without  correspondence  or  con- 
sultation with  any  one,  it  was  strongly  impressed  upon  my  mind  that  he 
28 


434  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

■was  a  suitable  nuiii  for  the  Episcopal  ollice;  that  wlien  1  got  on  the  train 
and  talked  with  other  delegates  whom  I  found  tliere,  the)'  had  similar  im- 
pressions, even  though  they  had  never  seen  him;  and  tliat  when  we 
reached  Mobile,  where  many  of  us  spent  the  Sabb:ith,  I  found  a  large  num- 
ber of  delegates  of  the  same  views,  nnne  of  whom  had  corresponded  with 
any  other  on  tlie  subject.  This  statement  seemed  to  eluir  hiin  then;  and 
four  years  ago  he  told  me  in  this  connection,  that  I  had  done  him  more  good 
than  any  other  man  living;  that  the  statements  I  then  made  had  relieved 
his  mind,  and  opened  his  way  to  ordination  as  a  Bishop. 

Mr.  Vandcveiitcr  rci)()rts  the  same  reiuui-kablo  history, 
■with  additional  incidents  of  it :  "I  saw  him  soon  after  his 
arrival  in  this  city.  lie  looked  troubled  and  was  in  some  ap- 
parent doubt  as  to  whether  lie  ought  to  accept  the  election. 
He  did  not  know  that  he  was  in  any  specific  sense  '  called  ' 
to  the  ofiicc  and  work  of  a  Bishop.  He  could  regard  it  as  the 
call  of  God  in  the  sense  in  which  he  had  often  been  called 
from  one  place  and  position  in  the  Church  to  another  by  the 
voice  of  his  brethren,  and  by  the  economy  of  the  Church, 
and  M'hich  indications  in  the  line  of  duty  he  had  not  hitherto 
fcilt  at  lil)erty  to  disregard.  The  office  sought  liim;  lu;  did 
not  seek  if.  He  bud  a  keen  perception  and  heavy  sense  of 
the  responsibilities  involved  ;  and  in  making  uj)  his  mind 
prayerfully,  to  be  ordained,  it  was  with  the  cx[)ressed  hope 
and  belief,  that  ]ie  niigJit  midtlphj  Jtifi  usefulness  in  the 
(Jhurdi  tJir<)i((jJi  Itis  relations  to  the  preacJters.  In  what  a 
marvelous  manner,  and  to  what  an  enlarged  extent,  have  his 
wishes  in  that  regard  been  realized  ;  and  they  will  yet  be, 
more  and  more." 

"On  Sunday  morning,"  writes  INIr.  Doty,  "after 
prayers  and  breakfast,  I  accompanied  Bishop  Marvin  to  the 
residence  of  INIr.  Thomas  Price,  where  all  the  Bishops  met  to 
arrange  for  the  ordination.  He  was  rallied  al)out  his  beard 
by  Bishop  Wightnian.  Bishop  Andrew  stopped  that.  It 
was  on  this  occasion  that  Bishop  Wightman  asked  \\\m, 
♦  Where  did  you  graduate?  '  The  reply  was,  briefly  :  '  No- 
where.' "  The  ordination  sermon  was  preached  by  the 
venerable  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce.     Bishop  Andrew,  the  Senior 


ISOG.  435 

Bislirtj),  had  ordained  liim  Deacon — twenty-three  years  after 
his  hands  were  hiid  on  the  same  head,  Bishop-elect.  Appro- 
priately, Rev.  Dr.  Sargent's  words  shall  describe  the 
occasion : 

At  the  over  memorable  Conference  of  1866,  when  he  was  elected  on 
the  first  ballot,  on  invitation  of  Brother  Prottsman,  I  accompanied  him  to 
tiie  oUice  to  telci^raph  to  our  new  Bishop  his  election.  lie  was  supposed 
to  be  at  Marsihall,  Texas.  To  tiie  surprise  and  joy  of  all  he  arrivetl  in  New 
Orleans  that  evenin<;.  I  was  at  once  introduced,  and  found  him  over- 
whelmed and  treinbliuii  with  emotion  and  quiverin":  with  the  humility  and 
modesty  which  our  ordination  service  ranks  so  hi;ih  in  qualification  for 
the  ministry.  How  gladly  would  he  have  been  excused.  Yet  he  who  had 
consecrated  all  to  Christ,  gave  himself  in  this  also,  and  was  blessc  d.  I 
stood  over  him,  In  the  Carondelet  Street  Pulpit,  when  he  was  solemnly 
ordained  and  the  three  who  were  with  him,  and  had  fellowship  in  their 
deep  emotions.  I  had,  as  the  French  say,  "assisted"  at  twelve  pre- 
vious General  Conferences,  in  the  consecration  of  ten  other  Bishops;  but 
had  deeper  feelings  at  this  than  on  those  occasions.  My  heart  clave  to  all, 
but  especially  to  Marvin. 

After  the  Conference  adjourned  and  all  were  gone,  we  two  remained 
for  nearly  a  week  in  daily  communion,  and  both  preached  twice  inter- 
changeably at  Carondelet  and  Felicity  Koad,  so  tliat  neither  could  hear  the 
■other.  But  every  intercourse  then,  and  subsequently,  led  me  to  "esteem 
him  very  highly  in  love  for  his  work's  sake,"  until,  to  my  deep  sorrow, 
''God  took  him." 

Andrew  ]\Ionroe  andW.  M.  Rush,  presented  him  for  Or- 
dination. "  At  the  close  of  the  service,"  saj's  George  M. 
"Winton,  a  INIissouri  delegate,  "we  came  forward  to  greet  him. 
In  the  hearty  hand-shaking,  as  I  passed  in  turn,  I  addressed 
him  as  ^ro//^er  Marvin.  Some  one  said,  ^  Say  £is/iop.'  'No,' 
interposed  the  Bishop,  '  say  Brother  Marvin.  That's  right. 
It  suits  us  old  friends  best.'  " 

"  Brother  jNIarvin,"  says  Dr.  Morris,  '<  arrived  in  New 
Orleans  the  day  after  his  election.  I  met  him  ;it  night  in 
the  Conference  room.  There  was  no  appe;irance  of  elation. 
He  seemed  to  be  as  humble  as  ever,  and  full  of  deep  seri- 
ousness. He  said  nothin";  to  me  about  his  election.  As  for 
myself,  I  was  so  glad  to  see  him,  after  so  long  a  separation, 
that  I  hardly  thought  of  his  being  a  Bishop-elect.  I  Avas  not 


436 


BISHOP  MARVIN 


present  at  tlic  ordination — being  appointed  to  preach  on 
that  Sunday  in  the  city  of  Baton  Kongo .  lie  presided  in 
the  Conference  for  the  first  time  after  his  ordination,  •with 
that  gentle  dignity  and  quiet  self-possession,  for  which  he 
was  always  so  eminently  distinguished." 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


IN  THE  COLLEGE  OF  BISHOPS. 


His  age  at  Consecration — Personal  appearance— The  Episcopal  College  of 
Southern  Methodism— Its  first  Western  Bishop— Providential  manifes- 
tation—Personal  relations  in  the  College  of  Bishops— The  history  of 
his  election  self-interpreting— His  views  on  tlie  Episcopal  office — 
Methodist  Episcopacy  at  the  North  and  South— The  veto  power— Dr. 
Smi  h's  Soule-Memorial  sermon— The  Constitution  of  the  Church 
—Testimony  of  the  Fathers— Constitutional  Episcopacy  tested  by  trial 
and  maintained  intact. 


I^ISHOP  Marvin  entered  the  College  of  Bishops  in  the 
twenty-fifth  year  of  his  itinerant  ministry  and  in  the 
forty-third  year  of  his  age.  He  was  the  youngest  man 
of  the  College,  and  his  elevation  to  the  Episcopacy  was  at 
an  earlier  age  than  any  of  his  colleagues  except  Bishop 
Soule,  who,  in  1824,  entered  on  that  office  at  the  same  age, 
and  Bishop  Andrew  in  his  thirty-eighth  year.  The  next 
3^oungest  in  years  and  date  of  consecration  was  Bishop  Pierce 
— in  his  forty-fourth  year. 

His  bodily  presence,  when  a  Bishop,  appears  in  the  engrav- 
ino-  which  fronts  these  i)a<»:es.  Since  the  other  likeness  was 
taken,  when  he  Avas  pastor  at  Centenary  Church,  twenty  years 
of  time  and  wasting  toils  and  cares  had  limned  the  more  ang- 
ular contour  and  deeper  lines  and  shadings  of  the  face,  pho- 
tographed at  San  Francisco  in  187G,  and  copied  by  the 
eno-raver  of  the  full  leno-th   ])icture.     It  shows  still  the  jet 


438  BISIlOr  MARVIN. 

black  hair,  but  shorter  cut,  and  more  distinctly  the  stray 
lock  of  the  roach  which  used  to  detach  itself  iu  the  action  of 
pulpit  delivery.  The  beard  was  not  clerical  in  the  former 
time — not  till  a  few  years  later  in  camp  life,  his  allowed  to 
grow.  His  posture  was  somewhat  inclined  forward  in 
motion  and  the  step  hitched  a  little,  as  if  there  was  labored 
movement  of  the  liinl),  as  there  was  of  the  lunir,  which  in 
public  and  private  discourse  at  intervals  cauirht  spasmodic 
respiration.  In  erect  posture  he  stood  six  feet  and  one  inch 
in  height  and  stood  square  on  his  feet.  The  color  of  the  eye 
was  dark  gre}'',  and  the  features,  in  repose,  not  animated 
— accustomed  to  self-introspection,  and  i.hought  lighting 
up  the  face  and  flashing  from  the  ej^e,  only  when  it  was 
bodied  forth  in  the  flow  from  his  lips  and  at  the  full  tide  of 
impassioned  utterance. 

Within  the  period  of  the  separate  existence  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church,  in  the  South,  during  thirty-three  years,  eleven 
Bishops  have  been  elected  and  consecrated  to  that  high 
ofiice.  Joshua  Soule  was  the  first  President  of  the  College. 
In  his  membership  of  the  Board  of  Bishops  in  the  undivided 
Church,  he  Avas  the  seventh  in  that  "  regular  order  and  suc- 
cession "  dating  from  Wesley,  which,  Francis  Asbury  said, 
*'  I  have  traced,"  and  adds  :  "  Let  any  other  Church  trace 
its  succession  as  direct  and  as  pure,  if  they  can."  He  hon- 
ored the  succession  to  which  the  biographer  of  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree  bears  testimony:  "What  a  rich  legacy  has  the 
Methodist  family.  North  and  South,  in  the  character  and 
labors  of  their  early  Bishops  !  And  while  we  should  never 
be  proud  of  our  succession,  we  have  certainly  no  reason  to 
be  ashamed  of  it.  May  it  ever  be  so  in  every  branch  of  our 
Methodism!  " 

AVith  Joshua  Soule  was  associated  Bishop  Andrew  in  the 
link  of  connection  of  the  Southern  Methodist  with  the  earlier 
and  original  Methodist  Episco[)acy,  both  adhering  South  at 
the  organization   of  the  Southern  ('hurch  and   making  the 


IX  THE  COLLEGE  OF  BISHOPS.  439 

org;;iniz;itioii  complete  as  well  as  legitimate — the  Church  fur- 
nished with  the  Episcopal  iii(uimhciu;y  and  the  first  General 
Conference  with  a  Constitutional  Presidency.  At  that  Con- 
ference  Robert  Paine  and  William  Capers  were  added  to  the 
College  ;  in  1850,  II.  B.  Bascom  ;  and  at  the  Conference  at 
Columbus,  Ga.,  1854,  George  F.  Pierce,  H.  II.  Kavanaugh 
and  John  Early.  Since  the  accession  to  the  nunil)er  in 
18G(),  one  other  only,  John  C.  Keener,  has  bocii  added. 
Before  Bishop  Marvin  entered  the  College,  two  of  the  num- 
ber, Bishops  Bascom  and  Capers,  unlike  except  that  both 
were  great  and  illustrious,  had  passed  away.  Into  such  suc- 
cession and  coUeagueship,  Bishop  Marvni  with  his  associates 
in  the  election  of  LSlJG,  Bishops  AYightnian,  Doggett  and 
McTyeire,  was  brought. 

At  the  Conference  of  18()(),  the  representation  of  the 
West  in  the  College  of  Bishops  was  a  foregone  conclusion. 
That  claim  was  made  and  urged  at  the  two  preceding  Con- 
ferences. It  is  understor)d,  that  at  the  election  in  1854,  the 
llev.  Dr.  Josei)h  Boyle  would  have  been  chosen,  except  for 
the  intirmity  of  an  inferior  memory,  an  effect  of  typhoid 
fever.  In  1851  he  had  been  l)rought  down  to  death's 
door — his  recovery  attributed  to  a  wonderful  prayer  by 
Wesley  Brownins;.  For  some  years  after,  with  all  his 
other  mental  faculties  in  full  strength,  his  memory  was  very 
much  impaired  and  was  never  fully  recovered.  In  1858,  at 
Nashville,  Bishop  Marvin  was  solicitous  and  active  in  bring- 
ing forward  Caples  for  the  Episcopacy. 

In  devoted  and  disinterested  friendship  and  with  a  higher 
motive,  in  sincere  conviction  of  the  high  qualities  and  mar- 
velous powers  of  Caples,  he  earnestly  sought  his  elevation. 
lie  h;id  talked  of  him  in  all  the  circles  of  private  intercourse. 
If  he  did  not  in  fact  procure  for  him  an  appointment  to 
preach  at  McKendree  Church  with  a  view  to  make  him 
l<nown  personally  and  in  his  greatest  strength,  his  i)ulpit- 
power  ;  yet  he  tells  us  that  he  looked  to  that  occasion  with 


440  BISHOr  MARVIX. 

such  an  end.  Caples  broke  clown  in  the  sermon  and  the 
liope  of  his  friend  failed.  The  sermon,  which  was  a  failure 
there  and  then,  was  one  of  his  grandest,  he  said,  having  heard 
it  not  long  before  at  St.  Charles,  in  Missouri.  So  far  as 
there  maybe  predictions  in  casualties,  not  connectional,  ])ut 
Annual  Conference  fields  were  the  appointed  work  of  Caples. 
At  the  time,  however,  the  physical  disability  under  Avhich 
he  preached  had  comment  only  in  pleasant  raillery  on  the 
General  Conference  pulpit-scare  and  its  qualm  of  the 
stomach. 

But  in  the  life  of  godly  men  there  is  providential  des- 
tiny in  their  history.  The  reader  has  seen  the  first  meeting 
of  these  two  men,  in  1842,  at  the  frontier  lino  of  the  Far 
West.  The  divine  finger,  then  invisible  l)ut  revealed  in  the 
subsequent  history,  pointed  out  the  younger  man  whom 
Caples  found  sitting  alone  at  the  Camp-tire  as  the  man  of 
destiny — not  Boyle  in  1854,  nor  Caples  in  1858,  but  Marvin 
in  1866 — for  the  first  representative  of  ^Missouri  ]Methodism 
in  the  Episcopal  College  and  first  resident  Bishop  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Mississippi. 

There  is  another  index  of  Providence,  it  may  be,  point- 
ing out  the  same  destiny.  Both  were  delegates  elect  to  the 
General  Conference  for  18G2.  Caples  was  bound  by  his 
parole  of  honor,  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  to  remain  in  Missouri. 
Marvin  made  his  w^ay  through  the  military  lines  to  bo  in  his 
seat.  The  Confereiice  did  not  convene,  and  he  was  com- 
j)elled  to  remain  in  the  South.  There  he  began  the  wonder- 
ful itinerary  and  ministry — which  had  culmination  in  the 
Episcopal  ballot  of  1866. 

The  history  of  the  intercourse  existing  in  the  College  of 
Bishops  is  disclosed  hy  a  message  to  his  colleagues  from  the 
death-l)ed  of  Bishop  Andrew:  "  Tell  the  Bishops  to  main- 
tain that  harmony  and  love  among  themselves  that  has 
always  existed  among  them."  Of  the  standing  and  influ- 
ence of  Bisho[)  Marvin  in  the  associate  body.  Bishop  Paine 
has  testified:   "respected  and   trusted."     Of  liis  personal 


IX  THE  COLLEGE  OF  BISHOPS.  441 

relations,  it  is  proper  to  speak  only  of  the  dead — oi  Bishop 
Soule,  whose  hand  conferred  ui)on  him  the  highest  order  in 
the  ministry,  as  an  Ehler  in  the  Chnrch  of  God  ;  and  of 
Bishop  Andrew,  Avho  made  him  a  Deacon,  and  pronounccci 
the  word  of  his  consecration  as  Bishop.  Holding  both  in 
the  most  profound  veneration  for  the  exalted  purity  of  their 
character  and  their  eminent  labors,  he  had  for  the  one  the 
sentiment  of  highest  admiration  ;  for  the  other,  of  warmest 
affection.  The  latter,  it  is  known,  he  looked  to  as  an 
adv^iser,  confiding  in  his  sound  and  experienced  judgment 
and  in  the- fidelity  of  his  friendship,  wdiich  ante-dated  long 
years  their  Episcopal  colleagueship.  Their  reciprocal  con- 
fidence and  love  had  practical  exemplification  in  the 
designation,  already  noted,  of  Bishop  Marvin  as  the  biogra- 
pher of  Bishop  Andrew. 

The  facts  in  the  history  of  his  election  are  self-interpret- 
ing— the  manifest  providential  direction  and  control  ;  and 
equally  manifest,  how  the  spirit  of  the  man  entered  into  the 
history,  from  first  to  last.  Obeying  rule,  prompt,  decided, 
self-denying  in  duty  and  devotion  to  the  Church,  with  faith 
in  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the  Church  and  providence  over 
the  ministry,  looking  for  open  doors  and  entering  them 
without  hesitation  and  w^itliout  fear,  as  without  gainsay- 
in"" —  in  this  way  of  his  feet  he  became,  as  in  lead- 
ership among  the  sons  of  Jesse,  manifest  unto  the 
Church  as  one  of  its  chief  jjastors.  It  was  mentioned 
to  him,  and  seemed  preposterous.  It  was  seriously  com- 
mented upon,  and  his  reply:  "I  am  not  fit  for  it." 
In  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  country  and  peril  of 
the  Church,  he  favored,  as  a  much  needed  and  useful 
agency,  the  newspaper  enterprise  in  the  hands  of  ]\Ir.  Pat- 
terson, who  delayed  final  arrangements,  anticipating  events 
at  the  General  Conference  and  awaiting  its  action.  lie  was 
to  render  aid  in  editorial  work*y  "  He  told  me,"  says  Mr. 
Patterson,  "  he  preferred  that  we  should  go  on  with  the 
paper." 


442  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

It  w;is  the  fact  that  he  did  not  seek  the  office.  It  was- 
the  least  virtue  of  the  history  that  he  did  not.  "  If  he  had 
sought  the  office,"  says  Bishop  Paine  of  Bisliop  McKendree, 
"  he  Avouhl  have  ])eon  unworthy  of  it."  The  historv  of  his 
acceptance  of  it,  in  like  maimer,  indicates  tlie  man — modest, 
huml)le,  godl}'.  Tlie  incidents  are  peculiar,  but  in  their 
si2i;nificance  have  distin<i:uished  parallel  in  the  annals  of 
Methodist  Episcopac3\  Bishop  Ilolxn-ts  was  "  overwhelmed  " 
by  his  election,  and  Bishop  jVIcKendree  was  "dejected." 
His  l)iographer  adds,  significantly:  " ///.s  diary  is  silent 
liere.'''  Silence  on  that  event,  bywhicl),  it  is  said,  "  he  was 
like  one  stricken  by  a  bolt  from  the  sky,"  was  l)r()ken  by  this 
diary-entry  :  "At  times  I  felt  resolved  not  to  submit,  but 
when  it  came  to  the  point  I  was  afraid  to  refuse,  1  dare  not 
deny.  And  while  still  deeply  conscious  that  I  did  not  pos- 
sess qualifications  adequate  to  the  important  station  ;  yet, 
confident  of  support  from  my  brethren,  and  relying  on 
divine  aid,  I  reluctantly  and  trem])lingly  submitted."  The 
unfeigned  conscience  in  these  godly  men  compelled  accept- 
ance of  the  office. 

The  same  conscience  was  in  Joshua  Soule,  and  compelled 
refusal  of  it  at  his  first  election,  in  1820.  Never  was  the 
office  more  highly  honored  than  by  that  act,  and  by  its 
acceptance  afterwards — at  first,  in  })r()test  that  the  office 
should  ever  be  at  the  cost  of  the  barter  of  princij)le  ;  and 
filling  it  Old}''  when  the  lustre  of  official  honor  and  personal 
integrity  were  blended  rays,  and  official  fidelity  could  have 
sanction  and  support  of  the  magistracy  of  conscience. 
At  the  same  point  of  the  inviolate  ascendency  of  prin('ii)le, 
the  a(!ceptance  of  the  office  was  held  in  abeyance  in  18(i(), 
as  in  1<S20.  "I  do  not  know,"  said  the  Bishop  elect  at 
New  Orleans,  "  that  I  can  stand  up  there  and  say  that  I  am 
called  to  the  office  of  a  Bishop)."  AVhatever  infirmity 
otherwise  may  appear  in  this  hesitation,  there  was  none  as 
to  the  majesty  of  personal  integrity  and  the  supremacy  of 


IX  THE  COLLEGE  OF  BISHOPS.  443 

coii.sc'iciicc.  How  the  difficulty  was  solved  has  boon  said. 
In  the  solution,  "the  will  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ" 
became  apparent.  That  ended  hesitation.  To  accept 
was  duty. 

Bishop  IVIarvin  had  occasion  to  publish  his  views  con- 
cerning the  Episcopal  Office.  They  are  in  accord  with  the 
established  understandinii:  of  the  Southern  Methodist 
Church  respecting  its  nature,  duties,  and  powers. 

Among  the  questions  at  issue  in  the  great  disruption 
of  the  original  Methodist  Church,  in  1S44,  was  the  form  of 
its  government,  and,  particularly,  the  status  of  the  Episco- 
pacy. The  subject*  has  been  thoroughly  examined.  It 
was  discussed  at  the  time  at  lar^e,  on  the  floor  of  the 
General  Conference,  and,  subsequently,  before  the  highest 
iudicial  tribunal  of  the  cf)untrv.  In  the  earlv  years  of  his 
ministry  it  Avas  brought  directly  to  his  notice.  One  of  his 
very  first  votes  at  an  Annual  Conference  was  on  that  ques- 
tion, affirming  the  Southern  view  ;  and  during  the  course  of 
his  ministry  subsequently,  the  causes  of  the  division  contin- 
ued to  be  a  practical  question  in  his  pastoral  administration. 
His  views  were  intelligent  and  mature,  as  they  were  decided 
and  earnest.  After  the  lapse  of  nearly  thirty  years,  in  the 
first  years  of  his  Episcopal  administration,  the  question 
recurred  in  a  practical  form,  in  connection  with  the  over- 
tures made  by  the  Board  of  Bishops  of  the  Northern 
Church,  looking  to  the  reunion  of  the  Churches.  The 
reply  by  the  Southern  Bishops  in  the  correspondence  at  St. 
Louis  in  1869,  and  by  resolutions  of  the  General  Conference 
of  1870,  at  Memphis,  had  attracted  public  attention.  In 
following  years  informal  fraternity  in  marked  instances  had 
occurred,  and  the  question  of  organic  union  contiimed  to  be 
pushed  on  the  Southern  Church.  Since  the  separation  a 
new  generation  had  come  on,  and  there  was  liability  to  the 
public  mind  of  the  country  and  the  Church  being  misled  by 
those  plausible  overtures.     Under  these  circumstances,  an 


444  r.ISTIOP  MARVIN. 

article  from  the  pen  of  Bishop  Marvin  appeared  in  the  April 
number,  1872,  of  the  SoutJicvn  Review,  discussing  the 
question  of  the  reunion  of  the  Churches,  North  and  South. 
It  is  considered  and  opposed  in  the  light  of  the  original 
causes  of  division.  Among  them,  he  specifies  the  doctrine 
of  the  majority  of  the  General  Conference  of  1844  in  regard 
to  the  Episcopacy.  The  Southern  view  is  concisely  stated 
and  vindicated  in  the  following  quotation : 

Incidental  to  the  question  of  law  there  arose,  in  the  case  of  Bishop 
Andrew,  a  ([uestion  as  to  the  sldttts  of  Bisliops  in  the  Methodist  Cliurch, 
"Which  developed  a  radical  difference  of  opinion  between  the  majority  and 
the  niincH'ity  of  the  Conference.  The  opinion^  never  obtained  amon^ 
Methodists  anywhere  that  the  Episcopacy  was  a  distinct  order  fi'om  that  of 
Elders.  Indeed,  the  Methodist  Episcopacy  flowed  from  a  Presl)yterlal 
fountain.  It  spraui;  from  Mr.  A\'csley,  and  he  was  never,  by  virtue  of  a 
formal  ordination,  anything  more  than  a  Presbyter.  The  Bishop  is  distin- 
guished from  otlier  Elders  oidy  by  a  special  provision  of  the  Church 
in  wliich  lie  holds  his  ollice.  His  status  is  determined  by  the  Ici^islation 
and  usai^es  of  his  parlicuhir  (Jhurch. 

Certain  leaders  of  the  Northern  party,  in  1S44,  affirmed  the  doctrine 
that  Bishops  were  only  ofTicers  of  the  General  Conference,  the  same  as 
book  asients  and  editors,  and  miirht  be  appointed  and  removed  at  will, 
for  any  cause.  They  were  the  mere  creatures  of  the  Conference,  which 
might  do  what  it  pleased  with  them,  and  as  it  pleased.  On  this  ground  it 
was  maintained  that  Bishop  Andrew  nught  be  deposed  without  any  form 
of  trial,  for  any  reason,  no  matter  what,  and  in  the  most  summary  way. 

Against  these  i)roi)ositions  the  nunority  took  issue.  They  asserted 
that  so  far  from  liisliops  l)eing  creatures  of  the  (Jeneral  Conference,  their 
office  originatetl  before  there  was  any  (ieneral  Conference.  Mr.  Wesley 
was,  in  the  providence  of  God,  the  Bishop  of  all  the  Methodist  Societies  in 
the  world ;  that  is,  he  was  their  Superintendent,  for  that  is  what  a 
Metliodist  Bisliop  is.  In  fact,  Mr.  Wesley  preferred  that  title.  lie  desig- 
nated Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  .Vsbury  for  this  office  in  America.  Dr.  Coke  he 
ordained  in  England,  and  authorized  him,  on  his  arrival  in  America,  to 
ordain  Mr.  Asbury.  Mr.  Asbury,  indeed,  submitted  his  case  to  his  breth- 
ren in  Conference,  and  was  not  ordained  until  tlicy  liad  approved  his 
designation. 

Thus  tlie  history  of  tlie  office  shows  it  not  to  be  the  creature  of  the 
General  Conference  at  all,  but  to  have  sprung  from  another  source.  The 
written  law  makes  it  a  i)art  of  the  very  organism  of  the  Church.  Its 
existence  and  functions  are  guarded  with  great  jealousy  by  the  llestrictive 
Bulcs.  Boll)  by  tlie  written  l;iw  and  by  uniform  usage  it  is  a  fundamental, 
organic  part  of  the  Church.     The  Bishops,  then,  are  not  mere  officers  of 


IN  THE  COLLEGE  OF  BISHOPS.  445 

the  General  Conference,  but  a  coonlinate  liraneh  of  the  jrovcrnmcnt  \vith 
the  Conference.  They  are  at  the  head  of  the  executive  dei)artineut  of  tlu; 
Church.  The  functions  of  tiieiroflice,  as  defined  by  law,  clearly  show  this 
to  be  the  case. 

The  fact  of  their  solemn  ordination,  lo.u'ether  with  tiie  character  of  the 
vows  required  of  them,  is  inconsistent  with  the  hypothesis  that  they  are 
mere  officers,  removable  at  will.  You  cannot  think  of  a  Book  Asent 
or  Missionary  Secretary  beins  ordained  with  such  forms,  or  put  under 
such  vows,  as  a  condition  of  entering  on  his  oltice. 

That  the  tenure  of  tlieir  office  is  not  the  the  mere  will  of  the  General 
Conference,  is  further  evident  from  the  fact  that  a  form  of  trial  of  Bishops 
is  a  part  of  the  statutory  law  of  the  Church.  They  can  be  deposed  only 
under  form  of  trial,  upon  beiui;  found  iruilty  of  some  act  adjudged  to  be 
sufficient  to  disqualify  them  for  their  liigh  office. 

The  Bisliops  are  at  the  head  of  the  executive  administration  of  the 
Churcii;  but  they  are  not  mere  administrative  officers.  Tiiey  have  a 
pastoral  function,  the  care  of  all  the  Churches.  They  are  to  promote,  by 
all  rightful  means,  the  peace,  purity,  and  growth  of  the  Chu/ch.  In  the 
Annual  Conferences  they  are  not  mere  presiding  officers,  with  power  to 
station  the  preachers ;  they  are  also  pastors,  whose  duty  it  is  to  promote 
all  the  interests  of  religion  according  to  the  wisdom  that  is  in  them. 
Their  executive  authority  is  great.  In  them  are  lodged  the  tremendous 
forces  which  are  to  keep  the  vast  itinerant  machinery  in  play.  The  or:ran 
of  such  forces  must  be  well  placed.  It  cannot  be  efficient  as  a  side  attach- 
ment. It  must  be  at  the  heart  of  the  organization,  and  fixed  upon  a  stable 
foundation.  Doubtless  its  powers  must  be  duly  limited,  and  regulated, 
too,  as  they  are  by  the  laws  of  the  Church. 

Legislative  bodies  need,  also,  some  checks  and  balances  upon  them. 
Unlimited  range  of  functions  is  dangerous  in  any  body  of  men.  Nothing  is 
more  common  than  hasty,  ill-considered  legislation  under  excitement. 
The  distribution  of  powers  between  legislative  anl  executive  organs  is 
always  wise.  Neither  one  must  be  the  incident  of  the  other.  Each  must, 
inhere  in  the  constitution  of  the  body.  Each  must  have  an  organic  position 
in  the  Society. 

The  Episcopacj' is  iutegi'al  in  the  structure  of  Methodism;  not  acci- 
dental. It  is  an  organ  of  the  Church  itself,  and  not  merely  of  the  General 
Conference.  The  doctrine  of  the  majority  in  this,  as  in  oflier  cases,  was 
radical  and  disorganizing;  that  of  the  minority,  conservative  and  tending 
to  order  and  stability. 

Bishop  Marvin  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  views 
respecting  the  Episcopacy  held  at  the  South  are  so  radically- 
opposite  to  the  Northern  view,  and  so  important  and  vital, 
as  to  justify  and  require  the  separate  existence  of  the 
Southern  Church.     Since  1844,  the  divergence  of  view  and 


446  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

practice  has  widened.  Pursuing  the  direction  marked  out 
for  it  at  that  time,  public  sentiment  at  the  North  has 
reached  extreme  opinions,  develo[)ing  considerable  strength 
in  favor  of  an  elective  Presiding-Eldership  and  a  quadren- 
nial term,  in  Vh'M  of  life-tenure,  in  the  Episcopal  office. 
Practically,  Episcopal  oversight  has  been  diminished. 
Proportionately  to  the  number  of  conferences  and  numbers 
in  society  the  per  cent,  of  diminution  has  increased,  since 
the  division  of  the  Church,  constantly  and  largely.  On  the 
contrary,  at  the  South,  as  shown  by  the  statistics,  the  old 
ratio  of  a  Bishop  to  about  eac-h  hundred  thousand  uiembers 
and  to  a  small  Episco[)al  district  has  been  uniformly  main- 
tained. The  iV.  W.  Christian  Advocate,  an  official  organ 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  at  date  1871,  giving  a  tabulated 
statement  concernuig  the  proportion  of  Bishops  to  members 
and  preachers  since  the  year  1808,  appends  the  following 
comment  • 

Our  membership  is  to-day  nine  times  what  it  was  in  1808,  and  we 
should  at  the  same  rate  have  at  least  eighteen  Bishops,  even  if  amid  the 
vast  enterprises  of  every  sort  there  were  no  more  call  for  Episcopal 
services  now  than  there  was  half  a  century  ago.  All  tlie  advantages  of 
travel  nowadays  are  far  more  than  counterbalanced  by  increased  demands 
upon  the  Bisliops.  Our  preachers,  too,  are  nineteen  times  as  numerous 
now  as  in  1808,  and  if  we  had  Bishops  in  like  proportion  we  should  have  at 
least  thirty-eight  in  active  service  now. 

The  Cluircli  Soutli  confessedly  feels  the  power  of  her  increased 
superintendency,  and  our  laborers  on  tlie  border  and  in  tlie  South  are 
lavisli  in  tlieir  presentations  of  tlie  ever-present  and  tireless  energy  of 
their  Episcopacy.  If,  in  any  place,  tlie  Cliurcli  Houtli  outstrips  us,  it  is 
tliroiigli  tliis  power.  To  a  inemlxTsliip  of  5()8,595  tiicy  have  ten  Bishops — 
about  the  proportion  we  liad  in  1808 ;  and  at  tlie  same  rate  we  would  have, 
as  said  before,  eigliteeu.  They  have  2,546  i)reachers,  we  four  times  as 
niauy ;  and  with  Bishops  in  equal  proportion  with  them  we  should  have 
forty.  The  I<'i)iscopal  Church,  with  a  membership  of  220,000,  has  fifty-one 
Bishops.  Had  we  thein  in  the  same  proportion,  we  should  be  able  to 
count  three  hundred. 

In  the  Southern  Chiu'ch,  before  and  since  the  separa- 
tion, the  ancient  usages  and  the  constitutional  prerogatives 


IN  THE  COLLEGE  OF  BISHOPS.  447 

of  the  Episcopacy  have  been  jealously  guarded.  Since  its 
separate  existence,  legislation  iias  tended  to  foster  the  insti- 
tution, in  its  integrity  and  efficiency.  Prominent  among 
measures  of  legislation  is  the  Veto  power  of  the  Bishops,  to 
."which  allusion  is  made,  with  approval,  by  Bishop  Marvin  ill 
the  forcii:oin2:  extract.  In  itself  and  in  its  legislative 
history,  tluit  provision  of  Discipline  indicates  the  sentiment 
which  distinij-uishes  the  Southern  Church  in  favor  of  a 
strong  Ei)iscopacy  ;  and,  more  especially  the  recognition  of 
it  as  an  integral  part  in  the  structure  of  the  government. 
That  measure  was  originally  introduced  by  Rev.  Dr.  Wm. 
A.  Smith  ;  and  Rev.  Dr.  L.  M.  Lee  was  the  author  of  the 
report  recommending  its  adoption  at  the  General  Conference 
of  1870.  Their  views  differed  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
measure  :  By  Dr.  Smith  held,  that  the  power  of  veto  was 
an  existing  and  inherent  Episcopal  prerogative,  and  thepro- 
viso,  the  formulation  and  regulation  of  it ;  by  Dr.  Lee,  that  it 
was  a  new  power  conferred  by  that  action  ;  both  agreeing 
th;it  it  was  a  wise  and  jjroper  investiture.  In  either  view, 
under  the  operation  of  the  Restrictive  Rules,  the  measure 
required  the  sanction  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  which 
pronounced  in  favor  of  it  by  an  unanimous  vote. 

Another  source  of  information  respecting  Bishop  Mar- 
vin's views  on  the  Episcopal  Office  is  the  sermon  by  Dr. 
Smith  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Soule,  deliv- 
ered in  Centenary  Church,  at  St.  Louis.  He  had  himself 
been  requested  by  the  Preachers'  Meeting  to  preach  the 
sermon.  He  replied,  recommending  Dr.  Smith  for  that 
service,  particularly  in  view  of  his  fitness  as  a  more  imme- 
diate cotemporary,  and  his  ability  to  set  forth  the  representa- 
tive character  of  Bishop  Soule.  The  sermon  has  been 
l)ul)lisluHl.  It  is  stated  in  the  preface  that  several  of  the 
Bishops  join.ed  in  the  request  for  its  publication.     It  was 


448  Bisiior  MARvix. 

heard  by  Bislioj)  ]\Iai-viii  ;  and  its  interpretation  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  Episcopal  ^Methodism,  it  is  the  understanding  of 
the  writer,  was  approved  by  him. 

The  views  held  by  Bishop  Marvin,  it  is  supposed,  accord 
with  the  interpretation  of  the  Methodist  system  of  govern- 
ment by  the  earlier  Bishops,  as  contained  in  their  writings 
and  illustrated  by  their  adniinistraiion.  A  clear,  full  and  most 
authentic  history  of  the  government  may  be  found  in  Bishop 
Paine's  late  work,  "  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree." 
That  publication  has  received  general  endorsement  and  the 
hiirh  sanction  of  a  idace  in  the  course  of  studv  for  the 
preachers.  The  review  covers  the  first  iifty  3^ears  of  the 
fifovernment — the  year  1808  a  cardinal  date,  called  bv  the 
author  "  an  era  in  American  Methodism."  The  preceding 
years  Avere  an  era  of  develoinnent  in  the  <rovernment — in 
1808  readjusted,  receiving  legislative  definition,  and  placed 
under  constitutional  protection.  The  import  of  that  action 
Bishop  Paine  has  embodied  in  the  following  concise  state- 
ment : 

It  completed  the  work  be^;uii  in  1784,  by  placing  the  Articles  of 
Ileligiou,  the  General  Rules,  and  the  Itinerant  Episcopal  form  of  Adminis- 
tration, as  well  as  the  rights  of  preachers  and  members,  beyond  the 
control  of  the  Annual  and  General  Conferences,  except  under  certain 
'■'■limitations  and  restrictions,^''  and  reserving  tiie  Articles  of  lleligion  from 
their  control  forever.  This  act,  giving  constitutional  permanency  to  the 
fundamental  principles  of  Methodism,  was  crowned  by  the  substitution  of 
a  delegated  representative  body  in  the  place  of  mass-meetings  of  tlie 
Elders. 

In  the  above  statement,  1808  is  connected  with  1784,  as 
supplementary  to  it.  In  effect,  perhaps,  it  may  be  said, 
that  the  one  date  was  the  tentative,  and  the  other  the  per- 
fected oro^anization  of  the  Church.  Particularly,  the 
legislative  department  was  radically  modified,  amounting  to 
reconstruction  of  the  government.  The  General  Superin- 
tendency  was  not  created  ;  but  was  only  formally  recognized 


IN  THE  COLLEGE  OF  r.isiiors.  449 

in  its  place,  as  a  co-ordinate  branch  and  su[)reme  executive 
of  the  government,  anel  its  powers  secured  in  constitutional 
IDermanency.  In  general,  the  marked  changes  are  likened 
by  Bishop  Paine  to  the  civil  history  of  the  thirteen  colonies 
in  the  adoption  of  a  Constitutional  Union  in  the  place  of 
the  Old  Confederation.  The  act  of  1808  was  in  a  real 
sense  and  m  large  measure  organi;.  It  has,  hence,  been 
denominated  l)y  Bishop  Soulo  a  "  Constitutional  Com- 
pact ;"  and  by  Dr.  Charles  Elliot,  in  his  Life  of  Bishop 
Roberts,  "the  Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church."  Such  is  the  accepted  interpretation  of  the 
restrictive  regulations;  and,  it  is  known,  by  the  adjudica- 
tions of  the  highest  civil  courts,  as  "well  as  in  the  history 
and  jurisprudence  of  the  Church,  it  has  been  recognized  as 
the  fundamental  law.  The  oriranization  of  1784  was  substi- 
tuted  and  superseded  by  the  Constitution  of  1808.  In  that 
compact,  hence,  is  to  be  found  the  adjustment  of  the  several 
de[)artments  of  the  government  and  a  definition  of  their 
Ijowers,  respectively. 

In  two  notable  instances  the  powers  of  the  Episcopacy 
and  their  security  under  constitutional  protection  have  been 
under  review,  and  have  been  construed  and  determined, 
detinitely  and  with  emphatic  decision.  One  was  at  the 
third  delegated  General  Conference,  in  1820,  in  connection 
Avith  the  Presiding  Elder  controversy,  and  the  passage  of 
resolutions  joining  the  Annual  Conference  with  the  Bish- 
ops in  the  appointments  to  that  office.  That  action  is 
reported  with  great  fullness  and  authority  of  statement  by 
the  biographer  of  Bishop  jNIcKendree.  The  passage  of  the 
resolutions  was  the  triumi)h  of  a  protracted  effort,  begun 
eight  years  after  the  inauguration  of  the  Episcopacy  in 
1781,  to  diminish  its  powers  and  limit  its  executive  preroga- 
tive. This  action  was  openly,  otficially,  and  strenuously 
resisted  by  Bishop  McKendree.  His  dissent  was  on  grounds 
which  contained  the  strong  assertion  of  both  the  indepeu- 
29 


450  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

<]encc  and  the  sui)reino  executive  powers  of  the  General 
<5uperinteiidency.  The  resolutions  were  suspended  after  their 
passage  for  four  years  ;  hut  the  Bishop  had  [)repared  a 
pai)er  to  be  suhniitted  to  the  General  Conference,  substan- 
tiall\^  in  the  form  of  an  Executive  veto,  pronouncing 
them  unconstitutional.  In  anotiier  paper  the  grounds  of 
the  decision  are  speciHed,  asserting  for  tlie  Episcopacy  a 
delegated  trust  alike  with  the  General  Conference  as  the 
law-nudging  Ijody  ;  as,  therefore,  a  se[)arate  and  hidependent 
department  of  the  government,  and  secured  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Constitution  from  any  moditication  or 
abridgment  of  its  powers,  except  in  the  form  prescribed  in 
the  sixth  restrictive  rule,  or,  as  he  termed  it,  eo  nomine^ 
"  the  sixth  article  of  the  Constitution."  In  the  same  paper, 
which  was  an  a[)peal  from  the  action  of  the  General  Con- 
ference to  the  Amiual  Conferences,  as  the  original  source 
of  all  powers  of  the  government,  he  argues  against  the 
■measure  itself ;  asserting  the  necessity  of  strong  and 
undivided  executive  control,  as  the  condition  of  an  efficient 
Itinerant  General  Superintendency  and  of  the  integrity  of  the 
Methodist  itinerancy.  "It  is  the  duty  of  the  Bishops," 
he  ;ir<Tues,  "  to  travel  through  the  Connection  at  large,  '  to 
oversee  the  spiritual  and  temporal  interests  of  the  Chunth.' 
But  to  oversee  or  superintend  implies  power  to  overrule  or 
manage  business  officially."  Otherwise,  in  a  following 
paragraph,  it  is  added,  "there  would  be  no  propriety  in 
requiring  the  Bishops  to  travel  through  the  Connection  at 
large  (say  six  thousand  miles)  annually,  'to  oversee  the 
business  of  the  Church  ;'  nor  could  they  justly  be  responsi- 
ble for  the  administration  while  thus  deprived  of  official 
control  ;  for,  although  they  might  travel  through  the  Con- 
nection and  see  abuses,  the  instructions  of  different 
•Conferences  clashing,  their  Presiding  Elders  administering 
differently,  and  coming  in  contact  with  each  other  in  the 
execution  of  discipline,  their  interference  would  be  unof- 
ficial and  of  no  effect." 


IN  THE    COLLEGE    OF    BISIIOrS.  451 

The  position  tiikeii  by  Bishop  McKeudrce  received  stronor 
support,  jiiid  was  brought  into  impressive  prominence  by 
the  conduct  of  Bishop  Soulo  in  reference  to  ^those  resolu- 
tions, in  consequence  of  their  passage  resigning  his  election. 
In  Ji  letter  addressed  to  Bishop  McKendree  the  situation  is 
stated  in  the  following:  extract: 

The  Coustitution,  which  secures  her  government  and  guards  the 
powers  an:l  prioilei/cs  of  her  ministers  and  members,  I  have  ever  held 
sacred.  To  touch  it  in  an>j  other  wa>j  than  that  xohich  is  provided  in  the 
Constitution  itself,  awakens  my  sensibility,  and  gives  me  indescribable 
pain.  In  this  state  of  things,  the  important  question  is,  Iloto  shall  I  act? 
O,  that  wisdom  from  above  might  guide  my  decision! 

I  was  elected  to  the  office  of  a  Superintendent  when  the  constitution  and 
goveinment  were  untouched  ;  but  by  an  extraordinary  train  of  occurrences, 
between  my  election  and  consecration  to  oflice,  a  law  has  been  passed 
with  special  reference  to  the  Episcopacy,  whicli,  in  my  judgment,  transfers 
an  important  executive  prerogative  from  the  Episcopacy  to  the  Annual 
Conferences,  and  which  law  I  cannot  ci)nscieutiously  administer,  because  I 
firmly  believe  it  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  therefore  doubt  my  right  to 
administer  it.  If  I  receive  the  imposition  of  hands,  under  these  circum- 
stances, without  an  open  and  honest  declaration  to  the  body  which  elected 
me,  how  sliall  I  sustain  the  character  of  Integrity  ? 

Accordingly,  he  addressed  a  communication  to  the  Col- 
lege of  Bishops,  which  was  subsequently  laid  before  the 
General  Conference,  declaring,  mi  his  own  words:  "Under 
the  existing  state  of  things,  I  cannot,  consistently  with  my 
convictions  of  propriety  and  obligation,  enter  upon  the 
work  of  an  itinerant  General  Superintendent."  His  deter- 
mination was  upon  two  grounds  of  dissent — "  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  violated,  and  that 
Episcopal  government  which  has  heretofore  distinguished 
her,  greatly  enervated."  "I  was  elected,"  he  adds, 
**  under  the  Constitution  and  government  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  unlmpaired.  On  no  other  consideration 
but  that  of  their  continuance  would  I  have  consented  to  be 
considered  a  candidate  for  a  relation  in  wliich  were  incorpo- 
rated such  arduous  labors  and  awful  responsibilities." 

The  suspension  of  the  resolutions  Avas  continued  for  four 


452  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

years  more,  and  in  1828  the  anti-Episcopacy  party  was 
powerless.  The  resolutions  were  both  unconstitutional  and 
revolutionary;  not  only  in  an  unconstitutional  mode  divest- 
ing the  Episcopacy  of  its  "executive  prerogative,  but  destroy- 
ing the  function  of  a  General  Superintendent,  in  any 
substantial  sense  or  efficient  way,  "  to  oversee  " — to  enforce 
the  rules,  to  preserve  uniformity  and  harmony  in  adminis- 
tration of  disci[)line,  to  correct  errors,  to  restrain  abuses, 
and  maintain  the  peace  and  order  of  the  Church.  The 
question  to  whom  the  Church  is  indebtc  I  for  preservation 
from  these  evils  threatened  to  l)o  introduced  into  the  polity 
of  the  Church,  Bishop  Paine  has  answered — "  To  William 
McKendree  and  Joshua  Soule."  Of  the  action  of  both 
true,  what  he  says  of  the  honest  conviction  of  the  lat- 
ter— "  fealty  to  the  delegated  General  Conference  would  be 
treason  to  the  Church." 

The  dust  of  these  grand  men  and  noble  Bishops  sleeps 
in  the  same  grave,  under  the  same  monument — there,  "  side 
by  Side,  the  Cavalier  and  the  Puritan,  one  iu  Christ;  and 
hard  to  tell,  which  was  the  n()l)ler,  the  purer,  the  more  use- 
ful man  and  minister."  The  oration  at  their  reinterment 
in  the  campus  of  Vanderbilt  University,  associates  their 
names  in  this  reference  : 

The  General  Conference  met  in  Baltimore,  iu  1803,  at  a  critical 
juncture.  Dr.  Coke  wa.s  lu  Eu^Uad,  not  to  rotarn;  Waa^coat  lui.l  diod; 
Asbury,  the  only  General  Saperintendaat,  was  worn  wlLli  ajj  and  toil,  and 
felt  that  his  Avork  was  done.  Like  tha  lirst  leader  of  Israel,  his  solioituda 
was  for  a  successor,  like-minded  with  himself,  and  who  would  naturally 
care  for  his  people.  Before  he  went  hence  he  dcoired  to  install  him,  and 
to  see  the  polity  and  doctrines  of  American  Mjthodism  secured  undar  a 
Constitution  not  subject  to  t!ie  caprice  of  Coaventioas.  In  his  Journal 
for  May,  ISOS,  tlie  patriarchal  man  notes  these  two  events  with  t!ie  joy  of 
a  iiujic  dimUUs  :  The  constituting  of  a  delegated  General  Conference^ 
meeting  once  in  four  years,  to  make  rules  and  regulation  i  for  the  Caurca, 
under  wise  restrictions  and  limitations,  "and  the  electing  daar  Brotae.* 
McKendree  Assistant  Bishop.  The  burden,"  headd>,  "is  now  borne  by 
two  pair  of  shoulders  instead  of  one ;  the  care  is  cast  upon  two  hearts 
and  heads." 


IX  THE    COLLEGE    OF    IJISIIOPS.  453 

That  was  a  happycoincidonoe — a  (l<)n])lc  i^ift;  for  with  the  Constitu- 
tion came  the  man  who  thoroui^iily  under.siooil  it,  clearly  c-xpouudcd  it — 
und,  wliL-n  it  was  in  danger,  saved  it. 

As  Elijah  liad  his  Elislia,  so  McKcndree's  mantle  fell  upon  Joshua 
Soiile.  The  latter  took  up  the  work  where  the  former  left  off,  and  carried 
it  on  in  the  same  spirit.  McKeudree  had  associates  in  oflice — he  stood 
not  alone,  as  Asbury  had  done,  in  old  age  and  feebleness.  But  though 
holy  and  useful  men,  the>j  were  not  equal  to  the  perils  that  beset  the 
Church  in  1820-24:.  A  man  of  clear  vision  and  firm  hand,  as  well  as  of 
good  heart — a  standard  bearer  like  himself — was  wanted;  and  Joshua 
Soule  was  raised  up.  lIo^v  lie  stood  in  the  breach  then  and  afterward, 
our  history  gratefully  records. 

That  history  records  the  sentitnent  of  ])oth  1820  and 
1844.  Bishop  Marvin  has  stood  reverently  at  that  mauso- 
leum of  the  author  and  expounder  and  official  guardian  of 
the  Constitution.  The  sentiment  survived  in  him — of  Joshua 
Soule  in  1820:  "To  every  man  who  spoke  to  me  on  the 
subject,  previous  to  my  election,  I  unequivocally  declared  my 
entire  adiierence  to  the  old-established  plan,  and  that  I  stood 
or  fell  with  the  Constitution  and  the  government.''''  On  a 
similar  issue  in  1844,  it  was  the  same  spirit  and  the  same 
sentiment:  "  I  will  not  be  immolated  on  a  Northern  altar, 
neither  will  I  be  immolated  on  a  Southern  altar  ;  but  I  take 
my  stand  on  tlie  Constitution  of  the  Church.  If  it  perish, 
I  will  perish  with  it ;  but  it  shall  never  perish,  while  in  my 
power  to  preserve  it." 

The  stout  words  of  these  men  were  not  cheap  sentiment. 
Soule's  pen,  recording  the  first  utterance,  signed  away,  at 
the  time,  an  Episcopal  ordination  ;  tlie  other  cost  reproach 
and  oblo(|uy  in  1844.  That  bcfel  McKendree  in  1820 — a 
peaceable  man,  but  conscientious  and  brave,  "  he  yielded," 
says  his  biographer,  "  everything  but  principle  to  peace." 
In  consequence,  it  is  said,  "  many  hard  things  were  said 
iind  written  against  the  Senior  Bishop.  *  *  The  most 
mortifying  circumstance  was  that  his  motives  were  impugned 
and  the  Discipline  denounced  as  '  anti-ropul)lican,'  *  popish,' 
etc."     It   is    added:   "  A<rainst  such  accusations  he  could 


454  BISHOP    MARVIN, 

not  condescend  to  make  a  public  and  formal  defense  of 
himself."  In  his  journal  he  wrote  of  it :  "  Until  that  time 
I  had,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  confidence  and  affections  of  the 
preachers  generally,  but  after  that  I  had  to  feel  the  effects 
of  an  astonishinsi;  clian2:e.  Old  friends  met  me  with  cool 
indifference,  or  with  retirini:;,  f()rbi(ldini»:  reserve,  and  some- 
times  even  with  rudeness.  j\[y  best-intended  movements 
were  misconstrued — sometimes  converted  into  faults  or 
mairuidcd  to  my  disadvantage  and  to  the  injury  of  the  cause 
which  we  were  mutually  bound  to  su[)port." 

The  O'Kelly  outcry  of  1792  has  had  a  prolonged  echo. 
It  filled  the  ears  of  Asbury  and  McKcndree.  Since  1828  it 
has  had  a  feebler  utterance  ;  but  it  has  not  been  altogether 
silent.  Their  successors  may  not  escape  wholly.  Bishop 
Marvin  did  not.  Meeting  their  fortune,  he  exhibited  the 
virtues  of  illustrious  predecessors — their  firmness  and 
moderation,  their  discretion  and  fortitude  ;  like  them,  sus- 
tained by  conscious  rectitude,  and  more  concerned  about 
personal  integrity  and  ofilcial  fidelity,  than  popular  clamor. 
To  a  com[)any  of  friends  in  Upper  Missouri,  who  Avere 
solicitous  for  him,  and  who  approached  him  to  know  what 
he  proposed  to  do,  he  replied:  "Nothing.  I  shall  take 
care  of  my  character.  My  reputation  will  take  care  of 
itself." 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


IN    TEXAS. 


Episcopal  Residcuce — First  Round  of  Conferences — Indian  Mission  Con- 
ference saved — First  preachin;^ — Funeral  sermon  of  Gov.  Allen — Ante- 
railroad  travel  in  Texas — Oa  t'ae  road — "Charioteers" — "Go  and 
preacli  " — Roadside  Dinner — The  niu;Iit  sojourn — Notes  by  the  way — 
First  sail  on  a  sloop — The  Insurance  A^ent — Texas  sense — Quarterage- 
Bacon — At  Conference — Religious  tone  of  sessions — On  guard  to 
purity  of  tlie  Church — Three  sessions  of  Northwest  Texas — Division 
of  Conferences— Transfers— East  Texas  Conferences — Organized  Col- 
ored Conference— Two  Conferences  held  at  once — The  German  Work 
— Reminiscences  of  War  Itinerary — New  Church  at  Galveston  dedi- 
cated— Texas  Conference — Educational  Work — Publishing  Interests — 
West  Texas  —  Revival  —  First  Conference  pulpit  —  Mexican  Border 
Mission — Hernandez — Missionary  platform — After-Conference  labors 
— Testimonial. 

^JT-HE  Texas  delegations  had  been  most  prominent  and 
^^  active  in  promoting  the  election  of  Bishop  Marvin. 
At  once,  he  was  formally  requested  to  locate  his  home  in 
that  State,  Avith  assurance  of  an  Episcopal  residence  to  be 
provided  for  him  at  whatever  place  he  might  select.  The 
correspondence  on  the  subject  is  highl}^  honorable  to  both 
parties.  The  active  competition  for  the  location  of  his 
residence  in  various  parts  of  the  West  occasioned  him  great 
perplexity.  Acting  under  the  advice  of  Bishop  Andrew, 
he  fixed  it  in  Missouri,  at  St.  Louis,  from  which  numerous 
and  urgent  solicitations  had  come.  In  the  West,  generally, 
there  was  a  felt  want  of  adequate  Episcopal  oversight.  lie 
undertook  to   supply   it,   at  the   cost,   it  will   be   seen,   of 


450  BISHOP  MARVIN, 

extraordinary  personal  privation  and  consuming  labors.  In 
Texas,  his  ministerial  service  extended  over  a  period. of 
about  live  years,  and  his  Episcopal  oversight  during  three 
visitations,  in  Avhich  he  remained  in  the  State  and  traveU'd 
throuirh  the  Conferences  for  five  or  six  months  at  each  visit. 
They  were  embraced  in  his  first  Episcopal  tour  and  assigned 
to  him  in  the  plan  of  Episcopal  visitation  for  two  3^ears 
consecutively,  in  1870-71,  and  1871-72. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  General  Conference,  he 
returned  to  Marshall,  and  continued  in  charge  of  the  Sta- 
tion till  the  first  of  August,  preaching  three  times  on  Sun- 
day— in  the  afternoon,  as  usual  theretofore,  to  the  colored 
people.  The  intervening  time  till  the  sessions  of  the  Con- 
ferences in  the  fall,  he  spent  in  traveling  and  preaching  ; 
everywhere,  it  is  said,  winning  souls  to  Christ. 

His  first  Episcopal  tour  contained  augury  of  the  wonder- 
ful career  he  accomplished — in  administration  and  in  pulpit 
performance  unsurpassed  by  :iny  record  in  his  sul)se(pient 
liistory.  The  Indian  Mission  Conference  was  the  first  over 
which  he  presided.  The  situation  in  that  Conference  and 
liow  he  retrieved  it  make  a  marvelous  record,  unparalleled 
in  his  own  .or  any  other  Episcopal  administration,  except 
that  of  Coke,  the  first  Methodist  Bishop.  The  Missionary 
Board  had  not  been  able  to  make  any  appropriation,  and 
the  people  were  utterly  impoverished  by  the  war.  The  dis- 
bandin"-  of  the  Conference  seemed  inevitable,  and  was 
su'Tf'-ested.  lie  rescued  it.  He  sent  the  preachers  to  their 
Circuits  and  charged  himself  with  their  support,  drawing  on 
himself  for  five  thousand  dollars,  payable  in  quarterly 
installments,  and  traveling  throughout  the  Church  during 
that  year,  collecting  the  money  to  meet  the  drafts.  That 
extraordinary  fact  is  narrated  in  simple  terms  by  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Conference,  Kev.  Young  Ewing : 

I  first  met  I'.ishop  M;u-viii  at  the  session  of  the  Indian  Mission  Con- 
ference held  at  Fort  Gibson,  in  the  Clierolvee  Nation,  Indian  Territory,  in 


IX    TEXAS.  4'7 

the  fall  of  18GG.  lie  informed  the  Conference  that  at  the  mcetin'^  of  the 
Board  in  May,  it  was  ascertained  that  tliey  could  not  do  anything  for  t!ie 
Indian  Mission  Conference  for  another  year,  and  it  was  propojcd  ta  dis- 
continue the  Conference,  upon  wliich  Bishop  Marvin  said,  if  t!ie  Board 
would  allow  hiiu,  he  would  undertake  to  sustain  the  Conference  f  jr  ouo 
year  by  personal  effort,  and  would  raise  five  tliousand  dollars  far  that 
purpose.  And  well  did  he  fulfill  his  promise.  I  may  say  it  is  to  Bishop 
Marvin  that  we  owe  our  existence  as  a  Conference  to-day.  Tliis  act  of 
itself  made  a  lasting;  impression  upon  my  mind.  During  the  deliberations 
of  the  Conference  he  manifested  a  wonderful  interest  in  the  Mission  work. 
He  .seemed  to  take  in  at  a  glance  our  condition  and  wants.  There  was 
also  a  manifest  determination  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  Conference. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  with  hini  about  two  weeks  upon  that 
occasion.  When  the  Conference  adjourned  he  went  with  m3  and  remained 
nearly  a  Aveek  at  mj'  humble  home.  I  can  never  forget  his  visit  at  my 
house;  he  made  himself  so  interesting;  to  my  family  by  his  conversation, 
kind  disposition;  and,  above  all,  his  songs  and  his  praj'ers  still  ring  in  our 
ears  and  impress  our  hearts. 

Ilis  first  year  in  tlic  Episcopacy  was  signalized,  also,  by 
the  most  distinguished  success  in  the  history  of  his  pulpit, 
at  any  time  before  or  subsequently.  It  was  on  the  occasion 
of  the  funeral  obsequies  of  Gov.  Allen  at  Shreveport,  June 
23d,  18()6,  under  the  direction  of  the  municipal  authori- 
ties, by  whom  he  was  invited  to  preach  the  sermon.  The 
Rev.  j\Ir.  Doty  reports  it : 

He  stood  upon  a  taljle  at  a  corner  of  one  of  the  streets  of  the  city  of 
Shreveport,  and  discoursed  to,  perhaps,  five  thousand  persons.  His  theme 
was  the  Resurrection.  The  crowd  stood  nearly  two  hours,  not  being 
aware  of  the  time.  I  never  saw  such  interest  manifested  by  such  an 
assemblage.  The  sun  poured  down  intense  rays  until  it  was  almost 
scorching  lieat,  but  all  were  silent  as  eternity.  Youth,  mature  age,  and 
hoary  heads,  stood  in  breathless  silence,  as  the  man  of  God  pictured  the 
last  day  and  the  gi-eat  throng  meeting  the  Lord  in  the  air.  I  have  heard  Bas- 
com  iu  his  prime ;  Pierce  in  his  happiest  efforts;  Munsey  in  his  unexam- 
pled combination  of  logic  and  fancy;  and  Beecher  in  his  happiest  efforts; 
but  for  power  and  effect,  this,  effort  exceeded  them  all.  The  hardest 
hearts  were  softened ;  the  dryest  eye  moistened.  The  feeling  was  intense 
and  general,  extending  to  the  outskirts  of  the  great  multitude.  There  was 
something  in  his  voice  tliat  was  pathos  itself. 

The  travel  of  Bishop  Marvin  in  Texas  antedated  the 
railroad  period  in  that  State.  "  The  horse,"  he  said,  "  was 
still    a    Methodist    institution."     The   preachers    came    to 


453  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Conference  on  horseback  and  in  buij^s^ies  and  carriajies.  He 
relished  the  scene  and  his  own  participation  in  it.  That 
was  the  manner  of  his  own  travel — conveyed  from  Confer- 
ence to  Conference  by  tlie  brethren.  Their  courteous  atten- 
tion he  has  warmly  acknowledged,  and  chronicled  their 
skill  as  charioteers — so  he  called  them  ;  not  omitting  pane- 
gyric of  the  good  team,  which,  he  said,  a  Methodist  travel- 
ing preacher  ought  to  have,  and,  if  he  can,  "will  have. 
Even  McLean's  mules  arc  made  historical ;  the  best  of 
mules,  he  wrote,  but  said,  also:  <'Is  a  mule  as  good  as  a 
horse?  No  !  "  On  an  occasion,  other  than  in  Texas  trav- 
els, he  made  a  charioteer  glad,  Init  only  for  a  moment^ 
with  the  compliment:  "You  are  the  best  driver  I  ever 
knew;"  adding,  "  you  can  hit  every  stump  in  the  road." 
Graves,  of  Texas,  had  a  similar  but  sober  compliment, 
which,  however,  he  credited  to  his  si)an  of  horses — "the 
best  I  ever  drew  a  line  over."  At  places  the  road  had 
been  badly  washed  by  the  rains,  with  deep  gulches  on  either 
side,  and  only  a  few  inches  for  the  wheels  to  phiy  on.  The 
Bishop'  was  nervous,  in  spite  of  Graves'  protest  that  he 
could  keep  the  track,  and  had  jumped  out  of  the  buggy 
twi(;e,  into  mud  half  way  up  to  his  boot-tops.  After  the 
adjournment  of  the  District  Conference,  as  he  took  his  seat 
in  the  buggy,  he  said  to  the  bystanders  :  "  I'll  keep  my  seat 
hereafter  with  Graves,  as  driver ;  he  can  go  just  where  he 
says  he  can." 

Incidents  of  travel  abound  in  his  Texas  Itinerancy,  in 
1870  and  1871 ,  which  he  communicated  at  the  time  to  the 
columns  of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  to  which 
credit  is  herebv  srivcn  for  much  of  the  matter  of  this  chap- 
tcr.  Ilis  letters  serve  the  uses  and  have  the  value  of  a 
diary.  On  the  road  occupies  a  large  space — much  of  local 
and  transient  interest,  but  much,  also,  containing  interest- 
ing passao-es  in  his  history,  and  furnishing  indices  of  per- 
sonal and  official  character. 


IN   TEXAS.  4^)0 

One  of  the  Texas  preachers  was  his  traveling  companion 
from  St.  Louis  to  Texas,  in  1870.  He  went  as  a  transfer, 
then  a  young  man  ;  in  St.  Louis,  taken  to  the  Bishoi)'s 
house,  and  to  accommodate  the  straightened  pecuniary 
circumstances  of  the  young  preacher,  he  changed  liis  route 
of  travel,  after  having  procured  his  own  tickets.  The 
preacher  tells  at  large  of  the  singular  kindness*  of  the 
Bishop,  and  how  the  accommodation  to  him  occasioned 
delay  at  Fort  Smith — detained  there  for  twenty-four  hours, 
among  drunken  Lidians,  in  a  leaky  old  house,  Avitli  i)oor 
fare  and  intolerable  beds,  and,  worse  than  all,  the  pros[)ect 
of  missing  his  appointment  at  Sherman.  The  young  man 
was  distressed.  The  Bishop  comforted  him,  ])ut  did  not 
spare  the  railroad  officials. 

Bishop  McTyeire  has  said  that  he  had  never  known  him 
to  exhibit  petulance  but  once,  and  that  was  impatience  at  a 
friendly  chiding  about  his  over-work.  By  the  failure  to 
reach  his  appointment  at  Sherman,  at  least,  he  was  mu-'h 
put  out. 

I  was  gi'osslj'  cleceivocl  by  the  advertisements  and  by  private  state- 
ments of  tlie  representatives  of  tlie  line  of  travel  to  Sherman,  Texas,  via 
Pierce  City  and  Fort  Smith.  Woe  to  the  traveler  who  has  important 
engagements  to  meet  and  depend-;  on  their  statements.  He  will  inevitably 
snffer  for  it.  To  be  deceived  by  ailvertisements  is  bad  cnoujjh,  but  when 
you  apply  to  officers  of  railroad  and  stage  cjaipauies,  anil  can  gjt  n  j  truth 
out  of  them,  and  are  thereby  involved  in  trouble  and  grave  embarrassment, 
it  is  a  great  trial  of  your  patience. 

It  is  a  fatiguing  trip.  But  that  I  was  prepared  for,  and  make  no  com- 
plaint except  tliat  I  was  deceived  as  to  time,  so  tliat  instead  of  reaching 
Sherman  on  Saturday  morning,  as  I  was  promised,  it  was  one  o'clock  v.  m. 
on  Sunday  when  I  arrived.  Thus  I  was  involved  unwittingly  aud  unwil- 
lingly.iu  Sunday  traveling,  and  also  missed  my  appointment. 

It  has  been  said  that,  in  all  his  itinerary  from  Ocean  to 
Ocean,  and  from  the  Gulf  to  the  INIountains,  there  is  note 
of  only  four  instances  of  failure  to  meet  appointments — 
three  of  them  in  Texas,  in  week  night  appointments  at  Bas- 
trop and  La<rrani2:e  and  a  day  late   at  the  session   of  the 


400  BISHOP  MAiivix. 

Trinity  Conference  at  Sherman,  in  1871.  There  are  several 
solutions  how  he  contrived  to  be  so  uniformly  punctual — 
one,  a  simple  solution,  is  furnished  in  his  hard  travel,  in 
1870,  from  Sherman  to  the  seat  of  the  Trinity  Conference 
at  Jefferson. 

The  history  of  Monday  and  Tuesday  is  soon  given,  llain  and  mud, 
witli  their 'incidents,  give  the  whole  story.  Oar  road  was  soft  and  the 
load  so  lieavy  that  on  Tui'sday  ni^■ht  dark  fell  upon  us  ten  miles  short  of 
Jefferson,  the  seat  of  the  present  session  of  Trinity  (JonfiTence,  which 
was  to  convene  on  Wednesday  morning  at  nine  o'clock.  Our  team  was 
thoroughly  jaded  and  the  night  so  dark  as  to  put  traveling  out  of  the 
qui-stion.  Yet  we  had  ten  miles  of  mud  to  make,  at  the  rate  of  two  and  a 
half  to  tlu-ee  miles  an  hour.  A  gracious  Providence  put  us  with  an  excel- 
lent Methodist  family,  who  permitted  me  to  arouse  them  at  three  o'clock, 
and  the  good  sister  gave  us  coffee  a  little  after  four.  By  a  few  minutes 
after  five  we  were  on  the  road.  A  waning  moon  beyond  the  clouds  miti- 
gated tlie  darkness  for  us,  day  soon  dawned,  and  energetic  driving  brought 
us  to  town  by  half-past  eight.  Thanks  to  a  merciful  Providence  and  to 
kind  friends. 

The  line  of  travel  from  Conference  to  Conference  was 
marked  by  appointments  to  preach.     In  1870  the  weather 
was  extremely  cold.      "I  should  call   it  winter,"   he  said, 
*'in  Missouri."      At  the  East  Texas   Conference   he   con- 
tracted a  severe  cold,  from  which  he  suffered  much  pain, 
causing,  he  said,  oppression  upon  the  lungs  beyond  meas- 
ure, and  producing  great  hoarseness.     lie  was  entirely  dis- 
abled   by   it   from    ap[)earing    in    the    pulpit   one   Sunday.. 
Nevertheless,  he  undertook  to   fill  the  pulpit  at  the  week- 
night  appointments  made  for  him  along  his  route  of  travel. 
These  occasions  arc  too  numerous  for  particular  mention, 
ranging  from  three  to   five  times  a  week,  ending  a  day's 
travel  of  thirty  or  forty  miles  with  a  sermon  at  night.  •    On 
the  travel  with  Rev.  J.  M,  Binckly  from  Sherman  to  Jeffer- 
son, one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  is  a  specimen  of  the 
customary  week's  work  in  his  Texas  tours,  holding  for  him 
two  Quarterly  INIeetings  on  week  days,  at  Kentucky  Town 
and  Ilarrcl's  Chapel ;  at  the  latter  place  preaching  twice, 


IN    TEXAS. 


4G1 


and  twice  on  Sundiiy  at  Sulphur  Springs,  with  an  address 
en  Saturday  at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  a  Church 
at  Greenville. 

Notes  by  the  Way  are  voluminous  and  various — grave 
and  gay,  full  of  humor  or  full  of  pathos  ;  all  of  them  a  re- 
flex of  the  man.     There  is  frequent  mention  of  the  roadside 
dinner — the  following!:,  one  of  the  most  notable  :   "  The  Con- 
ference  at  Waxahachie  closed  on  Monday  night.     Tuesday 
morning  I  started  for  San  Mtircos,  to  meet  the  West  Texas 
Conference.     For  two   days  I  traveled  with  Brother  Car- 
penter.    L.  B.  Whipple  and  11.  J.   Perry  and  their  wives 
were  of  our  party  to  Waco.     At  noon  we  stopped  for  lunch. 
The  first  thing  I  knew  a  fire  was  kindled,  and  three  coffee- 
pots were  i)roduced,  one  out  of  each  carriage.     AVe  had  a 
most  abundant  Texas  lunch.     All  sorts  of  good  things  came 
out  of  the  lunch  boxes.     The  occasion  was  delightful.     A 
fine  flow  of  feeling  produced  a  fine  flow  of  chat.     There 
-were  just  enough  to  make  a  party.     Sam  (Brother)  Hutson 
drove  up  with  his  family  and  accepted  our  hospitality.    The 
three  coffee-pots  and  the  three  provision  boxes  were  fully 
equal  to  the  demand  upon  them.     Eight  men  and  women 
and  three  hunirrv  boys  were  abundantly  fed  in  the  wilder- 
ness  (it  a  prairie  may  be  called  a  wilderness)."     At  his 
lodiring-place  that  night.    Bishop    Marvin    a[)[)ears    in   the 
midst  of  the  preachers  in  an  attitude,  which  will  be  recog- 
nized  all  over  the  connection — in  the  zest  and  charm  of 
social  intercourse.     Brother  Davis,  a  Scotchman,  -was  noti- 
fied that   the    Bishop  would  be  at  his  house  on  Tuesday 
niiiht,    and    Carpenter,    the    charioteer   on   the   occasion, 
insisted  upon    making  the  appointment  good,   though  the 
Bishop  saw  that  the  accumulating  crowd  to   stop    at  the 
house  would  overwhelm  the  host,  and  proposed  to  stop  a 
mile    short   at  another  house.     At  this  point  our  extract 
begins  : 

At  about  sunset  we  piled  in  upon  our  host. 


402  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

But  poor  Graves !  we  had  out-traveled  him,  and  whcu  he  drove  up  no 
persuasion  couhl  convince  our  landlady  of  the  possibility  of  making  room 
for  another  soul.  We  were  sorry  for  Brother  Graves,  and  more  especially 
for  his  wife  and  babies.  But  there  was  no  help  for  it.  Tliey  had  to  seek 
refuge  in  a  little  cabin  off  the  road,  where  they  were  hospitably  received; 
Graves  and  his  host  sleeping  in  the  cotton  pen,  and  giving  up  the  cabin  to 
the  ladies. 

For  the  rest  of  us  we  had  about  as  pleasant  and  social  a  crowd  as  ever 
fell  together  on  the  return  from  Conference.  Tiiere  was  Perry  ahd  his 
wife,  Whipple  and  his  wife  and  little  son.  King,  Peeler,  Carpenter,  and 
" the  undersigned."  There  was  much  talk — talk  about  Texas;  about  the 
Indians  and  the  early  times;  about  camping  out;  about  wolves  and  rob- 
bers; about  last  year's  work  and  next  year's  prospect;  about  quarterage 
and  missionary  money;  about  the  railroads  and  the  new  conditions  arising 
in  Texas;  about  class-meeting,  pastorallabors  and  conversions;  about 
promising  J'oung  men  coming  on  in  the  Conference ;  about  transfers  and  a 
liundred  things.  Thus  we  sat  ai'ound  a  blazing  Are,  conversed  and 
enjoyed  fellowship  of  saints. 

After  prayers  the  ladies  retired  to  their  room,  and  three  beds  in  the 
sitting-room  were  prepared  for  seven  of  us.  Then  came  more  talking,  in 
which  it  came  to  liglit  tliat  Peeler  was  inventing  another  plow.  The 
quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars  he  made  on  his  hrst  iuvention  is  all  gone, 
except  some  three  thousand  acres  of  Milan  County  lands.  These  are  not 
very  salable  now,  being  remote  from  timber,  though  they  are  of  the  rich- 
est, and  some  day  Avill  be  valuable.  All  the  rest  of  his  property  the  Avar 
swept  away.  So  he  is  inventing  another  plow.  By  the  Avay,  he  offers  a 
thousand  acres  of  land  to  any  Bishop  who  will  move  to  Texas. 

Besides  our  crowd,  two  other  travelers  spent  the  niglit  here,  having 
got  in  ahead  of  us.  One  of  them  was  a  Bell  County  planter,  and  the  other 
a  civil  engineer,  engaged  in  railroad  surveys  in  Texas.  He  Avas  about  the 
civilest  engineer  I  ever  encountered.  He  had  just  Avhisky  enough  on 
board  to  make  him  obtrusively  and  pertinaciously  polite.  Our  host,  how- 
ever, soon  got  him  into  another  room,  and  he  Avent  to  bed  early,  greatly 
to  our  relief. 

His  narriitivc  is  spiced  with  some  amusing  anecdotes. 
In  his  first  traA'el  on  a  sailing  craft,  from  Corpus  Christi  to 
Indianola,  he  gives  the  following  note  from  his  log-book: 

It  is  well  enough  to  make  a  trip  by  schooner  once  in  a  lifetime,  just  to 
see  Avhat  the  thing  is,  but  1  should  advise  no  man  to  make  a  business  of 
it,  unless  business  made  it  necessary.  There  are  no  accommodations  on 
board;  everything  is  in  close  quarters.  The  Captain,  one  sailor  (I  sup- 
pose he  might  be  called  the  mate),  and  a  cook  constitute  the  crew  of  one 
of  these  vessels.     There  are  four  bunks  for  sleeping,  intended  to  accom- 


IN    TEXAS.  4G3 

moflate  two  men  ai)iec('.  The  kitchen  is  not  over  four  feet  from  floor  to 
ceiling.  The  cook  is  literally  a  aqiiatter,  an  1  I  suoposo  lii.s  authority  ia  tlie 
kitchen  is  supreme,  so  that  he  furnishes  a  striking  example  of  squatter  sdv- 
ereiijiity.  Over  tlie  kitclien  is  a  hatchway,  whicli  in  open  ex'cept  in  foul 
weather.     Through  this  the  squatter  straii^htens  himself  up  occasioailly. 

The  men  knew  that  I  was  a  preaclier,  and  on  thj  first  day  the  "  mate  " 
seemed  disposed  to  "  sliow  off."  lie  evidently  trijd  tj  say  the  most 
wicked  thinijjs  in  the  most  wicked  way.  Bat  he  overplayed  his  part,  aa  J  a 
reaction  followed.  Oa  tlio  next  day  he  was  evidently  ashamed  of  himself, 
And  took  a  good  deal  of  pains  to  show  ma  polite  attention,  aa  J  forebore 
all  profanity  in  my  presence. 

My  fellow-passenirers  for  tlie  greater  part  of  the  way  were  negroes. 
There  was  a  m.in  aa  1  hi  s  wife  with  t'arje  caildrja,  aal  f.vj  ol^ajr  mja. 
One  of  these,  a  light  malatto,  hi  I  raa  oa  schooajri  a  gjj  1  dj  il.  T.iis 
man  was  the  oracle  of  th3  party;  thj  ofca3r  j  W3rj  o  i  sali  wiijr  f  jr  t'xi  li.-^t 
time.  The  deference  they  paid  to  his  wi^da.n  Avaj  "bjaatifal  tD  soo." 
The  other  \vas  a  young  maa,  of  pjrhapj  twja:;y  oi  twjai^'-oaj  yjiri,  aad 
as  black  as  cliarcoal.  Hj  camj  tj  im  sooa  after  W3  g  )t  a.l  jit,  a  i  I  spjlia 
very  politely.  "Parson,"  said  he,  "is  yra  gwiaj  to  C.)rpa5  CaristI?" 
Upon  my  answering  affirmatively:   "Dat'siu  my  tirais,  too,"  he  added. 

On  a  Gulf  steamer  from  Galveston  to  New  Orleans,  he 
encountered  an  Insurance  Agent,  or,  rather,  the  agent 
fastened  himself  on  to  the  Bishop,  who  narrates  his  part  in 
the  scene  in  the  followino;  extract: 

In  two  or  three  instances,  I  think  I  sat  throe  or  four  lioars  just  saying 
No.  Perhaps  It  was  not  so  loag  as  it  seems  to  me  to  have  been. 
Possibly  it  was  not  more  than  aa  hour,  perhaps  nat  half  aa  hoar,  bit  it 
seemed  to  me  a  long  time.  I  think,  upon  reflection,  it  mast  have  bjca 
four  hours.  Daring  all  that  timj  I  only  said  "Xo."  I  attempted  no  jasti- 
lication  of  myself  against  the  wrong-headedaess  aad  wr ong-aeartedaoss  of 
my  course.  I  admitted  nothing,  denied  nothing,  bat  just  said,  every  time 
the  point  of  issuing  me  a  policy  was  reached,  "  No."  I  said  it  quietly,  bat 
I  said  it.  I  And  it  does  not  do  well  to  pat  too  much  force  iato  your  nega- 
tive, if  j-ou  are  likely  to  have  to  maintain  it  loag.  If  you  have  to  say  no 
■against  a  forty-liorse-agent  power  for  four  hours  at  a  stretch,  just  placo 
yourself  well  and  be  quiet.  Waste  no  strength  in  argument.  Say  nothing 
but  the  invlncil)le  word.  No.  Say  it  calmly,  bat  decisively.  Never  fal- 
ter. If  j'ou  find  yourself  about  to  falter,  ran  for  dear  life,  like  Joseph 
from  Potiphar's  house;  run,  if  you  have  to  leave  your  coat  behind  you. 
Once  you  begin  to  waver,  your  only  safety  is  in  your  heels. 

I  made  up  my  mind  several  years  ago  to  these  three  negative  things : 
First,  never  to  allow  a  peddler  to  open  his  budget,  or  even  lay  it  down,  ia 
my  house;  secondly,  never  to  subscribe  for  a  book  that  is  to  bo  published. 


^,  *  'r  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

nor  for  anytliinii  else  tliut  I  havo  not  seen;  thirdly,  never  to  insure  my  life. 
I  have  positive  ideas,  and  have  reached  positive  negatives,  on  these  points. 
I  pity  the  man  \\  ho  docs  not  know  liimsclf  in  the  presence  of  the  agent.  I 
advise  him  at  once  to  take  to  flight,  unless  he  is  well  assured  of  his  power 
to  say,  No. 

In  one  of  bis  letters,  is  a  homily  on  "Texas  sense,'' 
which  he  duly  lauds  for  practical  -wisdom — overdone,  some- 
times, he  must  have  thought,  as  illustrated  in  an  anecdote 
he  picked  up,  and  Avhich  he  used  to  relate  with  the  mingled 
humor  and  indignation,  ^vhicll  appear  in  the  printed  narra- 
tive, in  which  he  first  told  it  : 

I  must  tell  you  that,  first  and  last,  I  liave  learned  "  a  right  smart  "  in 
Texas.  Among  other  things  I  have  gained  some  information  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religious  economy.  For  instance,  it  was  a  Texan,  who,  during  the 
war,  when  Confederate  money  went  down  to  twenty  for  one,  consoled 
M:n3clf  tliat,  at  any  rate,  it  was  good  for  one  thing — it  looiild 2)a>J  the 
preacher.  On  this  trip  I  liave  met  with  another  case  which  is  too  rich  to 
remain  in  obscurity.  I  am  assured  by  several  credible  Avitnesscs  that  it 
occurred  literally  as  follows  : 

A  Steward  in  one  of  the  best  Circuits  in  the  West  Texas  Conference 
contributed,  as  ciuartcrage,  one  hundred  pounds  of  l)acon.  Now,  bacon 
w;i3  ten  cents  a  pound,  but  at  tlie  (luarterly  meeting  the  brother  brought  in 
his  bill,  charging  fifteen  cents.  Objection  was  made  to  the  price.  The 
brother  acknowledged  that  if  he  had  taken  his  bacon  to  town  he  would  not 
have  thought  of  asking  above  ten  cents  for  it.  Upon  being  asked  Avliy  he 
charged  the  preacher  more  than  the  market  price,  he  gave,  in  all  simplicitj'' 
and  seriousness,  this  reply — that  all  he  gave  to  the  Church  was  exactly  so 
much  treasure  laid  vp  in  heaven.  It  was  important  to  put  his  bacon  at  a 
big  price  that  it  might  swell  that  account  as  much  as  possible.  I  gave  it 
up.     This  exceeded  any  case  I  ever  heard  of  in  Missouri. 

•  To  augment  one's  treasure  in  heaven  by  a  sharp  transaction  with  the 
preacher  was  a  bran  new  operation.  The  preacher  was  to  be  fleeced  that 
this  dear  brother  might  be  rich  in  eternity.  He  is  quite  a  prosperous 
planter,  and  they  say  his  account  in  heaven  is  small — uncommonly  so  for  a 
Church  member  of  his  means.  He  feels  the  importance  of  making  a  little 
go  a  good  way. 

How  this  species  of  thrift  may  prosper  in  the  matter  of  heavenly  treas- 
ure I  shall  not  undertake  to  surmise.  But  I  can  imagine  I  sec  the  old 
brother  stand  by,  in  the  great  day,  when  his  account  shall  undergo  revis- 
ion, and  insist  upon  the  full  credit  for  fifteen  cents  a  pound.  Will  it  be 
allov.-cd? 

Vrcll,  well,  Bishop  Andrew  says  that  human  nature  is  a  great  rascal, 
any  how. 


IX   TEXAS.  4G5 

Tlio  fir.^t  session  of  a  Texas  Conference  over  Avhicli 
Bisliop  ]\Iarvin  presided,  Avas  at  the  Northwest  Texas  Con- 
ference. It  was  signalized  by  a  remarkable  revival  of 
religion.  From  the  lirst,  what  characterized  his  Conference 
Presidency  throughout  its  history,  he  sought  to  make  the 
session  a  season  of  grace.  He  stressed  tliat  point  in  his 
talk  from  the  chair,  in  his  prayers,  and  by  the  exam- 
ple of  liis  own  pulpit  ministrations  and  attendance  on  special 
devotional  exercises.  Notwithstandinsr  the  burdens  of 
office,  he  was  present  at  the  early  morning  prayer-meeting, 
and  was  rareh',  if  ever,  absent  from  the  Conference  love- 
feast.  An  elevated  spiritual  tone  of  the  Conference  was 
promoted  and  enjoyed  by  him.  It  appeared  and  often  had 
peculiar  expression  during  the  routine  of  Conference  busi- 
ness. In  an  account  of  the  East  Texas  Conference,  at  its" 
session  in  1870,  he  Avrote  :  "  The  preachers  seem  to  me  to 
be  consecrated  men.  An  excellent  tone  of  feeling  is  preva- 
lent in  the  business  sessions  and  in  the  public  asseml)lies. 
The  brethren  arc  praying  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  during  the  session.  I  feel  that  God  is  near.  His 
presence  hovers  about  us.  It  is  good  to  be  here.  The 
gracious  assurance,  '  Lo  !  I  am  Avith  3'ou,'  has  fullillmcnt 
even  here.  He  is  faithful  that  promised."  In  similar  terms 
he  speaks  of  the  West  Texas  Conference,  in  the  same  j'ear: 
"  Tlie  Si)irit  of  God  Avas  on  the  Conference.  '  Odors  of 
Eden'  lilled  the  very  atmosphere.  The  business  was 
transacted  with  a  sense  of  the  overllowing  love  of  God.  'It 
was  good  to  be  there.'  " 

It  so  happened,  in  1870,  that  his  attention  was  directed 
by  extraordinary  circumstances  to  the  subject  of  the  purity 
of  the  Church  and  the  necessity  of  a  pastorate,  itself  spirit- 
ual, and  fearless  and  faithful  to  acquit  itself  of  responsi- 
bility in  the  care  and  culture  of  the  Church.  He  had  read 
in  a  New  Orleans  newspaper  of  a  raffle  and  even  a  horse- 
race, to  raise  money  at  a  Catholic  Church  festival.  At  Aus- 
30 


4G6  BISHOP  MAllVIN. 

tin  he  learned  the  cert:iiiity  of  the  notorious   "  St.  Dav-d's 

Hops;"   a  resort  to  the    revel    of    t.ie   h.ill-roo  .1    for   tae 

Ixmetit  of  un  Episco[)ali;in  Churcli  of  timt  name  at  the  State 

Capital.     It  eanie  nearer  to   liim  a:i  I  [)oigiiantly,  when  he 

Ii  Mrd  tliat  preachers,  some  in  each  of  two  Conferences,  had 

a  .ended  the  circus.     Another  i)feacli  r  had  come  to  him 

Vi'ith  the  candid  confession  of  having  1  )st s[)irituality.  These 

in.'idents  became  the  occasion   of  the  most  severe  rchuke 

and  most  solicitous  and  faithful   udmonii.on  known  to  the 

history  of  his  pastorsliip  of  the  preachei-s,  the   trm})er  and 

tenor    of    which     may     be    gathered    fi'om    the    following 

extracts  : 

There  were  many  revivals  in  tliis  Conferenci'  la-<t  j'car,  sonio  of  tluin 
very  i'xtensiv(!.  'i  he  preachers,  for  the  lu  i-t  p  ir  ,  uro  d  v)tid  m  n. 
^  any  of  them  are  111.11  of  deep  experience  i.i  l.i  i  i.iiuis  of  G  1.  T.i  re 
"was  one,  li.  wever,  a  sincere  a. id  eaiuest  niau,  \v,i  >  c  niolaiiu  il  t^)  me  of  a 
lo-s  of  ispii'ituality  since  the  earlier  years  oi  his  111  n..si  i_v.  Al  !  i... it  this 
should  ever  be  so,  <  specially  in  the  ca>e  of  a  man  who  m;iii>  >  rs  m  lio  y 
things.  How  shall  he  fei  d  the  floclv  if  he  hiiiisi  If  be  unlet,?.  Oa!  i.  r  t..e 
power  of  the  Hi  ly  Ghost  upon  the  life  of  tlie  m  nistry.  We  inu  L  be  holy. 
We  must  not  only  preacli  holiness,  but  experience  aiitl  1  \e  it.  Jtlr.  .  esley 
■would  never  have  done  a  great  work  just  by  pnaching  holiness.  The 
power  of  his  preaching  was  in  his  own  character.     So  it  will  ever  be. 

The  other  extract  is  a  more  painful  and  an  indignant 
remonstrance : 

I  have  encountered  one  thing  here  which  is,  I  believe,  without  prece- 
dent in  the  history  of  traveling  preacliers.  Two  members  of  the  Conier- 
ence  had  been  to  the  circus.  I  write  this  willi  hesitation.  But  it  is  a 
fact.  Indeed,  one  of  them  was  quite  an  old  minister,  a  man  of  high 
stiinding.  I  was  amazed.  The  fact  is,  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of 
loo  cness  in  this  particular.  The  m  mbers,  and,  perhaps,  even  local 
preachers,  had  been  attending  circuses  in  this  country  with  impunity, 
until  the  demoralization  had  reached  the  pitch  indicatetl  in  the  fact  which 
i  have  named. 

The  Conference  did  what  seemed  to  it  necessary  to  recover  the 
Church  from  this  malady  of  worldliness.  It  was  sad  to  see  a  man  of 
gray  hairs  called  to  account  in  the  Conference  for  going  to  the  circus. 
But  the  deed  had  been  done,  and  the  Conference  could  not  overlook  so 
gravoan  irregularily.  I  hope  never,  while  my  head  is  warm,  I0  Ik  ar  of 
another  Methndis/  prtstur  so  ia,r  forgciiiug  ali  the  proprieties  of  his  char- 
acter and  position. 


IN    TEXAS.  4G7 

But  what  caused  mu  the  i>rofoun(lest  grief  was  the  information  tliat 
Teachrd  uie  afterward,  tliat  at  tlie  Trinity  Conference  tliis  very  offense 
had  boea  wiulied  at.  I  lieard  nothing  of  it  wliile  I  was  tliere,  or  it 
would  not  have  been  passed  over  in  silence. 

Tiiese  cases  are  tlie  more  notewortliy  and  aggravated,  occurring  as 
they  did,  so  soon  after  the  si)lemn  deliverance  of  the  General  Conference 
on  this  subject.  This  Supreme  Council  of  the  Church,  by  vote,  consti- 
tuted the  Bishops  its  orgin  to  give  an  authoritative  utterance  against 
"fashional)le  aud  worldly  pleasures."  The  Pastoral  Address  thus  put 
forlh  placed  the  circus  in  the  category  of  "  such  diversions  as  canniit  be 
taken  lathe  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  And  now  these  reverend  Elders 
in  the  Church  of  God,  who  have  been  bound  twice  by  sdemn  ordination 
vows  "reverently  to  obey  those  to  wh  in  the  charge  and  government 
over  them  is  committed,  following  with  a  glad  mind  and  will  their  godly 
admonitions,"  deliberately  contemn  the  voice  of  their  chief  pastor.s— the 
voice  not  only  of  tluir  Bishops,  but  of  the  General  Ctmference.  The 
measure  of  guilt  involved  in  the  violation  of  ordination  vows  I  will  not 
undertake  to  determine.  F>roue,  I  should  hesitate  lon^  before  I  could 
lake  the  sacraments  of  religion  at  the  hnnds  of  those  who  have  done  ii. 

Is  the  flock  to  be  fed  by  such  shepherds?  Is  Christian  character 
among  us  to  be  formed  by  such  teachers  and  exemplars  of  it?  Surely  this 
€vil  can  proceed  no  further. 

Two  sessions  of  the  Northwest  Texas  Conference  were 
held  by  him  at  AVaxahatchie,  the  seat  of  a  Conference 
school,  bearing  his  name — Marvin  College.  The  third  was 
held  at  Corsicana,  of  which,  he  says,  it  was  a  most  delight- 
ful session  in  every  respect.  The  Chairman  of  its  delega- 
tion at  the  late  General  Conference,  rei)orting  his  labors  in 
Texas,  says,  in  the  concluding  paragraph:  "He  presided 
three  times  over  the  Conference  of  which  I  am  a  member, 
and  I  hesitate  not  to  give  it  as  the  voice  of  my  Conference, 
that  he  sustained  himself  admirably,  in  the  chair,  in  the 
cabinet,  and  in  the  pulpit.  I  esteem  it  as  a  favor  from  God 
that  I  have  been  blessed  with  his  company  and  counsel,  and 
the  Church  with  his  labors.  When  shall  we  see  his  like 
iigain?" 

At  its  session  in  186(i,  the  East  Texas  Conference,  under 
authority  from  the  General  Conference,  divided  itself — 
greatly,  says  Bishop  Marvin,  against  my  views.  He 
instances  the  division  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  in  1870, 


4G8  BISIIOr  MARVIN. 

as  11  panillel  example  of  the  evil  of  too  great  haste  in 
dividing  Conferences.  In  the  division  iu  Texas,  the  Trinity 
Conference  got,  he  says,  the  lion's  share,  leaving  to  the 
other  Conference  the  old  name  and  most  of  the  hard  condi- 
lions  and  impracticable  territory.  In  the  work  of  the  Con- 
ference there  is  faithful  and  self-sacrificing  effort,  but 
necessarily  a  feeble  movement  and  meager  results.  He 
reports  the  stationing  work,  especially,  as  exceedingly  per- 
l)lexed  ;  put  to  it,  is  his  word,  to  supply  principal  places ; 
greatly  in  need  of  transfers,  and  having  them,  but  not  of  a 
kind  to  relieve,  but  to  embarrass  the  situation. 

Texas  does  not  get  the  character  of  transfers  she  needs.  Very  good 
men  come,  but  in  most  cases  they  are  too  old,  and  have  heavy  families. 
Tiie  question  of  support  for  Iarj;j  families  in  this  new  country  ii  a  very 
grave  one.  When  a  transfer  is  announced,  with  elc^ht  or  ten  ombarrass- 
in„'  clrcwmtanc-.s  on  his  han.ls,  t\\i  appointiu'^  olfijer  of  the  Conference  is 
in  hot  water  at  once,  and  the  transfer  himself  is  fortunate  if  he  does  not 
fi.id  himself  in  hot  water  in  a  short  time. 

Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  known  to  all  who  have 
sat  with  him  in  the  stationing-rooiu,  what  a  strain  there  was 
upon  his  sensibilities,  and  how  acute  his  sympathies — what 
he  himself  has  disclosed  of  it,  at  the  Conference  hehl  at  Car- 
tha^rc,  in  1870:  "  In  the  stationing  work  I  gave  due  atten- 
tion  to  every  doul)tful  case,  and  decided  everything  with 
deliberation  and  prayer.  I  hc^ard  of  but  one  brother 
afflicted  in  his  appointment,  and  he  did  not  complain  in  any 
Lad  spirit.  I  trust  the  Lord  will  greatly  bless  him  in  his 
i\ork  this  year." 

A  prominent  measure  of  his  administration  at  the  Car- 
thage Conference  was  the  organization  of  a  Colored  Confer- 
ence, composed  of  twenty  members,  of  good  material,  who 
had  done  good  work,  and  starting  off  well,  as  a  se[)arate 
Conference.  On  this  occasion  it  came  to  his  knowledge. 
Low  in  Texas,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  Connection,  the  dis- 
integration and  absori)tion  \)o\'wy  of  some  of  the  IVi^hops  of 
the  xM.  i^.  Church  was  in  operation— among  the  negroes,  he 


IN    TEXAS.  4f^0 

notes  it,  as  an  alliance  with  political  reconstruction  and  in 
active  i)olitical  partisanship.  It  is  known,  hoNV  in  his  cor- 
respondence, at  the  time,  that  policy  and  its  perverse  meth- 
ods were  thoroughly  exposed,  and  with  scathing  rebuke. 
Among  the  Germans  it  was  prosecuted,  and  prospered  by 
the  aid  of  a  rich  Missionary  treasury.  The  German  preach- 
ers, who  were  corrupted  and  went  off,  were  called  by  those 
that  remained  by  the  soubriquet,  "  Greenback  preachers." 
Eeal  injury  was  inflicted  on  the  German  work — some  of  the 
Circuits  badly  disorganized.  In  his  two  visits  in  1870  and 
in  1S71,  he  bestowed  much  attention  on  it,  and  it  will  not 
be  forgotten  by  the  devoted  men,  who  stood  incorrupt  and 
faithful,  how  they  were  helped  and  enheartened  by  him  in 
dark  days  of  trial  and  poverty. 

His  visits  at  the  East  Texas  Conference  were  of  jji-eat 
personal  interest.  On  his  first  visit  it  was  held  at  Marshall ; 
and  on  the  second,  he  took  his  old  station  in  the  route  of 
travel  to  Cartha^re,  of  which  he  makes  the  folio  wins:  inter- 
esting  mention  : 

At  Marshall  I  spent  several  daj's  in  delightful  intercourse  with  old 
ifriends.  I  have  great  cause  of  affection  toward  the  people  of  this  place. 
It  was  my  first  home  after  tlie  war.  Just  at  the  time  of  the  "break-up" 
I  landed  here  with  my  family.  Everything  was  in  confusion.  Labor  was 
disorganized.  The  future  was  gloomy.  The  prospects  of  the  country 
were  forbidding.  Yet,  from  the  moment  I  took  charge  of  tlie  Church  all 
the  wants  of  my  family  were  met,  and  we  have  never  had  a  more  comfort- 
able support  than  we  had  at  Marshall.  It  was  a  great  treat  to  meet  them 
once  more. 

It  was  a  Quarterly  Meeting  occasion  ;  and  at  his  two 
sermons  he  was  greeted  with  crowded  congregations,  and 
had  fruits  of  his  pulpit  ministry,  and  a  pleasant  hour  with 
the  Sabbath-school  children.  He  had  similar  pleasure  in 
his  visit  to  Jefferson,  in  1S70,  at  the  session  of  the  Trinity 
Conference,  which  he  speaks  of  as  the  most  delightful  he 
had  ever  attended.  He  was  the  ijucst  of  his  jjood  friend, 
John  C.  Murphy,  whose   open-handed  and  habitual  hospi- 


470  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

tality  to  the  servants  of  God  he  hud  largely  shared.     He 
adds  : 

My  visit  here  brought  up  reminiscences  of  tlie  war  time.  During  the 
•war  I  assisted  Brother  McLean,  who  was  then  in  charijje  here,  in  a  pro- 
tracted meeting.  This  was  over  six  years  ago.  It  gratified  rae  deeply  to 
flid  much  of  the  fruit  of  tliat  meeting  remaining.  The  work  was  not 
evanescent. 

After  the  close  of  that  meeting  Brother  McLean  and  I  lield  one  at 
Kelly  Town,  four  and  a  half  miles  from  Jefferson.  Tills  meeting  inter- 
ested nie  greatly,  especially  in  one  feature  of  it.  Brother  G.  A.  Kelly, 
who  was  the  proprietor  of  a  foundry,  and  carried  on  a  birire  business, 
dismissed  his  hands  suveral  days  to  attend  the  meeting,  paying  them  their 
regalar  wages  the  while.  It  was  a  rare  instance  of  subordinating  b  si- 
ne-s  to  religion,  which  impressed  me  greatly.  Before  leaving  Jefferson  I 
vi>lted  them  again,  and  preached  one  evening.  I  found  that  tliis  man  of 
God  has  prospered  in  grace  and  business.  He  has  come  to  be  one  of  the 
TN'  althymenof  Tex  is,  while  ha  is  still  the  simple-hearted  man  of  prayer 
h  ■  was  six  years  ag  >,  and,  as  I  verily  believe,  holds  all  his  property  in 
trust  for  God,  and  uses  it  in  such  way  as  he  sees  to  be  most  for  His  glory. 
He  both  devises  and  executes  liberal  things.  He  devotes  large  amounts 
of  m  mey  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  The  Home  Advocate,  whicli  is  on  your 
exchange  list,  costs  him  a  considerable  sum  annually.  He  is  the  pro- 
prietor   of  it. 

Two  of  the  sessions  of  the  Texas  Conference  were  held 
at  Galveston.  There  and  at  Houston  he  bestowed  much 
labor  and  wise  and  careful  Episcopal  oversight,  as  was  his 
iniiform  policy  and  practice  at  chief  centres  of  trade  and  pop- 
uhition. 

In  18G6  he  brought  to  the  station  at  Galveston  Rev.  L. 
M.  Lewis,  under  whose  administration  the  present  imposing 
and  costly  church  edifice  was  projected,  and  which  was 
ready  for  dedication  on  his  second  visit  in  1870.  He  had 
transferred  to  the  charge  Rev.  Dr.  Walker,  after  the  com- 
pletion of  a  long  continued  and  eminent  pastorate  at  Caron- 
delet  Street  Church,  New  Orleans.  At  the  time  first  ap- 
pointed for  the  dedication  the  house  was  not  quite  finished. 
He  held,  hoAvever,  protracted  services  for  several  days,  in- 
cludini;  a  watch-nio-ht  meeting  in  the  old  Church,  which  had 
been  erected  thirty  years  before    by  Dr.  Summers,  the  first 


IN    TEXAS.  471 

pastor — a  monument  of  his  i)ioneer  labor  in  Texas.  The 
dedication  took  place  in  February,  on  the  second  Sabbath. 
Two  hundred  chairs  Avere  broU2:ht  in  and  still  some  were  left 
standino" — the  conirreiration  estimated  at  one  thousand.  As 
to  the  sermon  and  the  collections,  discourasrements  accumu- 
lated  upon  the  occasion,  among  them  a  Texas  Norther. 
Nevertheless,  the  collection  was  one  of  the  very  largest  in 
his  record  of  such  occasions — $12,000  raised  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  the  balance,  $3,500,  brouglit  up  by  Dr. Walker  at 
iiiirht,  and  the  Church  dedicated,  out  of  debt.  The  religious 
services  Avere  protracted  during  the  week.  The  history  was 
marked  by  the  affectiniJi;  incident  of  the  death  of  his  host, 
Mr.  T.  n.  McMahan,  Avho  had  been  among  the  most  active 
and  liberal  in  the  erection  of  the  new  Church  and  worshiped 
in  it  just  seven  davs — durinsi;  the  week  of  the  meetino;  which 
followed.  He  Avas  the  most  prominent  man  in  the  city  and 
with  larger  affairs  on  hand  than  any  other,  he  Avas  the  only 
business  man  that  attended  on  the  morning  prayer  meetings. 
The  meeting  Avas  to  him  the  finishing  touches  of  grace,  "his 
soul  overllowing  Avith  the  love  of  God  ;  happy  in  death  and 
joj'fully  submissive,  'made  ready  for  his  great  reward.'  " 

His  administration  at  the  Texas  Conference  AA^as  sis^nalized 
by  the  active  and  helpful  part  he  took  in  the  educational 
AN^ork  of  the  Church.  The  session  of  1870  was  held  at 
Chappell  Hill,  the  educational  centre  of  the  Conference,  the 
seat  of  Soule  University  and  of  the  flourishing  College  for 
females,  bearing  the  name  of  the  place.  At  that  Conference 
the  measure  Avas  proposed  to  unite  the  Texas  Conferences  in 
the  establishment  and  support  of  one  college  of  high  grade. 
He  advocated  it  in  an  earnest  address  at  Conference,  and  re- 
mained in  Texas  to  preside  at  the  Convention,  called  in  pur- 
suance of  the  action  of  Conference  to  meet  at  Waxahatchie, 
April  5th,  1871.  At  the  next  Conference,  at  Galveston,  he 
presided  at  a  meeting  of  laymen  of  the  Church  in  that  city, 
met  to  form  a  joint  stock  company  to    provide  the  endow- 


472  Bisiior  MARvix. 

ment  and  complete  equipment  of  the  proposed  University. 
At  that  meeting,  also,  like  liberal  plans  and  in  the  same  form 
were  inauirurated  in  behalf  of  the  Publishinu:  interest  of  the 
Conference.  Those  movements  commanded  his  highest  ad- 
miration and  enlisted  him  in  the  most  spirited  co-operation. 
He  advocated  those  measures  publicly  and  privately.  In 
behalf  of  the  Advocate,  he  canvassed  for  it,  and  the  editor 
said  in  its  columns,  "  making  the  best  agent  in  the  field." 

The  West  Texas  Conference,  at  the  time  of  his  visita- 
tion was  young  and  small — written  down  by  the  Bishops  as 
on  the  "  outside  row."  Its  frontier  work  Avas  exposed  to 
the  depredations  of  Indians,  and,  literally,  the  Church  was 
militant ;  the  preachers  equij)pcd  with  carnal  weapons, 
traveling  their  Circuits  belted  with  pistols  or  gun  on  their 
shoulder,  ready  to  preach  to  white  people  or  fight  the  red 
skins.  The  condition  of  the  Conference  aroused  the  deep- 
est interest  in  the  mind  of  the  Bishop,  as  a  reproduction  of 
the  heroic  days  of  the  earlier  Methodism. 

The  sessions  of  the  Conference  were  characterized  by 
remarkable  religious  interest.  Sunday,  at  San  Marcos,  in 
1870,  was  "  a  high  day  ;"  beginning  with  a  rich  lovefeast, 
and  at  night  mourners,  conversions  and  additions  to  the 
Church.  A  contributor  mentions  the  topic  of  his  Sunday 
mornin"-  Conference  sermon  at  the  Conference  at  Scguin,  in 
18GG — the  earliest  record  of  the  Episcopal  pulpit  at  Confer- 
ence, except  one  on  Friday  night,  at  the  same  Conference, 
on  "What  is  i\Ian?"  etc.,  of  which  an  old  ])rother  said : 
"  Well,  I  never  before  thought  I  was  much  ;  but  since  hear- 
in""  Bishoi)  Marvin's  sermon,  I  have  concluded  I  am  some- 
thinir."  On  Sunday  morning  the  theme  was  Sanctifica- 
tion — o-ood,  but  rare  at  that  hour.  In  his  later  ministry 
he  has  frequently  preached  on  that  subject  by  r^.qucst ;  one 
of  such  sermons  heard  by  the  writer,  in  which  he  vin- 
dicated the  harmony  of  his  exposition  with  the  Wesleyan 
theology,  and  Mr.  Wesley's  experience  and  dealing  with  the 


IN    TEXAS.  473 

subject.  The  Rev.  Dr.  A.  H.  WiuflelJ,  of  Arkansas,  fur- 
nishes the  followhig  note:  "I  wrote  to  Bishop  Marvin, 
rcfjuesting  his  views  on  Sancthfication.  His  reply  was  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  finest  things  I  ever  read.  He  stated  his 
views  in  twelve  propositions,  and  they  were  plain,  concise, 
and  unanswerable.  I  read  them  to  Bishop  Pierce,  and  ho 
said  they  were  the  best  exposition  of  the  subject  he  had 
ever  seen,  and  gave  the  best  definition  of  sanctification  he 
had  ever  heard.  I  have  read  them  to  several  other  persons, 
troubled  on  that  subject,  and  they  invariably  gave  satisfac- 
tion." The  doctrine  is  standard,  and  ought  to  be  plain  to  a 
common  understanding  ;  but  it  is  known  how  vexed  and  per- 
plexed it  has  become  in  the  hands  of  class-room  theologians. 
The  Texas  preacher  furnishes  this  note  on  the  sermon : 
*'  After  the  sermon,  I  told  him  that,  according  to  my  under- 
standing, he  had  advanced  one  position,  which  was  not  cor- 
rect. He  replied  :  '  Well,  sir,  I  hope  you  will  come  to  a 
better  understanding!*  He  called  on  me  to  defend  my 
position.  I  cited  one  passage  of  Scripture.  He  explained 
that  away.     There  the  matter  dropped." 

His  labors  in  Arkansas  began  with  his  army-history. 
They  have  had  large  space  in  these  pages.  He  held  one 
session  each  of  the  Conferences  in  that  State,  in  18G7.  Of 
the  session  of  his  Conference,  Rev.  Dr.  Win  field  says : 
*'  His  visit  will  never  be  forgotten  by  us.  We  never  had  a 
deeper  religious  impression  made  on  our  Conference.  Our 
23reachers  have  been  more  consecrated  ever  since.  His 
preaching  was  truly  evangelical,  and  his  Missionary  address 
was  of  the  finest  order.  He  has  hosts  of  army-converts 
through  this  State.  He  was  the  John  of  Southern  Method- 
ism." 

His  Episcopal  administration  began  in  the  Southwest.  It 
was  signalized  at  its  close,  as  at  its  beginning,  l)y  his  mission- 
ary spirit;  opening  it  as  the  Savior  of  the  Indian  Mission 
Conference,    and  closing  it  as  the  Founder  of  the  Mexican 


471:  /  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Border  ^Mission  Work.  That  history  transpired  at  the  West 
Texas  Conference,  in  1871,  held  at  Leesburg,  and  is  fur- 
nished hy  his  own  pen,  in  a  modest  narrative : 

Two  important  facts  have  occurred  at  the  present  session.  One  is  the 
occupation  of  an  outi)ost  on  tlic  KIo  Grande.  The  town  of  Laredo  bids 
fair  to  become  an  important  railroad  centre.  It  has  already  one  thousand 
American  inhabitants  on  this  side  of  the  river,  and  a  considerable  Mexican 
town  ha>  been  built  up  on  the  other  bank.  The  place  is  growing  rapidly 
and  is  even  now  the  centre  of  a  very  attractive  business.  The  Laredo  Mis- 
sion appears  for  the  lirst  time  in  our  minutes.  The  nussionary  appointed 
to  the  work  is  one  of  the  best  men  of  the  Conference.  He  speaks  the 
Spanish  language  with  good  facility,  is  a  man  in  middle  life,  tried  and  true. 
Several  members  of  our  Church  are  already  there,  established  in  business,, 
and  others  are  going  this  winter  They  hope  to  be  able  to  build  a  (^hurch 
in  the  course  of  the  year.  "With  the  blessing  of  God  we  hope  to  build  up  a 
strong  society  at  this  place. 

The  other  fact  is  the  reception  into  the  Conference  on  trial  of  Alejo 
Hernandez,  and  his  ordination  f(jr  tlie  missionary  work  among  tlic  Mexi- 
cans. Our  brotlier  Hernandez  is  an  educated  Mexican,  l)rought  by  strange 
providences  to  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  by  equally  strange  providences 
brought  into  our  Church  after  his  conversion.  Few  cases  on  record  illus- 
trate more  impressively  the  grace  of  God. 

He  is  held  by  our  brethren,  both  lay  and  clerical,  who  have  had  large 
experience  with  Mexicans,  to  be  a  man  of  sini;ular  good  sense  and  poise 
of  character.  Brother  \Vm.  Ileadi'U,  of  Corpus  Chrisli  a  layn)an  -who  was 
a  member  of  the  last  General  Conference,  writes  to  me  of  him  that  l)e  '"is 
about  thirty-one  years  of  age,  aud  is  most  anxious  to  do  the  work  of  one 
called  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel.  His  education  is  good.  His  advan- 
tages have  been  more  than  fair.  His  reading  has  been  extensive  and  well 
directed  since  he  emi)raced  religion,  and  his  doctrinal  views  are  sound. 
It  seems  singular  to  me  that  he  should  be  able  to  make,  luit  only  nice,  but 
judicious  distinctions  in  doctiinal  points.  Such  careful  distinctions  have 
been  made  by  him  in  his  letters  to  the  Congregational  and  Episcopal  min- 
isters here  as  are  found  only  of  easy  utterance  by  one  convince  d  and 
thoroughly  persuaded  of  the  doctrines,  charity  and  fUilness  of  the  gospel. 
Let  me  say,  in  a  word,  tlie  man  is  a  Methodist. 

"He  is  anxious  to  be  ordained  both  deacon  and  elder.  Our  (.Quarterly 
Conference,  fully  persuaded  of  his  piety,  discretion,  education  and  love, 
did  not  hesitate  to  commend  him  to  the  Conference  for  both  orders." 

So  writes  Brother  IleacUn,  who  knows  him  well,  and  so  voted  one  of 
our  most  intelligent  Quarterly  Conferences. 

Whether  these  two  events — the  organization  of  a  mission  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  the  reception  into  our  ranks  of  an  educated  and 
intellectual  native  Mexican— may  be  seed  of  a  great  harvest,  we  commit  to 


IN    TEXAS.  475" 

time  and  to  the  mercies  of  God.  We  have  done  all  for  His  glory  and  with 
solemn  prayer  and  reference  to  His  will.  May  the  seal  of  His  approval 
appear  in  the  results. 

The  enterprise  of  a  Mexican  Mission  had  not  been  au- 
thorized by  the  Board.  It  was  undertaken  on  his  own 
responsibility,  and  he  made  its  support  his  special  concern. 
His  pul>lished  account  of  the  movement  brought  remittances 
in  aid  of  it  from  all  parts  of  the  Connection.  After  Confer- 
ence, in  his  travels  along  the  border,  he  collected  for  it 
himself,  in  "-dribs,"  as  he  styled  it.  At  the  meeting  in 
May,  the  Board  adopted  his  work  ;  and  it  has  grown  to  the 
magnitude,  at  this  date,  of  a  Presiding  Elder's  district. 
The  following  interesting  episode  occurred  at  San  Antonio 
soon  after  the  session  of  the  Conference  : 

I  preached  from  Friday  until  Monday  night,  with  the  usual  Sunday 
services,  and  a  sacramental  occasion.  An  incident  of  great  interest  to  us 
all  was  the  adinlnistiMtion  of  the  sacrament  by  our  MexicaYi  brother, 
Hernandez,  to  four  of  the  ccmverts,  who  are  the  fruit  of  his  labors.  They 
came  to  the  table  by  themselves,  he  first  addressing  them  in  their  own 
language  upon  the  nature  of  the  ordinance.  Several  Americans  present 
understood  the  Spanish  language,  and,  with  one  accord,  were  gratified  to 
find  his  instructions  so  judicious  and  his  statements  so  accurate.  V  hen 
they  came  to  tlie  table  I  gave  him  the  tdemeuts  and  he  distributed  them  to 
the  new  converts,  who  for  the  first  time  received  the  bread  and  wine  ac- 
cording to  our  Lord's  own  institution,  in  remembrance  of  him. 

This  first  sacrament  in  connection  with  the  Mexican  Mission  I  shall 
never  forget.  It  was  witnessed  with  profound  sensibility  by  members  of 
various  evangelical  Churches  present.  We  prayed  that  tliese  night  be 
the  "first  fruits"  of  a  very  great  harvest  to  grow  and  increase  in  the 
hands  of  the  reapers  for  ages  and  ages  to  come.  Is  not  this  the  handful 
of  corn  intlie  top  of  the  mountain?  Shall  we  see  the  fruit  of  it  waving 
like  Lebanon?  May  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  send  forth  more  laborers, 
for  the  fields  are  white ! 

Bishop  Marvin  closes  his  tour  in  Texas,  in  1870,  with 
the  following  paragraph — a  characteristic  utterance  : 

Vv'ith  the  Texas  Conference  my  "  round  "  of  Conferences  for  the  year 
closes.  Another  period  of  anxious  deliberation  is  at  an  end.  There  is  a 
sense  of  relief,  and  in  this  instance  a  feeling  of  devout  gratitude— grati- 
tude, not  only  for  personal  preservation  through  tlie  exposures  of  travel, 
but  also,  and  especially,  for  the  manifest  tokens  of  the  presence  of  God  in 


476  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

the  Conferences.  The  spirit  of  these  occasions  has  been  admirable.  The 
business  has  been  done  in  the  fear  of  God.  Tlieie  lias  l)eea  a  det-p  sense 
of  consecration  to  the  work  apparent  aaions  the  preachers.  The  appoiiit- 
menls,  with  very  sliglit  exception,  if  any,  have  been  received  in  llie  true 
itinerant  spirit,  ami  these  men  of  God  liave  gone  to  tlieir  fields  for  another 
year  resolved  upon  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty.  Many  of  them 
will  be  upon  short  rations,  but  they  are  ready  to  sufftr  as  well  as  to  do  the 
will  of  God. 

The  Conference  labors  during  his  three  visitations  of 
Texas  were  exceedingly  onerous.  It  is  apparent  from  his 
notes,  \\o\y  minute  and  painstaking  was  his  inquiry  into  the 
condition  of  the  work.  It  is  testitied  by  others,  how  all  its 
interests  burdened  his  heart  and  employed  his  speech  in  wise 
counsel  and  earnest  advocacy  from  the  President's  chair. 
At  none  of  the  sessions  was  there  a  representative  of  the 
Connectioual  interests  of  the  Church.  He  took  on  himself 
this  work,  and  represented  it  effectively  on  the  platform. 
His  Missionary  addresses  are  remembered  to  this  day,  both 
for  their  money-value  and  the  grandeur  of  their  intellectual 
character  and  spiritual  influence.  One,  the  most  remarka- 
ble, for  a  small  town,  in  its  draft  on  the  pocket,  through 
the  heart  and  conscience,  occurred  at  San  Marcos.  He 
makes  this  mention  of  it : 

The  missionary  meeting  yielded  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  a  horse 
and  saddle,  and,  I  believe,  over  two  hundred  dollars  cash.  The  horse  and 
saddle  were  worth  sixty  or  seventy  dollars.  The  land  was  rated  by  its 
donor  at  one  dollar  per  acre  Brother  Scale,  who  knows  tlie  tract,  says 
there  is  no  better  land  in  Texas,  and  if  a  certain  railroad  conies  that  way, 
as  he  thinks  it  will,  the  land  will  be  worth,  in  a  year  or  two,  ten  or  twenty 
dollars  an  acre.  Seale  was  appointed  a  commissioner  to  get  the  title  and 
dispose  of  the  laud.     I  told  him  not  to  be  in  too  big  a  hurry  to  sell. 

It  is,  so  far  as  known  to  the  writer,  an  exceptional  fact — 
the  holding  two  Conferences  at  the  same  time,  which  he  did 
at  the  East  Texas  Conference,  at  the  organization  of  the 
Colored  Conference,  of  which  ho  held  three  afternoon  scs-- 
sions.  "  It  taxed  me  severely,"  he  says  ;  but  there  was  no 
limit  to  his  energy  and  industry,  and  none  to  his 
solicitude  to  finish  up  his  work,  roundly  and  squarely.     He 


IN    TEXAS.  477 

adds  :  "  But  I  slighted  nothing,  hurried  over  no  business." 
At  the  Conference  at  Chapell  Hill,  it  Avas  moonless  above 
and  black  mud  beneath,  during  a  storm  which  continued 
through  the  first  three  days  of  the  session,  so  that  there 
were  no  religious  services  till  Friday  night.  He  supple- 
mented the  session  : 

I  am  remaining  a  few  days  atCliapell  Hill  since  tli'e  close  of  the  sessiou 
of  the  Texas  Conference — partly  for  relaxation,  partly  for  llie  purpose  of 
bringing  up  arrears  of  correspondence,  and  partly,  also,  because  the  pub- 
lic services  of  the  Conference  were  reduced  almost  to  nothing  during  the 
session  by  rain,  and  I  have  been  i'eques.ed  to  supplement  the  religious 
services  of  the  occasion  by  remaining  over  the  Sabbath.  I  am  still  enjoy- 
ing the  hospitality  of  Dr  Conner,  President  of  the  Chappell  Hill  Female 
Col  ege,  occa  uonally  spending  a  day  or  a  night  among  the  brethren.  I 
pi'opose  al.^o  to  supplement  tlie  Missionary  Anniversary.  Such  was  the 
inclemency  of  tlie  night  tliat  the  congregation  was  very  small*.  "V'ct  the 
collection  and  SLibscription  wa-t  over  sevnn  hundred  dollars.  I  involun- 
tarily contrasted  it  with  the  Anniversary  at  the  session  of  the  Missouri 
Conference  last  fall.  The  contrast  holds  in  every  particular.  Here  the 
weather  was  '-awful,"  the  congregation  quite  small,  the  collection  lib- 
eral— very.  One  brother  gave  $100,  two  gave  $50  each,  and  many  gave 
largely  for  their  means. 

His  after-Conference  labors,  in  preaching  tours  and 
pastoral  visitation,  took  him  to  every  part  of  the  State 
and  have  record  in  every  variety  of  ministerial  work  and 
Episcopal  oversight. 

In  no  part  of  the  Connection,  more  than  in  Texas,  has 
Bishop  Marvin  been  appreciated,  reverenced  and  loved.  The 
following  utterance  by  Eev.  F.  A.  Mood,  the  President  of 
Soule  University,  in  his  correspondence  with  the  Southern 
Christian  Advocate,  will  be  accepted  as  a  representative 
voice,  for  all  the  Conferences  and  all  the  ilreachers  : 

The  Texas  Conference  last  night  closed  its  regular  annual  session. 
The  preaciiers  were  more  generally  iu  attendance  than  at  any  session 
since  the  war.  The  lay  members,  also,  were  very  generally  present,  and 
gave  close  and  interested  at. eutism  to  business.  Bishop  Marvin  presided 
giving  unalloyed  satisfaction,  both  iu  the  pulpit  and  iu  the  chair.  I  had 
never  before  seen  the  Bi-hop,  nor  heard  him  preach,  though  I  had  heard 
him  frequently  spoken  of  iu  terms  of  unqualified  praise  by  the  preachers 


478 


BISHOP  MARVIN. 


and  people  of  the  State.  It  was  a  new  sensation— among  many  others — 
that  my  adopted  State  had  in  store  for  me,  to  hear  the  tones,  to  look  upon 
tlie  face,  to  watch  the  administration  of,  t.)  me,  a  new  Bishop.  Witliout 
going  into  details,  let  me  sum  it  all  up  by  saying,  he  is  a  great  success. 
Tlie  tones  of  his  voice  have  deep,  authoritative  resonance;  dignity  and 
kindness  mingle  admirably  in  his  Presidency;  liis  preaching,  wliile  emi- 
nently evangelical,  and  in  many  portions  tonchingly  siinph',  at  every  start- 
ing point  opened  up  to  tlie  mind  lines  of  thought  profoundly  suggestive, 
while  the  whole  man  is  suggestive  of  a  sanctity  the  farthest  possible  rc- 
movi'd  from  sanctimonious.  All  of  us  who  had  never  before  seen  him 
found  in  him  one  more  man  to  love. 


6sStV^ 


CHAPTER     XXV. 


ON    THE    PACIFIC    COAST. 


The  voyage  on  Ocean  and  retnrn  by  Rail  — Experience  at  Sea— Acquaint- 
ances—By  boat  and  stULie  to  Columbia  Conference— Shasta— "  Tlie 
Teuton  " — OM  frii  nds  and  former  companion^  in  labors  -  The  session 
of  Conference — "  Oregon  crossed  from  side  to  side"— The  next  ses- 
sion-Projected preaching  toui— Sicli— "  We  t  as  long  as  I  c  uld"  - 
Pacific  Con. er>  nee  at  Sacramento— Tlie  seco  d  se-siou— \ddress  at 
opening— Characteristics  of  the  man  nnl  officer — Pre.-iching  Prelate — 
Sheaves  — Official  communcation  to  the  College  of  Bishops— Sibbai  h- 
yi^ar- Kruits  of  Visitation— Seven  years  afterwards— Last  words  to 
Preacliers  on  Pacific  Coast. 

^fip^T  noon,  July  24th,  18(38,  on  the  steamer  Rising  Star, 
^^^  Bishop  Marvin  embarked  from  New  York  on  his 
Episcopal  visitation  to  the  Pacitic  Coast.  At  Panama  he 
took  the  steamer  Constitution,  and  arrived  at  San  Francisco 
at  sunset,  August  19th,  ju.-t  twenty-five  days  out.  He  re- 
turned bv  rail,  five  davs  to  St.  Louis  ;  and  after  a  few 
months'  sojourn  ^vith  his  family,  was  on  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board, at  the  city  of  Baltimore,  making  the  return  trip 
in  travelino-  time  less  than  eiirht  davs.  He  was  in  Call- 
fornia  when  the  last  rail  of  the  great  Pacific  Railway 
was  la;  J  by  the  Governor  of  t'^'e  State — the  golden  spike,  driv- 
en by  his  hand  with  a  hammer  of  gold  into  the  tie  of  sil- 
ver-mounted laurel  wood — with  each  of  three  strokes 
pronouncing  :  "  '  Tis  done  !  '  Tis  done  !  '  Tis  done  !"  By 
a  contrivance  in  the  use  of  the  telegraph  wire,  the  great 
l)ells   of  the  leading;   cities  ail   over  tlie  country,  at  each 


480  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

stroke,  were  struck,  in  ol-Iio  of  the  grand  consummation. 
The  glad  sound  from  iIk;  slocples  of  the  Churches,  at  the 
same  moment,  prochiimed  the  near  jieighborhood  of  ^hore 
to  shore  of  a  continent.  It  was  an  end  of  ralifornia  isoUi- 
tion.  The  Methodism  of  tlic  Pacilio  Coa>t  was  ))rougIit 
nearer  to  tlic  heart  of  the  Connection,  and  witiiin  easy  reach 
to  Episcopal  travel  and  o\cr.-ight.  Theretofore  there  had 
been  clamorous  demand  and  actual  need  for  it.  The  visits 
of  Bishop  Kavanaugli  were  timely  ;  but  for  his  presence  and 
labors  discouragement  would  have  been  profound,  and,  per- 
haps, even  fatal,  Bisho[)  Marvin  testifies.  His  own  followed 
and  forwarded  the  irooil  bcixinnintr.  It  was  at  the  cost  of  ex- 
pensive  and  laborious  travel,  and  exhausting  cares  and  toils, 
remaininir  on  the  Coast  lifteen  months,  and  holding  two 
sessions  each  of  the  Paeitic  and  Columbia  Conferences,  ia 
18G8  and  l.S(51>. 

The  sea  ^•()yage  was  his  first  experience.  It  was  written, 
about  in  a  characteristic  letter  ;  on  the  whole  satisfactory, 
though  the  "  va-t  expanse,"  he  complained,  was  shut  in  by 
a  narrow  horizon  ;  and  the  "  mountain-billows  "  were  only 
little  hills.  'J  here  was  no  terrific  gale,  but  the  ocean  was 
generally  rough  ;  then,  the  religious  services  allowed  to  be 
omitted.  80,  he  preached  once  only,  Avith  a  brief  exhor- 
tation, after  the  prayers  of  the  E[)iscopal  service  read  by 
the  })urser,  on  another  Sunday — the  other  days  paying  his 
devotions  to  Neptune;  four  dav's  ''bad,'''  some  others 
"  uneasy  ;"  stopping  the  writing  about  it  because  lie  didn't 
like  to  think  al)()ut  it.  Otherwise,  the  voyage  was  enjoy- 
able— treated  with  the  utmost  courtesy  by  the  ofliccrs,  and 
having  pleasant  associations  among  the  passengers.  At  first 
he  did  not  reco^-nize  a  face  he  had  ever  seen — "  a  stranger 
on  strano-e  seas,"  he  thought.  Presentlv,  however,  he  was 
rcc()2:nized  and  accosted  by  a  Mv.  Tavlor,  Avho  used  to  at- 
tend  "Old  Fourth  Street,"  when  he  was  there  Avith  Wes- 
ley Browning  ;  and  by  another,  Col.   G.  AVrenshall  Dent, 


ox    THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  481 

brother  to  ^Nlrs.  President  Grant,  of  an  old  St.  Louis  County 
Methodist  family.  He  hud  lived  in  his  3'outh,  near  the  site  of 
the  Gravois  campground,  and  introduced  himself  with  the 
pleasant  remark  that,  when  a  mere  boy,  he  had  heard 
Andrew  Monroe  preach  from  the  text,  "  If  the  Sou  shall 
make  you  free,  3'e  shall  be  free,  indeed." 

He  did  not  lack  acquaintanceship  from  beginning  to  the 
end  of  the  trip  ;  wherever  he  went,  meeting  old  Missouri 
friends,  some  of  them  former  parishioners,  all  along  from 
his  first  Circuits  to  his  last  pastoral  charge.  On  the  dock 
at  New  York  Drs.  Deems,  Moran  and  Marshall  o-ave  him  the 
parting  hand.  As  the  vessel  was  tugged  down  the  Bay, 
Brother  Young,  whom  he  had  labored  with  in  the  temper- 
ance cause  in  Texas,  shouted  a  salutation  to  him  from  the 
deck  of  an  incoming  steamer.  Inside  the  Golden  Gate 
Brothers  Fitzgerald,  Simmons  and  JMiller  were  soon  on 
board  of  the  ship  with  the  hand  of  welcome,  and  Brother 
"VVm.  T.  Lucky  was  waiting  on  shore  with  a  carriage  to  take 
him  to  his  house,  wdiere  he  enjoyed,  he  said,  the  same  hospi- 
tality he  had  received  "a  long  time  ago"  in  Missouri. 
After  a  sojourn  in  San  Francisco  of  four  days,  including  a 
Sabbath,  in  which  he  preached  morning  and  night  to  full 
houses,  at  Minna  street,  he  took  his  departure  for  Oregon. 

The  trip  commenced  with  a  boat  ride  up  the  Sacramento 
and  ended  at  Roseburg,  the  seat  of  the  Columbia  Confer- 
ence, with  a  stage  ride,  two  days  and  nights;  only  four 
hours  sleep  on  the  route,  and  needing  the  nine  hours  sleep 
he  took  at  its  terminus.  This  fatiguing  journey  he  made 
three  times,  the  last  before  fair  convalescence  from  an  ill- 
ness of  six  weeks,  which  had  prostrated  him,  suspending 
his  labors.  One  of  those  journeys  he  narrated  for  his 
Louisiana  friends  in  the  columns  of  their  Advocate.  After  it 
had  been  written,  he  was  tempted  to  lay  it  aside  ;  his  pen, 
he  said,  having  taken  such  an  eccentric  turn.     It  contained 

a  description  of  Shasta,  inspiring  the  sentiment  of  sublimity 
31 


482  Bisiior  MAuvix. 

and  religious  awe  recorded  on  a  former  page,  intermixed, 
however,  with  an  experience  of  the  ridiculous,  to  which  he 
had  ready  susceptibility,  and  which  seized  his  i)en.  Other 
readers  will  enjoy  the  description  on  this  page,  to  be  en- 
titled, in  the  use  of  the  soubriquet  his  own  pen  gave — 
*' The  Teuton:" 

Two  employes  of  the  stage  company  were  out  with  the  driver,  enjoy- 
ing sundry  course  and  profane  jokes,  each  of  whicli  was  crowned  with  an 
uproarious  guffaw.  Teuton  and  I  were  left  inside,  loolcing  at  Shasta  in 
silence.  I  had  a  fellow-feeling  toward  him,  as  one  who  was  awed  by  the 
same  magnificence,  ancl  I  thought  perhaps  he  was  worshiping  God  in  the 
presence  of  his  works.  The  occasion  was  too  great  for  speech.  I  had 
moved  to  speak  once  or  twice,  but  words,  such  as  I  could  command, 
seemed  like  impertinences,  and  I  felt  as  one  dumb  under  a  divine  pres- 
ence. 

Teuton  broke  the  spell.  A  few  houses  and  little  fields  in  the  narrow 
mountain  vall'jys  were  in  sight.  Tliere  was  an  accent  of  petulance  in  the 
tones  of  my  friend.  "  Vat  iu  te  vorlt  does  anypody  live  here  for?  Dere's 
notinghere.  Dey  can  see  noting.  Dere's  no  pizness  here.  Dey  sees  no 
jiebles.  Noting  makes  me  live  here.  I  lives  in  de  city,  vere  dere's  piz- 
ness and  pebles."  O,  Teuton!  Teuton!  were  you  born  on  the  same  con- 
tinent with  Schiller,  and  Goethe,  and  Luther? 

"Noting  to  pe  seen  here!  "     Tliat  was  said  in  the  presence  of  Shasta. 
*•  No   pebles."     Yes,  people  are   great — greater   tlian   mountains    or 
worlds.     But  Teuton  has  never  seen  men  any  more  tliau  he  has  Shasta. 
His  eyes  have  been  on  both,  but  he  has  seen  neither! 

All  at  once  I  saw  what  life  was  to  my  friend.  The  axle  of  the  uni- 
verse was  in  his  lumber  yard.  To  be  in  his  little  dir  y  ofl^ce  in  the  corner 
of  this  same  yard,  to  hear  of  heavy  immigration  and  good  crops,  to  hear 
of  much  building  and  fencing,  to  hear  the  tramp  of  ever-augmenting  mul- 
titudes, and  tlie  jostle  ofean  ever-increasing  melee  of  wagons  in  "  de  city," 
are  all  great  facts  to  him.  There  is  a  happy  augury  in  them  all.  Tliey 
are  prophetic  of  a  growing  lumber  trade.  "  Pizness!  "—You  ought  to 
liave  heard  the  tone  in  wliich  this  word  was  spoken.  I  had  never  before 
heard  it  sound  so  full.  I  thought  it  sounded  as  if  a  pulse  were  beating  in 
the  heart  of  it.  Business!  Tlie  periphery,  the  whole  sweep  and  scope  of 
life  and  destiny  are  in  that  word  for  Teuton. 

I  looked  at  him  and  felt  discouraged.  But  a  moment's  refiection 
relieved  me.  Successful  business  men  are  not  all  of  this  type.  I  know 
many  a  man  who  has  made  more  money  than  this  one,  who  would  realize  a 
irreatcning  presence  .in  these  sublimities  of  nature.  A  man  does  not 
necessarily  become  too  metallic  through  business  to  expand  under  the 
touch  of  such  a  wand. 


ON    THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  483 

After  the  foregoing  speech  of  Teuton  silence  reigned  in.'5ide  of  the 
coach  and  profanity  on  the  top  for  some  little  time.  At  hmgth  the  mind 
of  my  friend  was  diverted  from  "pizness."  There  was  something  that 
could  achieve  such  a  result — something  that  could  master  a  spirit  unmoved 
by  all  this  mural  majesty.  What  was  that?  It  was  a  tight  boot !  Teuton 
had,  with  becoming  regard  to  appearances  on  the  part  of  a  prosperous 
business  man,  px'ovided  himself  with  new  boots  for  his  pleasure  trip.  To 
all  his  other  pleasures  on  tliis  memorable  trip  had  been  added  that  most 
^xqiii.site  one,  so  often  enjoyed  by  men  who  affect  nice  boots— tortured 
feet.  And  now  we  were  suffering  an  uncommon  degree  of  summer  heat. 
The  boot  luxury  became  too  exquisite.  It  was  more  than  Teuton  could 
bear,  and  he  took  off  his  boots. 

Friends,  I  have  never  been  troubled  with  fastidious  olfactories,  but  I 
thought  fur  awhile  I  would  be  compelled  to  talce  refuge  on  the  top  of  the 
coach,  in  the  midst  of  the  profanity.  But  that  stench  was  more  Intoler- 
able than  this,  and  I  resigned  myself  to  the  consequences,  be  they  what 
they  might.  Meantime  there  was  a  measure  of  compensation  in  contem- 
plating the  complacent  look  of  the  man  as  he  laid  back  on  one  seat  and 
stretched  out  his  two  caskets  of  perfumery  upon  another  immediately 
under  my  nose. 

After  all,  Teuton  and  I  parted  with  mutual  good  feeling,  and  I  think 
of  him  not  without  respect.  I  have  no  doubt  he  is  a  man  of  probity  as 
well  as  energy,  and  not  Indifferent  to  the  social  virtues.  But  I  must  dis- 
miss him  with  the  remark  that  there  are  two  things  that  would  improve- 
Mm  vastly  as  a  companion — soapsuds  and  ideas. 

The  Conference  at  Roseburg  was  held  on  a  campground  ; 
significant  of  the  earlier  Episcopacy,  when  "the  West," 
in  his  boyhood  days,  had  its  outer  limits  along  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi  and  lower  Missouri.  It  suited  the  genius  of 
his  piety  and  his  pulpit.  He  greatly  enjo3'^ed  the  occasion 
— on  personal  accounts,  also,  full  of  touching  memories. 
Among  its  members  were,  Benjamin  R.  Johnson  who  had 
belonged  to  the  first  generation  of  Missouri  preachers,  and 
B.  R.  Baxter  who  was  licensed  to  preach  at  his  Quarterly 
Conference  on  Liberty  Circuit,  and  A.  E.  Sears  at  whose 
father's  house  near  Fayette,  Mo.,  he  had  sojourned,  when 
he  was  on  his  first  circuit,  and  who  had  been  a  companion  in 
labors  in  the  Missouri  Conference,  as  had,  also,  E.  K.  Mil- 
ler, pastor  of  Minna  Street,  in  the  Pacific  Conference  ;  and 
of  that  Conference,  W.  F.  Compton,  who  had  been  a  co-la- 


484  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

borer  in  St.  Louis  and  assistant  preacher  one  j'ear  at  First 
Church.  Of  the  hist-named,  shortly  before  his  departure 
to  California,  the  writer  remembers  to  have  baptized  his 
boy,  giving  him  the  name  Marvin.  He  met,  also,  in  Oregon, 
among  the  laymen.  Brother  Cauthorn,  formerly  of  Mexico, 
i\Io.,  who  makes  note  of  their  meeting  and  the  Bishop's 
labors  : 

Last  year  and  the  year  before,  Bishop  Kavanaugh  was  with  us  and 
greatly  biiiit  up  the  Church;  and  hist  September  Bish(^p  Marvin  came  out, 
ai.d  though  his  stay  in  this  State  was  short,  his  hibors  have  been  blessed. 
The  ministers  and  members  have  been  greatly  encouraged;  and  thougli 
the  anxiety  of  the  people  was  great  to  see  and  welcome  him  to  their 
homes,  no  one  in  Oregon  could  appreciate  his  company  more  than  myself 
and  family,  for  our  long  and  intimate  acquaintance,  as  well  as  the  distance 
from  our  ca:ly  acquaintance,  caused  my  heart  to  beat  with  gratitude  to 
the  Great  Be'.ng.  Language  can  not  describe  my  feelings  when  I  saw  him 
with  Br.).  A.  E.  Sears  (and  othi  rs)  drive  up  before  my  door,  and  to  see 
ti. at  familiar  face,  and  to  grasp  that  afl'ectionate  hand,  was  too  much  for 
my  feel.ngs,  a.;d  weepings  could  not  be  suppressed.  He  preached  live  or 
six  times  for  us,  with  great  ability,  and  hastened  back  to  California,  but 
expects  to  return  next  summer  and  attend  tlie  Conference  in  this  city. 

In  a  private  letter  to  his  family,  he  mentions  the  session 
of  the  Conference  : 

We  had  a  precious  time  at  the  Conference.  Great  grace  rested  upon 
the  jin  achers  and  the  peop.e.  W  a  had  a  fea-t  of  fat  things.  We  had  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  the  last  thing  before  the  appointments 
we.e  read  out.  The  Lord  was  present  with  us  indeeil,  and  the  preacliers 
went  to  their  worl<  with  a  feeling  of  entire  devotion  to  their  holy  calling. 
I  trust  God  wi.l  give  a  gieat  blessing  upon  the  work  this  year.  I 
thought  of  the  sacrament  at  Centenary  Church,  where  we  all  communed 
together  just  tlie  day  before  I  left  home.  O,  tliat  we  may  all  love  God 
with  a  perfect  heart,  and  serve  Ilim  with  a  willing  mind. 

My  health  is  n  w  tolerably  good,  though  I  doubt  if  this  climate  is  go- 
ing to  be  very  favorable  to  me. 

May  great  grace  aijide  with  you  all. 

The  after-conference  hibors  are  narrated  by  his  own  pen 
— given  entire  as  a  specimen  of  a  (ieneral  Superintendent 
on  a  tour  of  observation,  as  well  as  of  the  zeal  and  fidelity 
of  his  pill])!!  : 

Af  <M- Confcrcnc'!  close  I  I  started  for  the  famous  Willamette  Valley, 
which  I  have  now  traversed  from   the  head  of  the  Coast  Fork  down  to 


ON    THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  485 

Portland,  preaching  at  Eugene  City,  Ilarrisburg,  Corvallis,  Dalla?:,  Salem, 
and  Forest  Grove,  generally  to  large,  ami  always  to  attentive,  congrega- 
tions. At  Corval.is  I  spent  several  days.  Tlieie  we  have  a  college  doing 
well  for  a  new  country.  The  President  and  one  Professor,  Brothers  Fin- 
ley  and  Emery,  are  appointed  from  tlie  Conference.  Tliey  are  choice 
men.  But  they  need  additional  buildings,  and  ought  to  have  some  endow- 
ment.    At  tliis  place  we  have  a  good  society  and  lavge  congregations. 

I  spent  a  Sabljath  also  in  Salem.  Here  we  have  no  organizalion.  We 
had  once  a  small  society  here,  and  built  a  small  house  on  a  large  lot.  But 
the  house  was  sold  for  only  a  trifle  above  wliat  piid  tlie  debts  incurred, 
and  the  society  was  brolvcn  up.  Salem  is  the  capital  of  the  State.  Wlien 
I  was  there  the  Legislature  and  the  Supreme  Court  were  in  session.  I  had 
a  good  hearing.  On  Sunday  night  the  crowd  was  great.  I  delivered  my 
message  in  the  name  of  the  Master,  and  trust  that  some  good  was  done. 

Here,  and  at  Forest  Grove,  I  found  near  relatives,  wliora  I  had  not 
seen  for  twenty-seven  years,  and  of  whom  I  had  heaid  nothing  for  a  long 
time.  The  meeting  was  most  cordial  It  was  a  return  to  the  hallowed 
scenes  so  long  past.  We  lived  our  childhood  and  youth  over  again.  O, 
the  heart  that  is  in  such  a  meeting ! 

To-morrow  is  the  Sabbath.  Unexpectedly  I  spend  it  here  in  Portland. 
The  steamer  is  delayed  somewhat.  Already  I  have  invitations  to  preach 
morning  and  night,  which  I  have  accepted.  We  have  no  organization  here, 
but  many  friends,  as  we  have  also  at  Salem.  It  is  believed  by  the  breth- 
ren that  if  we  had  the  right  sort  of  men  for  the  work,  to  spare,  we  might 
Ibuild  up  strong  churches  in  both  of  these  towns.  It  is  of  great  importance 
that  we  should  do  so.  The  one  is  the  commercial  and  the  other  the  civil 
emporium  of  the  State.  Organizations  at  these  points  would  be  felt  all 
over  the  State.  But  Ave  cannot  detail  suitable  men  from  work  already 
organized. 

The  preachers  of  the  Northern  Church  have  treated  me  with  great 
respect  and  courtesy  ever  since  I  came  into  Oregon.  They  have  really, 
some  of  them,  taken  pains  to  give  me  attention.  In  this  respect,  I  believe 
I  am  more  fortunate  than  Bishop  Kavanaugh  was. 

I  have  now  crossed  Oregon  from  side  to  side,  and  seen  the  country 
about  Ashland  and  Jacksonville,  and  the  Rogue  River,  Umpquah  and  Wil- 
lamette Valleys.  With  the  exception  of  the  important  country  above  the 
Dalles,  I  have,  in  a  rapid  waj',  had  a  view  of  the  State. 

He  held  the  next  session  of  that  Conference  at  Corval- 
lis, September  1,  1869.  A  heavy  summer  campaign  of 
travel  and  preaching  was  proposed,  to  precede  the  session  ; 
but  shortly  after  entering  upon  it,  he  was  prostrated  by  a 
bilious  attack.  In  June  he  was  in  attendance  at  the  Com- 
mencement  exercises    of   Corvallis    College,    at    which   he 


48 G  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

prcac'lied  the  sermon  on  Sunday  morning,  with  a  sermon: 
throw  n  iu  on  Saturday  night,  and  an  address  at  the  ch)se  of 
the  exercises.  At  the  time  he  Avas  under  great  physical 
debility — such  his  condition,  that  the  Corvallis  Gazette 
reported  his  telling  sermons,  and,  at  the  same  time,  "  that 
ill  justice  to  himself,  he  ought  to  have  been  in  bed,  instead 
of  in  the  pulpit."  lie  writes  from  Corvallis,  August  28, 
to  the  Conference  paper  of  his  sickness,  and  of  the  work  of 
the  Church  in  that  section  : 

It  was  ray  purpose  to  write  a  long  communication  for  the  Spectator 
immediati'lj'  after  the  comnienceinont  exercises  of  Corvallis  College,  but  I 
■\vas  at  that  time  suffering  so  nuich  from  an  inflamed  eye  that  I  could 
neitlier  read  nor  write  more  tlian  a  few  mhiutes  at  a  time.  Indeed,  it  was 
about  all  I  could  do  to  read  letters  and  write  the  ])riefest  possible  answers. 
A  dreadful  inflammation  of  tlie  eye  set  in,  with  periodical  paroxysms  of 
neuralgia,  until  I  was  compelled  to  succumb,  and  now,  for  more  tlian  a 
month,  I  have  done  nothing  but  "  doctor  "  myself.  With  very  intelligent 
medical  advice,  I  am  now  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  write  this,  and 
have  good  hope  that  I  may  be  prepared  for  duty  at  the  approaching  ses- 
sion of  the  Columbia  Conference. 

So  far  as  preaching  and  visiting  the  Churches  is  concerned,  I  have 
done  next  to  nothing  in  Oregon.  I  feel  that  the  summer  is  a  blank;  for 
what  I  did  do  was  so  imperfectly  done,  from  debility,  that  it  amounted  to 
very  little.  1  could  liave  borne  tlie  pain  very  well,  if  I  could  only  have 
done  my  work  efficiently.  I  have  consolation,  liowever,  in  two  facts: 
First,  God  can  very  well  carry  on  His  work  when  I  am  on  the  shelf,  as  He 
has  shown  in  this  case.     Second,  I  went  as  long  as  I  could. 

I  have  seen  nuich  to  gratify  me  iu  Oregon.  The  work  has  been  pros- 
perous this  year.  The  increase  is  greater,  I  doubt  not,  than  iu  any  previ- 
ous year;  perhaps  greater  than  in  any  two  years.  Our  College  is  doing; 
nobly. 

The  preachers  on  all  the  Circuits  have  had  encouraging  success — sev- 
eral of  them  a  large  increase.  God  is  with  them,  and  they  are  known  and 
read  of  all  men.  He  gives  His  Holy  Spirit  on  the  labors  of  faithful  men. 
The  prospect  in  the  future  is  briglit. 

After  his  return  from  his  first  visit  to  Oregon,  on  Octo- 
ber Gth,  18()8,  he  is  at  Sacramento,  where  the  session  of  the 
Pacific  Conference,  the  first  at  which  he  presided,  was  held. 
In  a  private  letter  from  that  place,  he  writes : 

My  health  is  not  very  good ;  1  am  perpetually  taking  cold.     So  far,  this 


ON    THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  487 

climate  has  not  proved  favorable  to  me,  but  they  say  it  will  be  better  after 
awhile.     I  hope  so. 

I  have  been  on  this  coast  now  a  little  over  six  weeks,  and  have  trav- 
eled since  my  arrival  near  1,500  miles  by  stage,  steamer,  railroad,  and  pri- 
vate conveyance,  and  preached  twenty-three  times,  besides  holding  the 
Columbia  Conference.  I  have  not  preached  so  often  as  I  did  in  Missouri; 
but  generally  I  have  had  great  liberty. 

We  had  a  delightful  session  of  the  Columbia  Conference.  Our  Con- 
ference here  begins  to-morrow. 

That  session  is  reported  by  a  well-known  member  of  the 
Conference  to  a  friend  in  Viro-inia  : 

o 

Bishop  Marvin  was  at  Conference,  of  course,  greatly  afflicted  with  a 
rising  on  his  jaw,  the  result  of  cutting  a  tooth.  He  suffered  terribly  be- 
fore leaving  Oregon,  and  all  the  time  after  his  arrival  could  not  wear  his 
teeth;  lump  on  his  jaw  as  large  as  my  fist,  and  yet  in  this  condition  he 
preached  on  the  Sabbath  after  his  return  at  San  Jose,  fifty  miles  from  San 
Francisco ;  returned  Monday  morning,  and  we  went  up  on  the  boat 
together.  Opened  the  Conference  Wednesday  morning.  Such  an  address 
and  prayer.  The  Conference  lasted  ten  days;  had  six  trials.  He  presided 
in  every  session;  and,  after  the  fourth  day,  the  trials  were  conducted 
before  the  Judiciary  Committee  every  afternoon ;  then  the  Cabinet  meeting 
at  night ;  and,  besides,  he  preached  three  times  during  Conference  and  the 
Sabbath  after  its  close.  During  the  latter  part  of  Conference,  had  his  jaw 
lanced,  and  his  tooth  extracted,  yet  in  that  condition  he  did  all  that 
amount  of  work.  Three  days  after  Conference  he  was  off  to  Stockton,  fifty 
miles  by  stage,  where  he  labored  in  and  out  of  the  pulpit  for  more  than  a 
week.  From  there  to  San  Francisco,  wliere  he  had  finally  to  succumb, 
and  go  to  bed.  It  was  feared  he  would  be  seriously  ill,  but  after  a  week's 
rest  he  was  again  in  the  field,  preaching  every  night,  and  laboring  pri- 
vately during  the  day ;  health  improving.  I  ought  to  hav#  said,  after  his 
arrival  in  San  Francisco,  his  jaw  was  lanced  twice,  and  finally  began  to 
yield  to  treatment.  He  is  preaching  everywhere  with  great  power.  Grandly 
has  he  taken  the  Conference  and  people  captive.  The  world  has  contained 
few  such  men  as  Bishop  Marvin. 

That  was  the  most  remarkable  Conference  ever  held  by 
him  or  by  any  other  Bishop,  as  known  to  the  writer,  except, 
perhaps,  a  session  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  at  Boon- 
ville,  in  1853,  of  ten  days'  duration,  with  three  arrests  of 
character.  Bishop  Soule  presided,  and  guided  the  stormy 
session  with  a  bold  and  firm  helm.  In  that  case,  after  the 
storm,  there  was  a  great  calm  and  a  purer    atmosj^here. 


488  BISHOP  MAuvix. 

The  delicato  and  dlllicult  administration  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  touching,  it  may  be,  at  one  of  the  points  of  weak- 
ness and  decay,  is  alluded  to,  perhaps,  in  the  report  hy  a 
member  of  Conference  of  Bishop  Marvin's  Episcopal  visit: 
"  Besides  this,  he  came  to  us,  in  the  prov^idence  of  God,  at 
a  time  when  our  Church  here,  in  its  stability  and  very  exist- 
ence, was  seriously  endangered  by  a  peculiarly  threatening 
aspect  of  things,  the  dangerous  elements  of  which  none  but 
the  hand  of  a  firm,  w^ise  and  judicious  leader  could  have 
commanded.  The  contrast  presented  by  the  condition  in 
which  he  left  us  is  such  as  to  call  for  the  devout  thanksgiv- 
ing^ to  God  for  such  a  man  at  such  a  time." 

The  next  session,  held  at  Vacaville,  October  G-12,  1869, 
is  reported  by  the  Conference  organ  : 

This  session  was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  we  have  ever  held.  Perfect 
harmony  of  feeling  prevailed  from  the  flrst  to  the  last.  Not  an  unkind  or 
discourteous  expression  was  heard.     Brotherly  love  ruled  supremo. 

The  relij^ious  services  of  "  Conference  week"  were  attend^'d  by  large 
audiences,  and  culminated  in  a  wonderful  outpouring  of  Divine  grace 
during  the  love-feast  exercises  and  the  Bishop's  sermon  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing. That  love-feast  and  that  sermon  will  never  be  forgotten  by  any  who 
were  present.  A  year  of  religious  prosperity  was  crowned  with  a  Confer- 
ence session  attended  with  extraorduiary  interest.  A  sacramental  service 
closed  the  services  on  Tuesday  night,  in  connection  with  which  seven  per- 
sons united  mth  the  Church. 

The  opening  address  is  reported  at  large.  The  follow- 
ing^ extract  contains  personal  sentiments,  which  indicate 
characteristics  of  the  man  and  the  officer  : 

In  opening  the  session,  after  reading  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  1st 
Corinthians,  Bishop  Marvin  said,  in  substance  :  I  have  never  approached 
an  Annual  Conference  with  so  much  interest  as  I  do  this.  I  a;n  no  flat- 
terer, but  now  that  1  know  the  preachers  of  the  Pacific  Conference,  after  a 
year's  acquaintance  with  them,  I  niu>t  say  that  as  a  b  dy  of  ministers 
they  have  won  my  enduring  respect  and  at't'i-'clion.  Tliey  have  everywhere 
treated  me  with  kindness  and  respect,  without  llie  le.ist  approach  to  ser- 
vility. My  association  with  you,  brethren,  has  elicit .d  a  strong  personal 
attachment  for  you.  Another  ground  of  interest  is  that  we  m 'ct  after  a 
prosperous  year.  God  has  graciously  l)lesscd  your  labors,  and  I  rejoice 
with  you.     You  will  appreciate  my  candor  wheu  I  say  that  I  have  had 


ox    THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  489 

some  fear  that  damp.ge  might  result  from  this  session;  that  the  election  of 
delegates  to  the  Geu.;ral  C  jafereucii  mljjlit  aggravate  an  old  sore.  But  I 
am  p-iTsuaded  bjtter  tiling's  of  you.  You  are  here  to  "seek  peace  and 
pursue  it."  The  Pacifio  Conference  will  realize  the  significance  of  its  own 
name.  Personally,  I  a:n  more  delicately  related  to  the  Conference  than  I 
was  last  fall.  Y  )U  will  hold  me  more  directly  responsible  for  the  appoiut- 
meats.  I  am  not  inf.Ulible,  but  I  profess  to  act  sincerely,  in  the  fear  of 
God.  I  wish  to  do  exactly  right.  I  have  no  enemies  in  this  Conference. 
I  will  do  as  I  would  be  doae  by.  1  foresee  complications  that  will  embar- 
rass me  no  little.  Standing  face  to  face  with  these  responsibilities,  I  feel 
a  profound  personal  gratification  in  the  fact  that  I  never  sought  this  rela- 
tion to  Methodis  t  preachers. 

Great  was  his  boldness  of  speech — when  the  occasion 
called  for  it,  with  authority.  In  it,  the  Methodist  reader 
will  recall  the  advice  of  Bishop  McKendree  to  Bishop  An- 
drew, in  the  week  after  his  ordination  :  "  James,  I  have  not 
much  to  say,  but  I  will  say  this,  never  shrink  from  respon- 
sibility ;  for,  remember,  by  this  3'ou  assume ^he  most  fear- 
ful of  all  responsibilities."  In  the  assertion  of  authority  he 
was  sustained  by  the  history  of  his  office:  "  It  is  of  God, 
surely,"  he  said  to  his  friends  at  Marshall,  on  his  return 
from  New  Orleans,  after  the  election,  "  and  not  of  my 
seeking."  Acting  in  His  fear,  he  had  always,  also,  an 
abiding  and  unshaken  reliance  upon  Divine  guidance  and 
support.  One  of  his  colleagues  recently  remarked  to  the 
writer,  as  a  peculiar  fact  in  Bishop  Marvin's  administration, 
that  the  preachers,  in  their  grievance  over  appointments 
and  otherwise,  did  not  fall  out  with  the  Bishop.  Perhaps 
his  address  at  the  Pacific  Conference,  in  part,  interprets  the 
singular  exemption.  The  preachers — least  as  Avell  as  great- 
est, from  the  youngest  to  the  oldest — all  knew  that  he  loved 
them,  "not  hesitating,"  as  the  same  colleague  has  said, 
*' to  tell  them  that  he  loved  them."  It  was  not  in  doubt, 
at  all,  that  he  was  in  sympathy  with  them — in  their  trials 
himself  grieved, 'and  exultant  in  their  triumphs.  More  than 
all,  it  was  not  in  doubt,  the  purity  of  his  principles  and  the 
rectitude  of  his  purposes — "to  do  exactly  right."     It  was 


490  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

the  authority  of  character,  and  rehiforccd  by  the  authority  of 
hibors  :  amoiisc  the  laborers  as  a  ficld-liaud  iu  the  harvest, 
and  bcarinir  with  them  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day. 

On  the  Pacilic  Coast  he  was  among  the  preachers,  "  as 
Chief,"  but,  more  than  any  of  their  number,  could  say: 
*'  Behold  !  I  am  among  you,  as  he  that  serveth."     lie  had 
the  influence  of  both  a  leader  and  companion-in-arms,  like 
that  of  a  great  Captain  on  one   continent,  in  the  passes  of 
the  Alps,  who  mounted  a  nmrmuring  soldier  on  his  owu 
horse  and  took  his  place  in  the  ranks.     On  tliis  side  of  the 
Ocean,  refusing  personal  aggrandizement,  Gen.  Lee's  com- 
mand,   in    personal    rule  transcending  the  authority  of  a. 
Marshal's    haton,    w^as    located    in   his    partnership    in   the 
fatigues   and  fortunes  of  his  followers:   "If  there  is  any 
money  to  spare,  give  it  to  my  private  soldiers."     It  would 
seem,  indeed,  tliat  at  the  close  of  the  first  session.  Bishop 
Marvin  had  appointed  himself  to  the  whole  Conference  for 
his  Circuit ;  and,  at  the  next,  there  was  no  preacher  on  the 
roll  who  had  made  so   many  pastoral  visits,  preached  as 
many    sermons,    or   reported    as   many   accessions    to    the 
Church.     Ho  had  traveled  their  Circuits  from  Napa  Valley 
to  Shasta,  in  the  mountains  ;  preached  at  Minna  Street  and 
at  a  store  on  Mariposa  Creek  ;  filled  the  pulpit  of  all  prin- 
cipal  stations,    and  held  protracted  meetings    at  all  chief 
charges  ;  attended  and  spoke  at  Collcgo  Commencements  ; 
paid  Churches  and  Seminaries  out  of  debt;  held  District 
Conferences,  and  preached  campmcetings  through — at  Con- 
ference, the  -wonder  of  the  preachers  as  worker  and  evan- 
gelist, idolized  as  a  man,  and  as  Bishop,  omnipotent. 

Surely,  this  Avas  a  preaching  prelate.  He  began,  in  the 
wao-on  road  travel  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  the  connection  of 
Conferences  by  a  line  of  appointments  to  preach;  in  cities, 
and  as  well  at  villages  and  country  Churches — on  a  round 
of  the  San  Francisco  District,  connecting  the  Quarterly 
Meetings  in  the  same  way.     Not,  since  the  session  of  Con- 


ON   THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  491 

ference  till  that  round,  in  Januaiy,  with  E.  K.  Miller,  the 
Presidinsi:  Elder,  had  he  heard  a  sermon  ;  in  nearly  four 
months'  itinerancy  among  the  circuits,  doing  all  the  preach- 
ing, most  pf  the  time  twice  a  day — on  Sabbaths,  with  a 
morning  prayer-meeting  or  a  love-feast  or  the  sacrament,  and 
always,  where  there  was  a  Sunday-school,  a  talk  to  the 
children,  added  to  sermons  mornino;  and  nio;ht.  On  several 
occasions  there  is  a  week's  preaching,  as  at  San  Francisco, 
and  a  week  at  Sacramento,  and  two  weeks  at  Stockton — 
many  two  days'  meetings,  and,  at  a  multitude  of  places,  the 
sinfrle  sermon.  In  his  official  comnmnication  to  the  College 
of  Bishops,  in  May,  1869,  he  noted  having  averaged,  since 
his  arrival  on  the  Coast,  in  the  preceding  August,  fully  one 
sermon  a  day.  In  a  journal  of  travel  and  preaching,  cover- 
ing about  nine  months,  with  an  entry  every  day,  there  is 
mention  of  only  two  rest-days  ;  in  one,  "  lazed  about,"  he 
said  with  composure,  and  of  the  other,  "  not  satisfied 
with  the  day."  Festival  days  were  work-days — on  New 
Year's  day,  out  on  the  road  all  day,  in  the  rain,  in  travel  to 
a  Quarterly  Meeting  at  St.  Helena.  This  was  his  holiday- 
week  and  his  Christmas  day  : 

We  had  the  benefit  of  a  visit  from  Bishop  Marvin  during  tlie  Christmas 
holidays.  He  preached  eight  sermons  of  great  power  and  patlios.  Every 
one  liere  spealis  of  liim  in  tlie  liighest  terms  of  praise.  No  man  lias  been 
more  popular  with  us  than  he.  We  would  like  to  have  him  on  our  coast 
permanently.  If  we  had  him — specially  for  our  Conference — we  could 
well  dispense  with  Presiding  Elders.  He  was  in  very  good  health  when 
here.  He  rode  with  me  thirty  miles,  on  Christmas  day,  in  a  buggy,  over 
a  very  rough,  mountainous  road,  and  preached  at  night  one  of  the  best 
sermons  I  ever  heard.  I  felt  a  little  sorry  for  him.  We  had  just  eaten 
our  dinners  at  about  five  o'clock  p.  m.,  not  having  stopped  for  anj'thing  on 
the  road,  and  had  just  sat  down  to  enjoy  a  little  rest,  when  the  bell  com- 
menced to  ring.  "What  is  that  for?"  he  asked.  "For  j^ou  to  preach," 
I  replied.  "Well,"  said  he,"  I  thought  I  would  get  one  day's  rest.  I  have 
not  missed  preaching  a  day  for  five  weeks."  I  proposed  that  he  remain  at 
my  house  and  rest,  and  I  would  let  the  peojjle  know  that  he  was  here,  and 
would  be  on  hand  the  next  day.    But  no,  preach  he  would. 

After  his  report  to  the  Bishop's  meeting,   the   average 


402  BISIIOr  MAKVIX. 

jwr  diem  preaching  was  maintained  in  a  line  of  appoint- 
ments stretching  up  towards  Oregon,  for  his  summer  cam- 
l)aign.  lie  Avrotc  of  that  campaign  as  a  "  blank" — in  his 
"line  of  things"  only,  it  must  bo  understood.  It  com- 
menced with  a  sermon  at  Ashland,  the  lowermost  town  in 
Oregon,  on  Friday  night,  after  two  days  and  nights  in  the 
stage.  Having  his  lieadqnarters  at  Corvallis,  where,  on 
every  return  to  it  he  preaches,  and  where  once  he  "broke 
down  "  in  the  pulpit,  his  first  coming  there  on  this  tour  was 
l^receded  by  appointments  at  Jacksonville  and  Roseburg, 
and  at  a  campmeeting  at  Myrtle  Creek,  and  another,  called 
Bro.  Elton's ;  and  was  followed  by  two  other  camp- 
meetings,  at  Dixie  and  Brownsville.  On  July  29th,  he  had 
started  with  Brothers  Kelscy  and  Emery  to  meet  appoint- 
ments below.  The  diarj'^-entry  of  the  31st  records  :  "  This 
morning  my  eye  is  in  such  a  dreadful  condition  and  I  am  so 
very  sick,  I  am  compelled  to  stop.  With  deep  regret  I  see 
the  brethren  ffo  without  me.  But  it  must  be  as  God  wills. 
For  me  to  go  is  imi)ossible.  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  cost 
me  my  eye.''  His  pulpit-zeal  had  only  this  limit :  "  I  went 
us  long  as  I  could."  It  was  unequalled  except  by  his  own 
in  Missouri,  the  preceding  3'ears  and  the  two  following  in 
Texas  ;  making  a  record  of  live  years'  preaching,  day  and 
night,  on  sacred  and  secular  days,  unsurpassed,  if  not,  also, 
unparalleled,  it  may  1)0  safely  affirmed,  in  the  history  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopacy,  and  truly  apostolical. 

He  was  in  the  midst  of  those  lal)ors  at  the  time  of  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  College  of  Bishops.  Its  session  was 
held  in  St,  Louis,  by  special  invitation,  and  was  marked  by 
occasions  of  remarkable  interest,  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  Centenary  Church  and  the  dedication  of  St.  John's. 
It  was  spoken  of  as  unique  by  the  Bishops  in  their  reply  to 
the  address  of  welcome  at  a  public  reception.  Bishop  Mar- 
vin was  directly  and  earnestly  solicited  to  be  present,  with 
proffer  of  all  expenses  to  be  paid,  coming  and  returning, 


ox    THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  493 

on  the  Pacific  Railway,  which  ha<l  just  been  completed. 
His  absence  Avas  gracefully  ami  affe-tionately  alluded  to, 
especially  in  the  address  of  Bishop  INIcTyelre,  who  gave  an 
account  of  the  acceptance  of  the  invitation  to.  St.  Louis,  and 
its  tender  and  advocacy  by  Bishop  IVIarvin — among  other 
things,  saving,  that  he  wanted  the  Bishops  to  come 
and  take  a  lookout  on  the  field  of  the  great  "West.  In 
that  look,  he  was  seen  at  work  in  those  fields  —  the 
spirit  of  it  disclosed  in  the  brief  paragraph  opening 
his  communication  to  his  colleagues:  "I  have  deter- 
mined, upon  mature  reflection,  Avlth  prayer,  to  remain 
on  the  Pacific  Coast  during  the  i-emainder  of  the  year. 
I  forego  alike  a  visit  to  my  family,  and. the  enjoyment 
of  our  annual  meeting,  in  both  of  which  I  impose  upon 
myself  a  great  self-denial.  But  I  am  clear  in  the  conviction 
that  it  is  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  will  conduce  materially 
to  the  advancement  of  His  cause  in  these  renlons." 

He  had  entered  upon  his  labors  there  with  prayer  that 
his  coming  to  the  coast  might  not  be  in  vain — this,  an  earn- 
est and  specific  petition  :  "  O  !  that  I  may  be  able  so  to  live 
and  labor  as  to  win  souls  for  Christ."  On  that  tour  it  was 
conspicuous,  what  was  the  uniform  fact  in  his  Episcopal  life, 
that  the  direct  work  of  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  was  in 
his  heart  and  on  his  hands  with  the  original  zeal.  It  was 
held  superior  to  tlie  functions  of  Episcopal  office — in  his 
consciousness,  as  it  was  in  the  death-bed  utterance  of  Bish- 
op Andrew  ;  "  jNIake  no  parade  over  my  funeral ;  I  am  sim- 
ply a  Methodist  preacher."  His  sentiment  was  kmdred  to 
that  of  Jobson,  spoken  from  the  Presidential  chair  of  the 
British  Conference  :  "  But  we  shall  not  be  ashamed  of  the 
old  title  borne  by  our  fathers — that  of  Methodist  preachers. 
That  pulpit  is  higher  than  this  chair,  and  no  man  deserves 
to  occupy  this  chair  who  does  not  think  so."  Eemarkabl}-, 
in  his  Episcopal  visitations  throughout  the  Connection,  in 
the  bounds  of  every  Conference  there  are  converts  of  bis 


494  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

ministry  ;  luid  it  is  testified  tliat  in  every  charge  be  visited  in 
California,  there  is  a  living  witness  to  the  zeal  and  power  of 
bis  pulpit.  It  is  manifest  that,  for  the  winter  in  California 
and  the  spring  and  summer  in  Oregon,  bo  proposed  to  him- 
self and  sedulously  sought,  with  the  i)lauting,  au  ingather- 
ing. In  bis  journal  it  appears  that  he  kept  the  account  of 
additions  to  the  Church,  as  a  miser  would  count  his  treas- 
ure, posting  the  number  at  short  intervals.  In  April,  the 
a<r<rrcoatc,  as  reported  to  the  Bishops'  meeting,  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four,  and  reached  in  all,  during  that 
visitation,  nearly  two  hundred. 

From  frequent  entries  in  his  Diary,  it  is  evident  that  the 
burden  of  souls  was  on  his  own — protest  against  a  fruitless 
ministry  and  agony  of  prayer  for  the  increase.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  revival-meetings  of  the  Conference  year 
was  at  Vacaville,  tbe  seat  of  the  College,  begun  under  bis 
preaching.  The  additions,  however,  in  large  measure  were 
reaped  under  single  sermons  ;  here  and  there,  up  and  down 
the  coast,  and  out  in  the  mountains.  He  is  doing  the 
pioneer-work  of  Grundy  Mission  at  times  ;  laboring  with 
mourners  on  the  straw  floor  at  the  campmccting,  like  be  did 
at  the  Peery  campground,  or  at  the  puncheon  scat  of  the 
Country  church,  like  he  did  on  Liberty  Circuit.  The  old 
spirit  of  his  Presiding  Elder-pulpit  was  upon  him  in  full 
power  ;  and  at  the  City  stations,  bis  sermons,  as  the  official 
or<ran  of  the  j\I.  E.  Church  noted  them,  "  such  as  ought  to 
lead  sinners  to  the  Savior  and  build  up  the  Church  of  Christ.' 
In  another  mention  of  the  spirit  of  bis  ministry  and  the 
tenor  of  bis  pulpit,  it  is  testified  :  "  Every  where  be  goes  tbe 
spirit  of  Primitive  INIcthodisrn  is  begotten  in  the  Church  or 
aroused  to  newness  of  life,  and  the  old  fashioned  doctrine 
of  '  holiness  of  heart '  finds  in  Bishop  Marvin  a  most 
powerful  advocate,  even  here  on  these  Pacific  shores."  One 
of  the  very  first  observations  he  made  on  that  country  was 
an  idolatry   of  mammon   and    a  spirit   of  worldliness  and 


ON    THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  495 

worldly  conformity,  which  had  invaded  the  general  Church. 
In  his  pulpit  and  correspondence,  the  Church,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  was  summoned  to  its  moorings  in  a  pure 
spirituality  and  deep  consecration.  The  tone  of  his  own 
piety  was  touched  and  elevated  by  that  year,  which  seems  to 
have  been  in  his  experience  a  Sal)l)ath-year.  He  declared 
jDublicly  :  "I  had  many  precious  seasons  with  the  people  of 
God  ;  and  I  believe  I  can  sav  that  I  have  '  ijrown  in  o;race 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  since  I  left 
home."  He  records  answer  to  the  jirayer  which  opened  his 
Tisitation  ;  "I  can  never  forget  the  brethren  with  whom  I 
have  spent  the  last  year.  We  have  prayed  and  wept  and 
labored  toiTjcther,  and  I  trust  w^ill  gather  fruit  too-ether  in 
eternitv." 

In  Bishop  Marvin's  written  report  of  his  labors  to  the 
College  of  Bishops,  it  is  remarked  justly  :  "  Of  course  this 
thing  of  visiting  every  Circuit  cannot  be  kept  up,  unless  the 
whole  system  of  Episcopal  labor  is  changed,  which,  in  my 
opinion,  would  be  disastrous."  In  the  case,  however,  it  was 
called  for  and  justitied  by  an  emergency.  There  had  been 
lack  as  w^cll  as  a  great  need  of  E[)iscopal  supervision.  His 
visitation  made  amends — its  supply  at  that  time,  in  its 
extent,  under  his  own  and  Bishop  Kavanaugh's  administra- 
tion, amounting  to  manv  years  of  ordinary  Episcopal  ser- 
vice. Its  value  cannot  be  over  estimated.  Internal  dis- 
sensions w^ere  healed.  There  had  been  errors  and  abuses, 
which  he  corrected  with  a  stronsi;  hand.  There  was  occasion 
for  rebuke,  which  he  uttered  boldly  and  faithfully.  By  the 
example  of  his  own  labors,  as  well  as  by  earnest  speech, 
the  Conference  w^as  lifted  to  a  higher  plane  of  consecration 
and  put  on  the  path  of  enterprise.  The  spirituality  of  the 
Church  was  w'onderfully  toned  up  and  the  preachers  and 
people  greatly  enheartened.  Amidst  discouragements,  to 
which  he  alludes,  he  adds:  "The  word  ' //"'  came  into 
vogue.     The  suspicion  was  felt  and  confessed  by  many  that 


49 G  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

we  would  have  to  abandon  our  organization.  To-day  we 
arc  .suffering  immensely  from  this  cause.  If  wo  had  never 
allowed  ourselves  to  think  of  failure,  we  would  now  have 
manv  valuable  members,  who  are  in  other  Churches,  and 
many  of  our  Societies,  which  are  now  struggling  for  exist- 
ence, would  have  been  in  a  flourishing  condition."  He 
dealt  a  death-blow  to  that  formidable  and  disastrous  "  if." 
In  both  Conferences  the  spirit  of  the  Church  was  rallied 
and  carried  beyond  the  point  of  occupation — out  on  lines  of 
Church  extension.  The  iirst  year,  in  Oregon,  the  ex[)lor- 
ation  of  the  Dalles,  up  to  the  borders  of  British  America, 
was  ordered,  and  report  returned  at  the  next  year  of  in- 
viting" fields  and  earnest  call  for  the  ministrv  of  Southern 
Methodism.  At  his  second  session  of  the  Pacific  Confer- 
ence, a  memorial  to  the  General  Conference  was  adopted, 
which  resulted  in  adding  another  Conference,  Los  Angeles, 
to  California  IMethodism.  The  labors  of  his  colleagues, 
in  the  succeeding  years,  followed  up  the  lines  and  the  spirit 
of  his  policy.  Seven  years  afterwards,  on  his  tour  of  the 
world,  he  was  the  Bishop  for  the  Pad  tic  Coast.  The 
comparative  view  in  the  condition  of  the  Conference  is  noted 
by  him  with  a  glad  utterance : 

Having  held  the  Conference  on  this  coas*^,  it  affords  me  great  satis- 
faction to  say  that  after  the  lapse  of  seven  years  I  lliid  a  very  evident, 
and,  iiuk'i'd,  a  great,  advancement  in  the  condition  of  the  Church.  This 
advance  appears  less  in  the  actual  increase  of  numbers  than  in  some  other  . 
respects.  Everything  seems  more  solid  and  on  a  hotter  basis.  Preachers 
and  people  are  in  better  heart,  and  have  a  greater  feeling  of  assurance. 
The  increase  in  parsonages  and  houses  of  worship  is  very  decided,  and 
indicates  a  good  public  spirit  in  the  Church.  The  Church  in  the  great 
metropolitan  city  of  the  coast  is  looking  up. 

No  doubt  there  is  much  that  may  well  throw  us  upon  the  sense  of  our 
dependence  upon  God,  and  very  much  to  cause  a  feeling  of  humility,  and 
lead  us  to  earnest  self-examination;  but  tliere  is  much  also  to  cause  joy 
and  gladness,  and  excite  tlianksgiving  to  God. 

In  the  same  communication,  "  a  farewell  note,"  is  his 
last  word  to  the  preachers  on  the  Coast : 


ON    THE    PACIFIC    COAST.  497 

Brethren  of  the  ministry,  we  must  live  in  Christ  daily.  We  must  be 
much  on  our  kuees,  and  in  actual  communion  with  God.  We  must  not 
love  our  life  even  unto  death.  Suffer  this  word  of  exiiortation.  Let  us 
remember  our  hold  on  Christ.  Let  us  be  ready  to  be  counted  the  filth  and 
offscouring  of  the  world.  Let  us  not  be  solicitous  about  reputation  or 
ease.  When  we  are  lost  and  swallowed  up  in  God,  we  may  look  for  His 
coming  in  power.  This  is  what  we  need — the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost ! 
the  fire  that  consumes  our  sins.  Let  us  put  the  sacrifice  on  the  altar  and 
keep  it  there  until  the  fire  consumes  it.  O  for  the  Spirit  of  sacrifice  1  Then. 
shall  the  spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  rest  upon  us. 

Brethren,  pray  for  me,  that  I  myself  may  know  the  fullness  of  grace  I 
preach  to  others. 


32 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 


ON   THE    ATLANTIC    SEABOARD. 


From  Ocean  to  Ocean — Ealtimore  Conference — Its  proceedings — Pulpit 
and  Platform — Commencoment  Sermon  at  Staunton — At  Washington- 
Lee  University — Tlie  Guest  of  Gen.  Lee — The  Praycr-mccting  and  tlie 
Banquet  Hall — Notes  of  Travel  East — Punctuality  illustrated — The 
eye  of  Bishop  and  Tourist  excmplifled — Ministerial  vacation — Leave- 
taking  of  the  Valley— Tue  Iluudrcd-ycars-oid  Church — The  Natural 
Bridge — A  sketch  by  Lafferty — At  Washington  City — Sermons  at  Alex- 
andria— Wesley  Grove  Camp — The  Winchester  Conference — A  Mono- 
graph by  Dr.  Samuel  Rodgers-  -Virginia  and  the  Carolinas. 

^f^ROM  Ocean  to  Ocean  is  one  of  the  links  and  lines  of 
^^llj  travel  and  labors  in  this  history  ;  not  in  rapid  transit,  as 
will  appear  in  subsequent  pages,  but  with  l)oth  termini 
broadlj  niai-kcd  on  the  map  of  the  itinerary,  and  the  inter- 
vening spaces  dotted  all  along  with  the  marks  of  his  sojourn 
and  service.  In  the  fall  he  is  on  the  Pacific  Coast;  in  the 
spring  of  1870  he  is  at  Baltimore,  in  attendance  on  the  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  visitor  at, the  Baltimore  Conference,  held  by- 
Bishop  McTyeire  ;  returning  to  the  East  in  June  for  special 
labors. 

It  was  his  first  view,  in  person,  of  the  jSIethodism  of  the 
Atlantic  Seaboard,  lie  wrote  of  the  Conference  as  a  de- 
lightful session.  His  pen  notes  everything  noticeable,  and 
is  a"-low  with  the  zest  of  gratified  observation  and  experi- 
ence.  It  was  the  fourtli  session  held  consecutively  at  Balti- 
more— "the    cradle    of    Methodism,"    and    still  a  city  of 


ON  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD.  499 

Methodists.  He  contrasted  with  his  own  loved  St.  Louis 
the  public  interest  taken  in  the  session  ;  the  Conference- 
room  always  crowded,  the  aisles  impassable,  and  even  ladies, 
who  can  find  no  place  to  sit,  standing  for  hours.  It  was 
lield  at  the  close  of  the  first  quadrennium  of  the  Southern 
Methodist  life  of  the  Conference.  He  was  there  to  rejoice 
in  the  prosperous  year  with  which  it  closed  ;  extensive  re- 
vivals of  religion  in  every  part  of  the  work,  and  large 
progress  made  in  Church-building,  to  replace  the  property 
lost,  when,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  that  day,  they 
€ame  out  of  Babylon.  In  the  Conference  proceedings  there 
w^as  a  resolution  adopted  looking  to  the  recovery  of  a  fair 
j^roporlion  of  the  funds  of  the  old  Preachers'  Aid  Society, 
held  by  their  brethren  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  of  the 
M.  E.  Church  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  communication 
from  that  body,  then  in  session  at  Frederick,  solicitins:  fra- 
ternal  relations.  The  same  peculiarity,  he  observes,  is 
hel'e,  as  in  the  West — j^earning  after  union,  but  not  ready 
to  do  an  act  of  justice.  Then  he  applauded  the  declinature 
of  the  overture,  as  demanded  by  the  status  of  the  Church, 
South,  and  not  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  ecclesias- 
tical comity,  and  required  by  the  law  of  good  morals.  At  a 
later  date,  the  whole  of  the  Church  property,  with  slight 
exception,  was  surrendered  ;  and  then,  he  was  prompt  and 
sincere  in  avowal  and  practice  of  fraternity. 

The  occasion  was  marked  among  visitors  by  a  distin- 
guished presence — three  Bishops  in  attendance,  Bishop  Dog- 
gett,  also,  being  there,  and  five  College  Presidents,  and, 
among  the  Connectional  officials,  the  late  Dr.  A.  L.  P. 
Green,  for  an  inimitaljle  Sunday-school  speech.  There  was 
jDeculiarly  a  grand  pulpit  and  platform  at  that  session. 
Bishop  Marvin  preached  at  Central  Church,  in  the  pulpit  of 
his  old  jNIissouri  friend  and  co-laborer,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Linn. 
The  discourse  Avas  on  the  text :  "  He  shall  see  of  the  travail 
■of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied."     It  was  reported  in  the  Epis- 


r)00  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

• 

copal  Methodis/,  as  having  fully  met  expectations,  which  had 
been  raised  to  the  highest  pitch — at  an  early  hour  tlie  largo 
auditorium  lillcd  to  its  utmost  capacity;  the  i)rcaching,  in 
gentleness  and  pathos,  at  times  reminding  old  I'mltimorc 
Methodists  of  John  Summerfield  ;  and  the  preacher,  for  soul- 
stirring  eloquence  and  power,  standing  in  the  front  rank  of 
the    modern    pulpit.     The    same    sermon    is    reported   by 
Brother  J.  P.  Thomas.     In  his  ears  still  resounds  the  "  Eloi ! 
Eloi !  Lama  Sabacthani,"  which  concluded  the  portrayal  of 
the  passion  ;  and  before  his  imagination  still  stands  the  gor- 
geous picture  of  a  Savior  satisfied.     Pie  narrates  other  dis- 
courses heard  by  him,  "  all  wonderfully  spiritual,  as  well 
as  intellectual,  and  invariably  accompanied  by  the  demon- 
stration of  the  Spirit  and  with  power."     Of  various  pulpit 
occasions  referred  to  by  him,  he  adds  :  ♦'  Never  can  I  forget 
the  scenes  that  transpired  under  his  glorious  ministrations. 
Such  singing,  praying  and  preaching  I  never  had  heard, 
although  I  have  been  hearing  pulpit  giants  for  fifty  j-ears." 
lie  spoke,  also,  at  one  of  the  anniversaries  at  that  session — 
that  of  the  Missionary  Society  of   the    Sunday-school   of 
Trinity  Church.     It  was  admirably  managed,  and  an  occa- 
sion of  transcendant  interest  ;  in  its  incidents  and  in  the 
success    and  value  of  its  tuition  in  practical  Christianity, 
worthy    of   permanent  record,   and  a  bright  example  for 
imitation.      From  a  lengthy  report  in  a  secuhir  paper  of  the 
city,  the  following  extract  is  taken,  including  the  episode 
occurring   to   Bisjiop  jMarvin,  which  he  has  spoken  of  as 
havin<^^  made  one  of  the  happiest  moments  and  most  prized 
honors  of  his  life  ; 

A  temporary  stage  had  been  erected  around  the  altar,  over  which  were 
arrangL'd,  in  semi-circular  form,  Iho  uords  "Jesus  Reigns,"  in  brilliant 
jets  of  sas.  On  other  parts  of  tlie  stage  were  arranged,  with  exiiuisitc 
taste,  large  baskets,  crosses  and  bouquets  of  beautiful  and  costly  flowers. 

Rev.  Dr.  Green,  of  Tennessee,  opened  the  services  with  prayer,  after 
which  the  excelkiit  choir  sang,  with  organ  accompaniment,  the  hynm, 
*'  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name,"  etc.    A  delegate  from  each  of  the 


ON  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD.  501 

seyeral  classes  then  approaclied  the  altar  and  presented  the  annual  offer- 
ings, the  sum  total  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  the  handsome  sum  of 
$1,G29,  while  the  total  amount  of  the  offerings  of  Trinity  Station  during 
the  3'car  to  missionary  purposes  reached  .1^3,400. 

An  interesting  feature  of  the  evening  was  the  presentation  at  the  close 
of  the  services  of  a  beautiful  cross  of  flowers  to  Bishop  Marvin. 

Rev.  Mr.  Holland,  the  pastor,  on  the  part  of  the  infant  class,  made  the 
floral  offering,  which  was  happily  responded  to  by  the  Bishop. 

The  fame  of  that  visit  induced  invitations  for  Colleire 
Commencement  service  at  AVesleyan  Female  Institute,  at 
Staunton,  Virginia,  and  the  address  before  the  Literary  So- 
cieties of  Wash inirton  Coll cije  (now  Washinirton-Lee  Uni- 
versity)  at  Lexington.  The  fame  of  the  sermon  is  men- 
tioned by  a  discreet  reporter  from  hearsav  :  "I  forego 
further  reference  to  his  sermons,  though  I  could  repeat  the 
reports  of  them  made  to  me.  If  I  should  do  so  it  might 
seem  that  I  had  contracted  the  vice  of  extravagant  lauda- 
tion." 

The  death  of  General  Lee,  in  the  following  September, 
was  the  melancholy  occasion  of  a  reference,  in  his  Texas 
correspondence,  to  the  visit  to  Lexington  and  sojourn  as  the 
guest  of  that  great  man,  who  is  described  also  as  a  true 
Christian  : 

On  reaching  Jefferson  I  met  the  intelligence  of  Gen.  Lee's  death.  It 
made  me  sad.  I  had  loved  him  before  I  had  ever  seen  him.  Acquaintance 
deepened  the  affection.  His  personal  traits  charmed  me.  The  great  man 
of  the  war  was  the  simple-hearted  Christian  gentleman  of  the  home  circle, 
dispensing  a  hospitality  as  unaffected  as  it  was  elegant. 

The  Koman  Catholics  of  Jefferson  had  a  solemn  High  Mass  for  the 
repose  of  his  soul.  What  artful  men  these  priests  are!  Denying  the 
possibility  of  salvation  to  a  Protestant,  jet  they  make  a  great  parade  of 
their  INIass  in  behalf  of  one  who  has  no  connection  whatever  with  their 
'Church.  Gen.  Lee  had  not  left  the  repose  of  his  soul  to  the  hazard  of 
papal  attorneyship. 

It  was  an  occasion  of  great  interest  with  me  when,  unknown  to  him 
and  by  mere  accident,  I  heard,  from  an  adjoining  room,  his  morning 
prayer  with  his  household.  The  de\out  simplicity  of  the  prayer  struck 
me.  This  "fervent,  effectual  prayer"  availed  much  for  the  "repose  of 
his  soul,"  in  time  and  in  eternity.  He  had  taken  refuge  in  Clirist,  lived  in 
Him,  died  in  Him.     "Blessed are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord;  yea,  saith 


502  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

the  Spirit,  for  they  rest  from  their  labors  and  their  works  do  follow  them."' 
This  departed  Christian,  dyin^  in  the  Lord,  has  entered  into  rest — has  gone 
to  his  Master  to  be  witli  llim  where  lie  is,  accordinsc  to  His  promise.  Yet 
these  ofliciovis,  impertinent  priests  uffeet  to  help  him  through  purgatorial 
torments  with  pretentious  forms. 

The  nearest  to  anji:hing  like  an  expression  of  contempt  I  heard  from 
the  honored  lips  of  this  man  was  a  remark  upon  the  decree  of  the  Council 
then  in  session  declaring  the  Pope  infallible.  He  held  the  whole  affair  to 
be  a  blasphemous  farce. 

Ill  a  narrative  of  the  Commencement  exercises,  lie  re- 
ports himself :  "Last  of  all  came  the  address  before  the 
Literary  Societies,  which  was  read  from  the  manuscript 
and  listened  to  with  a  good  degree  of  attention,  considering 
that  the  audience  had  been  sitting  three  hours  Mhcn  it  was 
begun."  It  was  published  by  the  societies.  Several  re- 
ports have  come  to  these  pages,  the  following  from  the  racy 
pen  of  the  present  Editor  of  the  liichmond  Advocate^  who 
at  the  time  was  resident  at  Lexinirton — an  anecdote  added, 
characteristic  of  Bishop  Marvin,  and  exhibiting  greatness  in 
guest,  as  well  as  of  host : 

During  the  Presidency  of  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee,  Bishop  Mannn  made  a  Com- 
mencement Address  at  Washington  College,  Lexington,  Virginia.  The 
Bishop  spoke  on  some  abstract  theme,  or  rather  he  read  an  essay.  His- 
attempt  at  delivery  from  manuscript  was  not  successful.  It  was  his  first 
effort  at  speaking  with  eyes  on  the  page.  He  read  badly.  When  printed, 
the  address  won  him  much  praise  as  a  thinker.  It  was  ranked  high  by  the 
judicious.  The  question  he  discussed  was  metaphysical,  yet  he  told  me 
he  had  never  turned  a  leaf  of  Hamilton's  Lectures.  He  had  evidently 
cleared  his  own  ground.     But  this  is  not  what  I  had  in  mj"^  mind  to  say. 

He  was  the  guest  of  Gen.  Lee,  and  appreciated  by  his  host.  I  know 
that  the  great  and  good  soldier,  quick  as  a  discerner  of  spirits,  had  the 
Bishop  in  estimation.  He  saw  there  Avas  stoutness  in  Marvin,  and  he 
liked  it.  Ttie  day  after  the  address  the  Bishop  packed  his  luggage  and 
ordered  it  to  the  house  of  a  Methodist  Steward  in  the  town.  The  General 
demurred,  and  claimed  him  as  guest  till  he  should  leave  Lexington.  Mar- 
vin made  it  plain  to  hliu  how,  having  quit  himself  to  the  College  by  the 
speech,  he  could  not  delay  to  begin  work  among  his  own  people.  So  he 
turned  from  the  hospitality  of  this  "  king  of  men  "  to  the  humble  homes 
of  the  Methodists.  He  was  pressed  to  remain  till  dinner  and  meet  some 
men  of  quality  and  renown.  He  excused  himself.  "  He  had  promised  to 
break  bread  witli  Brother  Senseny."  Brother  Senseny  was  the  village 
blacksmith. 


ox  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD.  503 

At  the  Alumni  banquet  that  night  the  toast  to  Missouri  found  no  re- 
sponse, for  he  was  leading  a  prajer-meeting  at  the  little  meetmg-house  in 
the  hollow  on  the  back  street. 

The  Bishop  has  noted  in  a  pleasanL  vein  the  competition 
between  the  Literary  banquet-hall  and  the  House  of 
Praj'er : 

The  day  closed  with  an  Alumni  entertainment,  to  which  I  was  invited, 
A  toast  was  sent  me.  It  was  this:  "Missouri:  The  Queen  of  the  West. 
Lacera  et  laniata  at  non  victa.''^  But  my  inclination  led  me  to  a  prayer- 
meeting  at  the  Methodist  Church.  Besides,  I  did  not  know  so  well  about 
the  toast.  The  English  part,  I  thought,  sounded  very  well.  But  the 
Latin — I  don't  know  much  about  Latin.  Lacera  et  laniata — as  nearly  as  I 
could  scratch  the  meaning  of  it  into  my  head,  I  thought  this  was  about  so. 
But  71071  victa — how  about  non  victa^  It  had  a  dubious  look  to  me.  I 
shook  my  head  doubtiugly,  and  concluded  not  to  go  to  the  supper.  The 
prayer-meeting  was  a  plain  business,  all  done  in  plain  English,  and  I  felt 
sure  of  my  footing  there.  I  am  glad  to  have  to  add  that  the  attendance  at 
the  prayer-meeting  was  large,  though,  I  was  told,  not  up  to  the  average. 

He  protracted  his  stay  in  the  Mountains  of  Virginia 
during  a  month,  on  invitation  of  Rev.  J.  S.  Gardner,  pastor 
of  the  Church  at  Harrisonburg,  and  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  Rawley's  Springs  ;  in  their  thought  and  in  his  own, 
for  recuperation  in  the  mountain  air  and  from  Chalybeate 
waters.  His  notes  of  that  sojourn,  appearing  in  the  col- 
umns of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  open  with  men- 
tion of  the  occasion  of  them  :  "I  have  a  suspicion  that  the 
public  does  not  relish  common-place  personal  narrative 
from  travelers.  In  view  of  this,  I  am  in  a  straight.  Upon 
my  leaving  St.  Louis  nothing  would  do  you  but  the  promise 
of  some  correspondence  from  Virginia."  The  present 
writer,  then  the  editor  he  addressed,  from  those  and  lettert 
from  Texas  and  the  Mountains,  was  unconsciously  securing 
from  Bishop  Marvin  a  journal  of  travel  and  labors  which 
has  been  of  great  service  to  his  biographer,  as,  no  doubt,  it 
will  be  of  great  interest  to  the  reader.  The  ''personal 
narrative  "  was  not  common-place  ;  and  all  along  it  is  illus- 
trative of  the  man  and  his  work. 


504  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

On  tlio  travel  East  ho  had  pleasant  companionship  of 
St.  Louis  friends — Brother  M.  11.  Collins  and  tlie  late 
Nathan  Coleman  and  their  families.  The  mention  of  the 
incident  exhibits,  at  least,  the  grace  of  his  pen,  and  may  be 
put  to  use  as  one  of  his  methods  of  punctuality,  which  was 
with  him  a  cardinal  virtue.  How  ho  contrived  to  be  so 
uniformly  and  exactly  punctual  has  been  seen  in  his  Texas 
tours — in  a  stout  purpose  and  hard  travel.  In  this  tour,  by 
what  lie  calls  "  the  fore-lock  "  method  with  time — making  a 
point  of  it  and  starting  in  time,  "  with  days  to  play  on." 
Coleman  was  his  model,  whose  help  to  readiness  for  an  early 
breakfast,  at  Cincinnati,  is  thus  recognized  : 

The  fact  is,  Bro.  C.  is  a  choice  traveling  companiou — wide  awake, 
restless,  always  takhig  time  by  the  forelock,  and  putting  everybody  and 
everything  Into  a  state  of  readiness  for  every  change  about  an  hour  in 
advance.  If  I  were  a  rich  man  I  would  like  to  employ  him,  at  fair  wages, 
just  to  go  along  and  "tend  to  things."  There  is  nothing  like  this 
<'  forelock  "  method  with  time.  I  find  when  you  let  him  get  by  once,  and 
depend  on  a  dexterous  grab  to  fasWn  upon  him,  you  are  very  apt  to  miss. 
The  only  way  to  manage  him  is,  to  head  him.,  (iive  him  the  start  once, 
and  he  is  the  hardest  thing  in  the  world  to  catch.  I  would  about  as  soon 
make  chase  after  a  streak  of  lightning.  But  nothing  is  easier  than  to  fasten 
upon  him  and  manage  him  by  the  "  forelock  "  mt;lhod.  There  is  Coleman, 
for  Instance,  a  man  not  very  quick  in  his  movements,  who,  by  putting  him- 
self in  position  early,  without  any  strain,  without  any  special  effort,  in  the 
quietest  sort  of  a  way,  lays  hold  of  the  forelock  and  has  time  completely 
under  control. 

lie  traveled  in  character — with  the  eye  of  the  General 

Superintendent  upon  the  fields  of  Church-work,  as  well  as 

of  the  tourist  on  the  landscape  of  Nature.     Even  in  "  Old 

Virginia"   and  in  the  "Old  Baltimore"    Conference,  he 

found  unoccupied  territory  lying  between   the  Circuits — in 

some  cases  large  enough  to  make  a  Circuit.     It   was   the 

occasion  of  the  following  paragraph  : 

Arc  we  not  falling  into  a  sort  of  routine  ?  Are  we  not  just  coming  to  culti- 
vate the  fields  our  fathers  cleared,  and  to  be  satisfied  with  this?  Has  the 
.spirit  of  enterprise  Ix-gun  to  flag?  Here  is  ample  work  for  the  missionary 
—ample  opportunity  for  the  zeal  of  the  Church.  Where  are  the  self- 
denyiiig  men  who  will  bear  privation,  and  go  out  here   to  live  and  labor 


ox  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD.  505 

with  these  lost  sheep  in  the  Tvildemess  that  they  may  be  restored  to  the 
fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd?  Is  it  too  much  for  the  Master  to  require  of 
us?  Are  we  to  make  it  a  condition  of  our  ministry  that  we  are  to  con- 
tinue in  tha  line  of  things  prepared  by  o  ir  pradocessors;  that  ws  are  to 
have  good  parsonages,  good  salaries,  and  organized  Churches  to  serve? 
Virginia  wants  men  for  this  warfare  in  the  mountains. 

Ill  his  entire  ministry  there  is  record  of  only  two  minis- 
terial vacations,  so-called — one  while  pastor  at  Centenary 
during  the  week  days,  ill  August,  spent  with  his  family  at 
their  home  in  Warren  County.  Then,  ho  returned  to  his 
l^ulpit  every  Sunday  and  after  one  day's  lounging  was  hard 
at  work  in  study  ;  on  this  trip,  in  preaching  : 

Since  Sunday  I  have  preached  three  times  and  made  an  out-of-doors 
speech,  I  am  remaining  in  this  valley  and  among  the  mountains  to  rest, 
in  order  to  recuperate  for  a  heavy  campaign,  beginning  at  Warrensburg  on 
the  last  day  of  this  mouth  and  going  on  through  the  fall  and  winter.  It  is 
the  second  time  I  have  proposed  to  rest.  This  Virginia  repose  will  turn 
out,  I  begin  to  suspect,  much  as  my  rest  at  home  did  last  winter.  Well, 
after  all,  I  do  not  see  that  preaching  injures  me,  and  am  about  ready  to 
adopt  the  theory  of  Dr.  Pierce,  that  much  preaching  conduces  to  vigor  and 
longevity. 

As  for  temperature,  I  have  rarely  kuovs-n  anything  to  exceed  the  heat 
of  the  past  week  here.  But  for  occasional  showers  it  would  have  been 
insufferable.  I  knew  a  brother  who,  during  the  war,  was  constantly  on  the 
look-out  for  a  "  safe-place."     The  desideratum  now  is  a  cool  place. 

His  labors  in  pulpit  and  pastoral  work,  exceeded,  perhaps, 
the  stated  services  of  any  Circuit-preacher  in  the  moun- 
tains. Ill  the  towns,  at  the  springs,  at  the  country  church, 
to  congregations  large  and  small,  white  people  and  colored 
folks,  he  is  preaching,  and  people  are  joining  the  Church : 
always  two  sermons  a  day  on  Sunday  ;  sometimes  with  miles 
between  the  appointments  ;  frequently  on  week  nights — the 
first  Sunday  at  Staunton,  this  : 

Sunday  comes.  The  occasion  is  one  of  twofold  import.  It  is  com- 
mencement Sunday  at  tlie  Institute  and  also  Quarterly  Meeting  for  the 
station.  A  talk  to  the  large  and  well-behaved  Sunday  School,  commence- 
ment sermon  at  eleven.  Sacrament  and  Love-feast  in  the  afternoon,  and  a 
Quarterly  Meeting  sermon  at  night,  malce  up  the  privileges  and  labors  of 
the  day.  It  was  a  profitable  Sunday  to  mc.  With  Ero.  Kenneday,  the  pastor, 
Bro.  Waugh,  the  Presidmg  Elder,  Bro.  Harris,  Principal  of  the  Institute, 
and  others,  visitors  and  citizens,  I  have  had  sweet  Christian  fellowship. 


50G  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Nevertheless,  this  is  the  closing  paragraph  of  his  Itiner- 
ary ;  in  leave-taking  of  preachers  and  people  and  valley  and 
niountain  : 

Bat  if  I  were  living  in  the  midst  of  its  scenor}-,  I  doubt  if  I  sliould  be 
Avilliii^  to  go  to  any  other  part  of  the  world.  I  shall  never  cease  to  enjoy 
the  recollection  of  its  ma;^nificent  landscapes  and  its  delightful  hospitality. 

I  take  my  leave  of  it  with  a  mhigled  feeling  of  pleasure  and  regret, 
hoping  some  day  to  visit  it  again.  But  truth  comiiels  m3  to  say  t!iat  in  the 
mattjr  of  health  I  should  have  dono  about  as  woU  on  a  preaching  tour.  It 
is  mv  first  experiment  in  traveling  for  health,  and,  witliout  a  greater 
necessity  than  I  have  yet  felt,  I  think  it  will  be  the  last.  jNly  conscience  is 
not  quite  at  rest.  The  next  visit  I  make  in  the  Valley,  if  ever  it  is  made, 
will  be  a  preaching  visit. 

lie  has  noted  with  special  mention  two  objects  of  particu- 
lar interest,  l)oth  with  an  interesting  personal  sentiment 
added  ;  one,  this  :  "  The  first  settlers  of  this  valley  were  Pres- 
byterians of  tlie  Scotcli-Irish  stock.  They  have  some  very  old 
churches.  I  passed  one,  a  stone  building,  which  had  been 
erected  over  a  hundred  years  ago.  ^t  is  a  very  substantial 
structure  and  of  good  capacity.  It  is  situated  in  a  heav}^ 
wood.  The  rural  surroundings  are  charming.  I  should  love 
to  worship  in  such  a  place  all  my  life.  Near  the  church 
there  is  the  session  room.  Not  far  away  is  the  cemetery. 
Successive  generations  have  been  baptized  and  l)uricdhere." 
The  other  sentiment  was  as  old  as  his  boyhood,  when  he 
used  to  see  the  print  of  the  Natural  Bridge  in  his  Geogra- 
phy— "  a  greater  desire  to  sec  this  wonderful  phenomenon 
of  nature,"  he  tells  us,  "  ever  since  I  was  a  boy  than  any 
other  piece  of  natural  scenery  in  the  world."  He  saw,  and 
was  satisfied:  "I  have  generally  been  disappointed  upon 
coming  to  see  ol)jccts  in  reference  to  which  expectation  had 
been  raised  to  a  high  pitch.  1  have  been  let  down,  distress- 
ingly, a  good  many  times.  In  fact,  I  ])elieve  there  have 
been  hut  four  celebrated  objects  that  did  not  disap[)oint  me 
on  sight.  The  fourth  is  the  Natural  Bridge."  The  con- 
veyance was  Kev.  Dr.  Lafferty's  carriage;  the  horses,  "a 
credit  to  a  traveling  preacher,  fine  stock,  in  fine  condition  ;'* 


ON  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD.  507 

Bev.  Dr.  Rodgers  along — a  goodly  company ;  and  the  occa- 
sion recreative,  in  undress  uniform,  and  a  loose  rein  on  the 
bent  of  humor — all,  as  described  by  his  Virginia  "Chari- 
oteer : ' ' 

lie  -u-ished  to  see  the  Natural  Bridge,  so  I  drove  him  and  Dr.  Sam. 
Rodgers,  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  out  to  this  wonder.  The  distance 
was  fourteen  miles.  The  Valley  of  Virginia  was  in  its  summer  beauty. 
The  Blue  Ridge,  only  ten  miles  away,  stretched  toward  the  Shenandoah 
till  the  mountain  melted  into  a  mist.  The  reapers  were  In  the  tields.  The 
meadows,  the  herds,  the  streams  of  living  water,  the  native  woods,  and 
farmhouses  in  the  orchards— how  he  feasted  his  eyes,  and  over  and  over 
denied  there  was  a  match  to  the  "Vii-ginia  Canaan"  in  all  the  lands  he 
had  traveled. 

And  he  talked  well.  He  didn't  hold  the  ball  too  long;  there  was  no 
monologue.  He  listened  encouragingly.  It  is  a  wonder  how  he  kept  his 
humor  under.  There  was  plenty  of  it  at  the  bottom.  You  could  track  it 
in  his  eyes  all  the  way  up  till  it  broke  at  the  surface  and  wrinkled  his  face 
into  a  smile.     He  didn't  laugh  loudly. 

At  the  risk  of  hurting  his  memory  with  hypochondriacs,  I  will  disclose 
that  we  all  lay  flat  on  our  backs  in  the  grass  near  the  Natui-al  Bridge,  and 
then  and  there  he  gave  us  the  story,  "in  character,"  on  Dr.  A.  L.  P. 
Green,  known  as :  "I  am  now  domg  my  level  best."  Dr.  Rodgers  held  his 
ribs,  and  I  laughed  at  the  top  of  my  bent. 

And  yet,  what  speaker  could  melt  the  heart  like  Margin?  Humor  and 
pathos  run  into  each  other  like  the  letters  of  a  dipthong.  The  "golden 
mouth."  Chrysostom  slept  with  the  Comedies  of  Aristophanes  under  his 
pillow.  Little  Nell  could  never  have  been  written  except  by  the  author  of 
Pickwick.     Humor  keeps  the  unction  from  rancidity. 

The  Bishop  spent  two  hours  alone,  taking  in  the  Bridge  at  all  points  of 
view.  He  wrote  an  account  of  it.  Of  the  hundred  and  one  descriptions 
given  in  books  and  letters,  this  one  was  held  by  careful  critics  among  the 
literati  of  Lexington  as  first. 

He  made  two  other  visits  and  labored  in  the  bounds  of 
the  Baltimore  Conference — in  1875,  when  he  held  the  ses- 
sion of  Conference  .at  Winchester ;  and  in  August,  1873, 
at  the  Wesley  Grove  campmeeting.  He  was  a  visitor  a 
second  time  at  the  Conference  held  in  Washington  City. 
On  the  first  visit,  in  1870,  he  preached  there  on  Sunday 
after  the  session,  at  Mt.  Vernon  Place  Church,  morning  and 
nio-ht,  and  in  the  afternoon  to  a  colored  congregation.  Rev. 
Dr.  AV.  V.  Tudor,   the  pastor  at  Mt.   Vernon,   and  whose 


508  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

pulpit  ill  St.  Louis  he  lilled  on  the  last  Sunday  of  his  pulpit 
labors,  testifies  to  the  profound  impression  he  made  on  the 
Conference  and  on  the  people  wherever  he  went.     On  his 
second   visit,   his  Conference   Sunday   Avas   at    Alexandria, 
where  he  preached  twice  ;  in  the  morning  on  the  Parable 
of  the  Talents,  and  at  night  on  the  Faith  of  the  Syro-Phoe- 
nician  AVoman.     The  texts  arc  remembered  and  wonderful 
report  is  made  of  the  impression  made,  particularly  by  the 
morning  sermon.     Recently  the  writer  heard  an  auditor  of 
an  eloquent  speaker  express  tiie  tension  of  excited  emotion, 
in  the  same  words  uttered  by  auditors  of  the  sermon  at 
Alexandria  :   "  I'm  almost  dead  !  "     Pale,  crying  and  trem- 
bling, another  exclaimed:   "Oh!  that  man  is  unearthly  !  " 
The    author  has  been  favored  and  the  reader  will  be 
o-ratiticd  by  reports  of  his  Presidency  and  pulpit  at  Confer- 
ence, and  his  labors  at  Wesley  Grove,  from  the   pens  of 
those  nearly  related  to  those  occasions,  and  closely  related 
to  him  in  intimate  association  and  mutual  esteem  and  confi- 
dence.    The  following  detail   of  his  work  and  worship  in 
the  tented  grove  is  furnished  by  the  President  of  the  Camp- 
meeting  Association,  Pro.  T.  J.  Magruder: 

He  preached  every  day,  attended  all  of  tlie  prayer  and  experience 
meetinf^s,  and  took  an  active  part  in  them ;  visited  families  from  tent  to 
tent,  and  made  a  reli;:ious  impression  by  his  preaching  and  social  inter- 
course that  will  never  be  forgotten.  He  endeared  himself  to  thousands 
who  attended  that  campmeeting. 

At  this  meeting  we  had  many  and  very  hard  rains.  For  several  days 
it  rained  incessantly,  so  that  we  had  to  hold  the  meetings  in  the  large  tent. 
On  one  occasion  while  the  meeting  was  going  on  in  the  tent,  it  became 
crowded,  and  lunulrt>ds  were  standing  outside.  Bishop  Marvin  took  a  scat 
in  tlie  pulpit  at  the  stand,  and  commenced  singing  one  of  his  favorite  cho- 
ruses : 

"I'd  rather  be  the  least  of  those, 
Who  are  the  Lord's  alone, 
Than  wear  a  royal  diadem, 
And  sit  upon  a  throne." 

The  people   came   flocking   around   him   in   tlie  lain.     He    stood  up  and 
sang  the  following  hymns  wilU  lliat  churus  : 


ox  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD.  509 

"  Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross?  " 
"  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight;" 
"Jerusalem,  my  happy  home;" 
"  On  Jordan's  stormy  bank  I  stand;" 
"  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear;" 

and  many  other  such  hymns  of  our  excellent  collection.  I  can  see  him 
now  clapping  his  hands,  and  his  ej-es  lifted  towards  heaven,  tears  stream- 
ing down  his  cheeks ;  I  can  hear  his  grand  voice  soaring  up  in  the  storm, 
anc4  hundreds  of  persons  around  him,  weeping  and  praising  God.  He  con- 
tinued singing  this  chorus  at  least  thirty  minutes.  TIic  effect  was  won- 
derful. ]\Ien,  women  and  children  were  weeping  and  praising  God  all  over 
the  ground. 

The  night  following  this  remarkable  occasion  the  rain  became  almost 
a  flood.  The  circle  and  avenues  of  the  campground  were  covered  with 
streams  of  water.  At  about  eleven  o'clock  at  night  I  visited  a  number  of 
tents,  to  inquire  how  they  were  getting  along.  When  I  came  to  Bishop 
Marvin's  tent,  I  found  him  sitting  up  in  his  bed  with  his  umbrella 
hoisted,  looking  bright  and  happy.  I  expressed  my  sorrow  that  he  was  so 
uncomfortable.  He  replied :  "  Brother,  don't  trouble  about  me,  I  will  get 
along.     See  to  the  women  and  children." 

At  the  close  of  the  camp  he  returned  with  me  to  Baltimore,  and  spent 
several  days  with  my  family;  and  then  attended  a  campmeeting  on  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  in  Prince  George  County.  It  was  during  this 
visit  that  I  named  to  him  that  we  would  love  to  have  him  live  in  Baltimore ; 
and  if  he  would  consent  to  come,  I  had  no  doubt  that  the  brethren  would 
purchase  and  present  him  with  a  residence.  He  replied  that  he  would  like 
to  live  in  Baltimore,  but  he  had  labored  most  of  his  life  in  the  West,  and 
that  his  heart  was  bound  very  close  to  the  people,  and  it  was  his  purpose 
to  live  and  die  with  them,  unless  God  in  His  providence  showed  him  that 
he  ought  to  leave  for  some  other  field  of  labor. 

The  impression  made  by  Bishop  Marvin  by  his  preaching  and  social 
intercourse  is  just  as  sweet  and  precious  to  our  hearts  now  as  when  he 
was  with  us.  I  have  heard  many  say  that  they  owe  their  religious  experi- 
ence to  the  preaching  and  holy  influence  of  our  beloved  Bishop  Marvin, 
now  that  he  hag  gone  to  his  reward  in  heaven. 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Rodgers,  at  present  the  Presiding  Elder 
of  the  West  Baltimore  District,  held  relations  to  Bishop  Mar- 
vin of  the  most  unreserved  reciprocal  confidences  and  affec- 
tion. The  following  admirable  monograph,  interwoven  into 
the  narrative  of  labors  and  occasions,  M'ill  be  prized  bv  the 
general  reader,  and  will  be  accepted  by  his  brethren  of  the 
ministry  and  laity  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  as  a  represen- 


510  I'.ISIIOP  MARVIN. 

tative  voice,  iu  tribute  of  their  love  and  gratitude  and  sense  of 
the  benedictionofiiis  presence  and  ministrations  among  them. 

To  know  Bishop  Marviu  was  a  high  privilege;  to  recall  the  associations 
of  other  years  with  him  is  a  mournful  pleasure.  One  with  difficulty  sup- 
presses the  cry,  "  Oh!  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand,  and  the  sound  of 
a  voice  that  is  still;"  no,  not  still,  but  praising  in  the  highest  heavens. 
It  was  my  privilege  to  know  the  Bishop  intimately;  I  believe  I  may  say, 
without  vaunting,  that  I  enjoyed  his  fullest  confidence.  Of  his  personal 
appearance  nothing  need  be  written  by  me,  though  doul)tlos.s  a  sketch  will 
l)e  given,  even  of  this,  that  those  Avho  never  saw  him  may  know  what 
manner  of  man  he  was,  as  to  external  form  and  manner.  No  one  who 
knew  Mm  well  can  forget  his  pale,  colorless  face ;  the  abundant,  black  hair 
which  crowned  his  head;  the  stray  lock  that  fell  over  his  forehead;  the 
large,  restful  eyes ;  the  delicate,  tapering  hand;  the  slight  figure.  As  he 
walked  he  leaned  slightly  forward,  barely  raising  his  feet  from  the  ground. 
His  movement  was  almost  noiseless,  and,  from  this  fact,  much  more  rapid 
than  most  persons  would  have  supposed.  But  as  I  write  he  comes  be- 
fore me,  and  the  temptation  strengthens  to  do  what  I  am  not  expected  to 
perfoi-m — sketch  his  outward  form. 

Apart  from  the  grace  in  Christ  Jesus,  which  was  abundant  towards 
liim,  he  would  have  been  a  charmiug  companion.  His  unselfishness,  his 
strong  affections,  his  philosophical  mind,  his  genial,  quiet  humor ;  these, 
added  to  his  other  qualities,  would  have  lent  grace  to  any  society,  and 
made  him  a  welcome  guest  at  any  fireside.  But  these  natural  endowments 
were  refined  and  elevated.  The  Holy  Ghost  was  in  him— he  had  put  on 
Christ.  Let  a  few  details  indicate  his  character  as  a  man,  as  a  Christian, 
as  a  preacher,  as  a  Bishop. 

Ilis  mhid  was  quick  in  its  operations.  Some  men  must  hammer  long 
before  they  can  open  the  rock  which  hides  the  treasure  they  seek.  He  had 
but  to  touch  it,  and  its  arcana  was  revealed.  With  this  quicliness  there 
■was  also  depth  and  breadth.  His  insight  of  truth  was  something  remarka- 
ble, and  all  w!io  heard  him  will  remember  with  what  a  mighty  sweep  of 
thought  he  explored  the  fi:!lds  of  truth.  Indeed,  while  readily  perceiving 
the  minutia3  of  truth  as  with  microscopic  inspection,  he  was  much  more 
remarkable  for  his  breadth  of  view.     His  mind  had  a  telescopic  range. 

While  not  deficient  in  fancy,  he  had  in  an  eminent  degree  the  faculty 
which  creates.  Scarcely  ever  did  he  speak  without  illustration  and  proof 
of  this.  He  was  a  poet,  thougli  he  did  not  crystalize  his  thoughts  in  num- 
bers ;  and  yet  the  flow  of  his  speech  and  the  cadence  of  sentences  often 
approached  the  poetical  even  in  form.  He  has  left  enough  in  imperishable 
print  fully  to  sul)stantiate  all  that  I  here  say. 

His  faculty  and  habit  of  observation  all  must  have  noted.  There  was 
scarcely  an  aspect  of  nature,  scarcely  a  i)hase  of  society,  or  a  passage  in 
individual  life,  scarcely  an  incident  which  he  did  not  carefully  observe  and 


ON  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD. 


511 


retain  iu  Ms  tenacious  memory.  Nor  was  this  all ;  to  him  everything  was 
double  ;  it  had  its  simple,  natural  side ;  it  was  also  the  s3'mbol  of  something 
spiritual.  As  he  observed  the  outward  his  mind  grasped  the  inward,  and, 
to  him,  the  csseutial  truth ;  and  thus  almost  everything  was  laid  under 
contribution  for  Christ.  Who  that  has  ever  heard  his  illustrations  drawn 
from  the  scarred  hand,  from  the  account  hook  of  the  Texan  wife,  from  the 
defective  corn  which  was  not  lit  to  be  housed,  from  the  sound  seed  corn,  can 
iail  to  see  t;ie  truth  of  all  that  is  here  stated? 

His  entire  course  was  graced  with  a  quiet,  genial  humor.  lie  had  a 
quick  e^'c  for  the  little  foibles  of  our  poor  human  nature,  and  was  by  no 
means  slow  to  perceive  the  ludicrous  side  of  any  passing  incident.  It  is 
difficult  to  reproduce  what  he  said,  because  impossible  to  reproduce  his 
manner. 

In  this  place,  though  perhaps  better  said  elsewhere,  it  should  be  noted 
that  never,  even  in  his  brightest,  and,  if  I  may  say,  lightest  moments,  did 
iiny  one  fail  in  conviction  of  his  deep  religious  character.  The  fact  is,  he 
seemed  to  be  surrounded  by  a  heavenly  atmosphere;  there  was,  so  to 
speak,  an  elUueuce  from  him  which  all  felt  and  always  felt.  So  at  least 
it  was  with  me  and  those  of  my  acquaintance  who  loicw  him  well.  It  may 
be  well,  having  made  one  departure  from  the  order  I  had  fixed,  to  mention 
other  particulars  as  they  occur  to  me. 

His  conversation  was  not  always  what  men  would  call  religious.  On 
occasion  it  was  deeply,  earnestly  so ;  but  he  did  not  talk  always  upon  spir- 
itual themes,  as  if  a  Christian  might  not  venture  to  name  a  common  topic ; 
but  there  never  was  an  hour  in  all  my  intimate  intercourse  in  which  I  lost 
the  impression  of  his  eminent  piety. 

Everybody  has  remarked  Mhat  no  one  seems  able  adequately  to  ex- 
plain, and  which,  for  the  want  of  a  clear  conception  and  a  better  word, 
they  call  "magnetism."  Perhaps  I  have  never  known  a  person  brought 
near  to  him  who  did  not  feel  this  subtle  and  inexplicable  inlluence.  He 
drcr/  men  to  him  by  a  strong  a::traction,  and  bound  them  to  him  in  the 
strongest  bonds.  113  attempted  no  mastery,  yet  men  surrendered  to  him. 
He  sought  no  pre-eminence,  yet  it  was  conceded.  He  was  not  dogmatic 
in  the  assertion  of  opinions — more,  he  attempted  no  arts  of  persuasion  by 
which  men  might  be  led  to  adopt  his  views,  yet  men  found  themselves 
xeady  to  re-echo  his  thoughts.  Nowhere  was  this  power  more  conspicu- 
ously seen  and  more  potently  felt  than  in  the  pulpit.  His  manner  was 
often  passionless,  so  far  as  demonstrativeuess  of  manner  was  concerned, 
when  all  about  were  swayed  with  deep  emotion.  Often  his  eye  was  calm 
und  undimmed  by  a  single  tear,  when  strong  men  could  scarcely  refrain 
irom  an  outburst  of  crying.  Perhaps  the  tones  of  his  voice  contributed  to 
these  effects.  Doubtless  one,  and  perhaps  a  principal,  element  of  this 
strange  power  was  his  vivid  rea'.ization.  He  saw  what  he  spoke  of.  If  he 
discoursed  of  Calvary,  the  cross  of  agony  was  in  full  view,  the  dying  Jesus 
-was  before  him,  the  wail  of  the  Redeemer  was  in  his  ears,  the  mocking 


512  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

soldiers  stood  by,  Mary  and  John— all,  all  were  before  bis  eyes;  and  when 
he  spoke,  Avhethor  in  tlie  subdued  tones  of  tcnuler  love,  or  in  the  laniiua,2;e 
of  a  sterner  passion,  he  spoke  from  a  deep  conviction  which  could  not  fail 
to  impress  those  who  listened— those  who  listened!  rather  those  Avho 
heard ;  for  if  they  could  hear  they  could  not  otherwise  than  listen. 

I  am  driftim;  farther  and  fartlier  away;  but  after  all,  perhaps  it  is  not 
order  so  much  that  you  desire  as,  a  just,  though  it  must  be  very  imperfect, 
estimate  of  the  man.     I  can  never  forget  the  effect  of  sermons  at  Wesley 
Grove  Camp.     Saturday  mornmg  he    discoursed    from,    "If    any   man 
love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  etc.     Almost  from  the  first  sentence  the 
tears  began  to  fljw  from  my  eyes,  and  till  the  close  I  shook  with  deep 
emotion.    And  this  was  substantially  repeated  when,  on  Sunday  morning, 
he  preached  from,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  a  corn  of  wheat 
fall  into  the  ground,"  etc.     At  the  Winchester  Conference,  two  years  ago, 
he  preached  Sunday  morning  from  Acts  i.  8,  on  the  Poiopr  of  the  Witness. 
The  Church  was  crowd  d  till  tluTe  was  no  more  stamting  room.     How 
the  p.  ople  hung  upon  his  words.     Ili»s  slender  figure  swayed  under  the 
power  that  possc-sed  him.     IIis  hands  almost  flashed  the  thought  before 
the  eyes.     His  voice  rose  higher  and  higher.     He  was  possessed  with  his 
tlieme.    It  seemed  that  only  a  lit  le  more  of  lieavcn  and  the  vessel  would 
have  broken, *and  the  liberated  soul  have  ascended  with  the  speed  of  light. 
A  shout  burst  from  one  corner  of  the  house,  a  id  it  was  evident  that  any 
further  iudulironce  of  expres>ion  of  the  almost  overwhelming  emotion  of 
the  occasion  would  have  thrown  the  audi^Mice  into  a  tumult  of  lioly  rapture, 
aud  so  have  rendered  it  impossible  that  the  speaker  should  proceed. 

At  times  the  Bisliop  seemed  rapt  so  that  he  scarcely  knew  whether  he 
was  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  i)ody.  Once  at;  the  Wesley  Grove  Camp- 
meeting  liis^pirit  rose  liigher  and  higher,  and  yet  the  flight  was  sustained— 
higlier  and  stillhigher,  till  at  lu^t  his  supreme  joy  found  expression  in  the 
exclamation:  "  If  I  should  say  that  I  am  happy,  I  would  be  ashamed  of 

the  word." 

His  published  sermons,  better  than  those  of  any  man  I  know,  repre- 
sent the  living  speaker.  This  is  not  difficult  to  explain.  Tiie  sermons 
were  not  written  to  bo  printed  They  were  preached  and  repreached  ;  and 
so,  when  he  came  to  commit  them  to  the  pre.^s,  ho  simply  wrote  the  words 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  speak.  If  any  one  desires  to  see  how  much  of 
the  man  can  be  reproduced  in  print,  let  him  take  a  quiet  hour  and  read 
the  sermon  on  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  thought  it  is  much  less  remarkalfie 
than  many  others;  but  perhaps  none  of  the  series  more  moves  in  the 
rcadiii".  One  of  the  most  profiaMe  communion  seasons  I  have  enjoyed 
during  years  was  one  I  attemled  after  reading  that  sermon,  aud  catching, 
in  some  small  degree,  the  inspiration  which  gave  itbirth. 

Those  who  knevv  him  will  need  no  a-surance  of  the  warmth  of  his  affec- 
tions. He  loved  his  friends,  and  loved  them  deeply.  He  did  not  hesitate 
to  tell  them  so.     Again  aud  again  he  said  to  me  when  we  were  alone — his 


ON  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD.  51S 

manner  half  playful,  that  so  he  might  say  what  otherwise  it  would  have 
been  difficult  to  express—"  R.,  I  kind  of  love  you.  I  don't  know  how  it  is  j 
but  I  Kind  of  love  you."  In  a  volume  (Life  of  Caples)  which  he  was  look- 
ing over  on  a  trip  we  made  together,  he  wrote;  "Dear  Bro.  R. :  I  love 
you ;  I  love  you  very  much.  Let  this  book  be  a  sign  between  thee  and 
me."  The  last  letters  I  received  from  him  are  now  packed,  ready  for 
moving,  so  that  I  cannot  give  other  illustrations,  nor  quote  his  views  upon 
missions  and  other  topics. 

He  bestowed  his  confidence  fully  upon  those  he  loved;  and  was  not 
often,  I  think,  deceived  in  his  estimate  of  men.  Less  than  almost  any 
man  I  have  intimately  known,  he  was  indifferent  to  trifles,  and  unaffected 
by  what  would  have  seriously  incommoded  others.  He  was  never  an- 
noyed because  it  was  hot  and  dusty ;  cared  little  whether  he  slept  in  a  pal- 
ace or  a  cabin;  ate  plain  food  with  a  relish,  and  enjoyed  richer  fare,  but 
always  indulged  in  moderation,  saying  when  pressed  to  eat,  "  I  long  since 
reached  the  point  not  to  sufter  myself  to  eat  more  than  I  need,  even  to 
please  the  ladies."  He  seldom  made  any  allusion  to  any  slight  ailment, 
and  counseled  others  not  to  speak  of  slight  indisposition,  assuring  them 
of  this  they  would  soon  recover,  and  that  any  serious  sickness  would 
speak  for  itself. 

He  could  not  endure  any  reference  to  liis  labors ;  and  almost  resented 
an  exhortation  to  spare  himself.  He  felt  that  he  had  done  almost  nothing 
for  the  Master.  Once  he  was  persuaded  to  rest  for  a  space  at  Rawley 
Springs,  Virginia.  But  he  afterwards  said:  "  I  think  hereafter,  when  I 
need  recreation,  I  will  make  a  preaching  tour." 

I  was  associated  with  the  Bishop  in  the  duties  of  the  Conference  and 
of  the  Council-chamber,  and,  witli  others,  can  bear  witness  to  his  admira- 
ble qualities  in  the  chair  and  the  stationing-room.  He  was  exceedingly 
pieasant  when  in  the  chair,  very  ready  in  the  decision  of  the  questions 
which  arose,  and  liad  all  the  courage  necessary  to  deliver  himself  when 
the  occasion  demanded.  I  have  known  no  one  to  exhibit  more  sympathy 
in  the  council-room  and  to  be  more  painstaking  in  its  work.  He  did 
not  regard  labor,  if  therelay  he  might  do  better  for  the  men  and  for  the 
work.  In  Winchester,  one  case  especially  gave  him  deep  concern.  He  did 
the  best  and  all  that  could  be  done ;  but  he  did  not  forget.  When  in  Italy 
he  wrote  me  from  Naples,  and,  among  other  inquiries,  was  thj| :  "  How 
did  Bro.  L.  get  on?  "     This  was  the  brother  referred  to  above. 

Of  his  industry  I  need  not  write.  He  had  learned  the  lesson,  "  Never 
be  unemployed;  never  be  triflingly  employed."  In  all  matters  of  work 
and  church  service  a  little  child  could  lead  him.  The  humblest  preacher 
could  ask  and  receive  his  help.  I  made  a  visit  with  him  to  Lexington,  to 
which  he  was  invited  to  deliver  the  Annual  Address  before  the  Literary 
Societies  of  Washington  College,  now  Washington  and  Lee  University. 
He  was,  by  special  invitation,  the  guest  of  Gen.  Lee.  Of  his  admiration 
of  the  General  you  have  doubtless  heard  him  speak.     His  address  was 

33 


514  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

such  as  to  command  the  higli  commendiition  of  Gen.  L';c  and  tli(>  f.iculty. 
S  me  said  it  was  above  anytliuiuc  heard  i:i  ilie  late  history  of  tlic  College. 
But  neithi'i- the  attractions  of  his  home  n  r  of  his  snrroundings,  nor  the 
hiteix'st  of  the  call  lluit  bronght  him  to  Li-xington,  c  )u'.d  make  him  f>)r  a 
momrnt  f.)rget  his  great  \vork.  The  cvcnin  t.  of  his  ::rri\  al  ho  was  i;i  and 
led  the  praj'er-mc;  ting.  Sunday  nio:  i^r.g  he  -was  in  t'.ie  Fabbat'a-school, 
•where  he  addressed  the  ch:idren,  and  in  tlie  ptdpit  both  morning  and 
night.  In  tlu  intervals  I  woul.l  meet  him  by  appiintment,  and  take  him 
to  the  homes  of  our  people,  where  h)  would  converse  aid  pr.iy.  It  was 
during  this  tri),  that  in  company  with  R;)v.  J.J.  La"erty,  Ave  went  to  the 
Natural  Ericlge.  He  chatted  pleasantly,  made  with  us  a  general  survey  of 
that  wonder  of  nature,  and  then  strolled  oJa'one,  that  he  might  ta'  e  the 
whole  into  hi^  mind.  At  last  he  completed  his  observations  and  remarked  : 
"Now  I  have  it.  What  is  in  the  mind  is  immortal.  Nothing  so  long  en- 
dui'es  as  this." 

I  have  said  nothing  of  his  style,  the  vehicle  cf  his  thoughts.  At  times 
extremely  simple,  and  even  ciUoquial;  at  (Jtlicrs  rising  with  t  le  tiieme  ti  1 
language  rolled  and  swelled  like  the  peals  of  an  org  ii.  But  with  uU  this 
you  are  more  fully  acquainted  than  I  may  be  i)resnmed  to  be. 

I  should  luive  said  that  the  address  delivered  in  Lexiu'-itcm  is,  with 
some  modiflcatiou,  now  presented  as  one  of  the  sermons  in  the  published 
volume. 

Doubtless  j'ou  are  aware  of  his  facility  in  preparation  for  the  pulpit. 
A  text  was  (/iven  to  him,  as  it  seemed  ;  and  as  he  looked  at  it,  it  was  re- 
solved into  its  elements.  As  to  expression  tliere  was  n  >  d.fficulty.  But  a 
sermon  once  preached  was  only  in  course  of  preparation  for  something 
better.  It  grew.  Indeed,  of  all  his  sermons,  it  may  be  saj^l,  they  were 
not  made,  hut  grew. 

It  was  hoped  at  one  time  that  he  could  have  been  induced  to  locate  in 
Baltimore.  It  was  matter  of  c  nversalion,and,  I  believe,  of  distinct  propo- 
sal. II  s  Missouri  friends  anchored  him.  They  knew  too  well  his  VAlue 
to  light'y  let  him  go.  And  j'ct,  I  think,  he  was  in  a  degree  inclined  to 
make  his  home  among  us.  Certainly  he  appreciated  the  warm  iifTection 
which  among  us  everywhere  greeted  hiin.  P'inaily  he  said  :  "  I  suspect  I 
can  do  most  among  those  with  whom  I  have  lived  so  long." 

I  know  only  in  a  general  w:.y  how  much  he  was  admired  and  how 
deeply  loved  in  other  Conferences.  Of  the  admiration  and  alFection  among 
us,  I  can  speak  particularly.  I  believe  I  am  safe  in  t-aying  tiiat  no 
preacher  known  among  us  so  completely  possessed  our  admiration  and 
love.     But  1  must  close. 

The  odor  of  his  name  and  the  fame  of  his  works  had 

preccdcul   his   coming  to   tlic  Virginia  Conference  in  1874. 

One  of  the  chief  men,  Dr.  J.  E.  Edwards,  writing  to  the 

St.  Louis  Cliurcli  paper,  with  a  prayer  for  his  advent  among 


ox  THE  ATLANTIC  SEABOARD.  515 

them,  wrote  :  "  lie  works,  and  travels  and  preaches  like  an 
Apostolic  Bishop;"  In  personal  attachment,  there,  as  in 
all  otliers,  he  won  the  heart  of  the  Conference.  Chief 
mention  is  made  of  his  acceptable  Presidency  and  grand 
pulpit — there,  in  a  Conference  remarkable  as  parliamenta- 
rians and  preachers.  His  sermon  on  Sunday  morning,  on, 
"  Do  M'e  make  void  the  law  through  faith?"  etc.,  capti- 
vated the  Conference  by  its  freshness  and  breadth  and 
force.  In  its  peroration,  there  was  a  profound  movement 
of  feeling,  set  on  fire  by  logic. 

The  same  sermon  was  preached  at  the  North  Carolina 
Conference,  held  at  Kalcigh,  in  the  following  December, 
and  reported  by  a  Virginia  preacher.  Rev.  Thomas  INI. 
Beckham,  who  was  a  visitor  at  that  Conference.  Other  in- 
cidents are  narrated  by  him,  with  interesting  detail.  The 
report  is  in  a  letter  to  his  friend.  Rev.  W.  AY.  Royall,  lately 
appointed  a  Missionary  to  China,  who  had  preserved  the 
letter  and  has  forwarded  it  for  these  pages  : 

I  was  assigned' to  the  house  of  Rev.  W.  TV.  Kennedy,  where  Bishop 

Marvin  Avas  stopping.  *  *  *  He  is  a  tall,  spare  man,  oi"  iilaia 
attire,  neat,  but  not  at  all  fixu;  full  beard,  even  to  moustache,  very  black 
hair,  no  grey  in  it,  and  only  a  few  threads  in  Ids  whiskers.  lias  a  full 
dark  eye  of  rather  a  sorrowful  expression,  which  John  D.  Blackwell,  D.D., 
says  reminds  lain  more  of  the  best  pictures  of  the  Savior,  than  any  he  has 
ever  met  with.  Dignified,  and  of  serious  deportment  generally,  he  bends  so 
naturally  and  gracefuily  to  an  occasional  appropriate  anecdote,  or  a  touch 
of  humor,  as  to  put  you  completely  at  ytitr  ease  in  his  presence.  There  is 
nothing  stuck-up,  official  or  forbidding  in  his  manner;  but  he  is  approach- 
able as  a  little  child,  lie  will  hear  the  humblest  man  that  comes  kindly 
and  respectfully. 

Bis'.iop  Marvin  is  a  most  remarkable  man.  He  has  impressed  me  more 
deeply  than  any  man  I  have  met  wiih  since  I  have  been  in  the  ministry. 
His  imafTected,  modest,  pnlite,  robust  and  healthy  piety  stands  out 
clearly  and  sharply  from  whatever  pant  3'ou  may  vi  w  him. 

Bishop  Marvin  to' d  the  young  men  who  were  about  to  be  ordained  and 
admitted  into  full  connection,  that  the  Discipline  prescribed  fasting  and 
prayer  before  entering  on  solemn  and  responsiI)le  work.  It  was  his  custom 
to  fa'^t  for  the  first  meal,  and  he  invited  as  many  of  the  Conference  as  felt 
so  disposed,  to  unite  wi'h  him.  Next  moridng,  he  would  not  go  to  the 
breakfast-table,  nor  have  even  a  cup  of  coffee  sent  to  his  room. 


51G  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

When  a  collection  was  taken  up  for  an  afTlictofl  and  needy  brother. 
Bishop  Marvin  opened  his  purse  and  threw  ill  a  note.  He  did  the  same 
when  the  usual  collection  was  taken  up  for  the  sexton.  lie  had  recently 
given  one  hunch-ed  dollars  to  save  a  church  out  West  from  beins?  sold ;  had 
given  at  several  missionary  collections  lately,  and  wanted  to  give  at  our 
missionary  meeting,  but  prudence  forbade.  All  this  he  said  in  private; 
and  said  likewise,  tiiat  with  hira  the  self-denial  was  not  to  (jive,  as  he  re- 
garded giving  as  a  privilege.    And  he  exemplifies  this  latter  fact. 

He  preaches  with  wonderful  power.  I  tliink  I  never  saw  such  an 
effect  produced  on  an  audience  as  was  produced  by  his  sermon  :  "  Do 
we  then  make  void  the  Law  through  faith?"  etc.  Streams  of  sweet, 
subdued,  and  thaukf\d  tears  freely  flowed,  as  he  portrayed  the  riches 
of  grace  in  Christ  Jesus.  Several  preachers  remarked  that  he  increased 
the  spirituality  of  the  Conference  one-fourth  at  least.  It  was  a  remark- 
al)le  Conference.  No  death  in  the  ministry  during  the  year,  no  character 
arrested,  very  little  speech-making,  and  the  whole  duty  of  the  Chair  dis- 
charged with  great  skill  and  tact  and  an  all-pervading  love.  Bishop 
Marvin  loves  Methodist  preachers.  He  has  come  up  from  the  7-anks  him- 
self. Any  mention  of  suffering  or  affliction  instantly  arrests  his  loving 
sympathii  s.  It  was  a  feast  to  the  soul  to  be  with  him  for  a  week;  yet  he 
says  he  has  never  felt  that  he  was  much  of  a  Hishop. 

Rev.  John  Kerr  Connelly,  a  Baptist  preacher  of  N.C.,  says  of  one  of 
his  sermons :  "  I  have  heard  many  eloquent  men,  but  never  in  my  life  has 
any  man  impressed  me  as  Marvin  did.  The  impression  of  that  sermon 
will  never  leave  me  while  I  live."  This  was  in  Greencastle,  S.  C,  at  his 
next  Conference ;  I  do  not  know  what  sermon  it  was. 

He  was  one  of  three  bishops  selected  for  orations  at  the 
Centennial  of  North  Carolina  Methodism,  March  21,  1876. 
The  occasion  fixed  the  attention  of  the  whole  Church,  and 
the  proceedings  have  been  published  in  book-form.  His  ad- 
dress was  written  out  in  full  and  read  from  the  manuscript 
— read  and  its  immediate  effect  marred,  as  was  the  usual 
fact ;  but  read  in  the  volume  it  will  be  pronounced  by  all 
other  readers  a  master-piece.  He  was  selected  to  lift  the 
memorial  collection  for  a  suitable  church  edifice  at  the 
capital  of  the  State,  realizmg  $8,435.  Several  extracts  from 
the  address  appear  on  foreo()ing  pages.  It  should  be  read 
entire  hy  all  who  would  understand  Marvin  and  know  how 
fully  he  understood  Methodism,  was  imbued  with  its  spirit 
and  in  S3'mpathy  with  its  methods  and  aim  "to  spread 
scriptural  holiness  all  over  these  lands,"  which,  he  once 
gaid,  is  an  ambition  worthy  of  an  angel. 


CHAPTER     XXVII. 


IN    THE    MOUNTAINS. 


Itinerancy — Preaching?  on  the  way — Fort  Bridger — The  stage-ride — Moun- 
tain-drives— At  the  licad-waters  of  tlie  Missouri — Missouiians — His 
Continental  travels — Montana  Methodism — Its  founder — The  Mission- 
ary Bishop — Western  Conference — First  visitation  in  1871 — Preaching 
tour — The  informal  Conference — Brother  Stateler's  quarterage — The 
Montana  Conference — Second  visitation — Sermons — Church  dedica- 
tions— A  last  letter — Montana  on  his  heart. 

^N  a  speech  on  one  occasion,  Bishop  Marvin  referred 
^  to  an  address  Avhich  he  had  heard  from  the  lips  of 
Dr.  Munsey,  on  the  Great  Commission — "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  my  Gospel  to  every  creature."  "  While 
he  was  talking  about  it,"  the  Bishop  said,  "  my  imagination 
became  so  much  excited  that  I  had  a  picture  before  my 
mind.  I  declare  to  you  it  Avas  as  vivid  as  a  vision.  I 
saw  the  entire  JMethodist  pastorate,  from  the  bishops  down. 
I  saw  them,  as  they  were  going;  the  bishops,  and  the  pre- 
siding elders,  and  the  pastors,  gomg  to  conference  and 
going  from  conference,  and  going  to  quarterly  meetings, 
and  going  to  appointments,  and  going  to  the  class-room,  and 
going  to  the  district  conference,  and  going  up  to  the  Annual 
Conference  again,  and  the  next  3'ear  again,  to  hear  that 
word  of  Christ  uttered  again  by  the  lips  of  the  living 
Bishop — '  Go  ;'  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  Methodist 
Church  was  nothing  l)ut  the  word,  '  go'  organized." 

Among  this  company  of  traveling  preachers,  in  the  con- 
templation of  Discipline,  the  Bishop  is  the  greatest  traveler 


518  BISHOP  MAUVIN. 

of  thorn  all.  It  is  his  duty  to  travel  throus^hout  the  Connec- 
lion  ;  to  cease  to  travel,  a  capital  offense.  In  the  winter  of 
1872  he  is  travclin<i:  throuirhout  Texas;  in  the  summer  of 
that  3'ear  he  is  up  in  the  mountains  of  Montana  ;  in  the  fall 
and  winter  the  Episcopal  Plan  of  Appointments  sent  him  to 
the  two  Georijia  Conferences  and  Fh)rida,  Avith  the  Illinois 
and  Louisville  Conferences  on  the  way — from  the  ]\Iountains. 
to  the  Gulf. 

The  IMethodist  itineracy  does  not  consist  in  "iroinG:'* 
simply  ;  but  a  ]Methodist  Bishop,  if  faithful  to  his  office  and 
zealous  in  it,  is  largely  a  wayfarer  ;  and  much  of  his  per- 
sonal life  and  characteristics  is  found  in  his  history — on  the 
road . 

On  this  tour  he  came  across  the  most  religious  town  in 
America.  Red  Oak,  in  California,  he  pronounced  the  most 
wicked  place  on  the  continent.  At  Carter's  Station,  on  the 
Union  Pacific  Railway,  he  stopped  over  and  preached  at 
night,  the  whole  community  out  save  one  man,  and  he  was 
absent  not  from  choice.  The  congregation,  he  sa3^s,  big 
and  little,  numbered  over  one  dozen — enough  in  numbers  to 
have  saved  the  cities  of  the  plain  on  the  other  hemisphere  ; 
and  not  too  few  to  be  preached  to,  especially  as  Mrs.  Car- 
ter, a  good  Christian  woman,  lamented  to  him  the  depriva- 
tion of  the  ordinances  of  worship.  lie  preached  the  follow- 
injr  Sunday,  also,  to  a  little  conijregation  at  Fort  P>ridger, 
twelve  miles  from  the  station,  the  soldiers  fitting  up  their 
reading-room  very  nicely  for  the  occasion.  He  was  there 
to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony  in  the  family  of  Captain 
Richard  Carter,  to  whom  he  Avas  attached  by  reminiscences 
of  camp  life  during  the  war,  and  whose  wife  he  had  known 
in  girlhood. 

lie  left  the  railroad  at  Corinne,  in  Utah,  for  INIontana — 
the  hardest  travel  of  all  his  life  on  the  road  ;  four  days  and 
nights  in  the  stage,  and  which  ho  performed,  going  and 
returning,  four  times.     There   may   l)e    one   exception — in 


IN    THE    MOUNTAIXS.  519 

that  travel  most  worn  bj  fatigue  ;  but  not  suffering  so  much, 
perhaps,  as  by  a  ride  in  California,  over  the  mountains,  at 
night,  a  piercing  wind  blowing,  and  no  side  curtains  to  the 
hack. 

Among  the  passengers  was  a  company  of  English  tour- 
ists, with  whom  he  cultivated  a  most  agreeable  acquaint- 
ance. In  their  outfit  was  a  plentiful  supply  of  champagne 
and  claret,  of  which  he  was  politely  invited  to  partake.  We 
are  indebted  to  the  incident  for  the  fact  that  he  was  re- 
markahlv  a  temperance  man — literally,  a  life-time  teetotal- 
ler. It  is  one  of  the  incidents  of  his  boyhood  that  at  a 
temperance  meeting  held  by  Rev.  Mr.  Allen,  who  was  the 
first  Methodist  preacher  who  had  visited  at  his  father's 
house,  and  was  an  earnest  and  eloquent  advocate  of  the 
temperance  cause,  hi3  had  taken  the  pledge,  which  he  never 
broke.  It  appears,  in  addition,  that  he  had  never  taken  a 
drop  of  liquor  in  his  life,  as  a  beverage.  The  lady  of  the 
English  party,  after  several  refusals  of  the  proffered  Avine- 
cup,  remarked:  "  I  suppose  you  have  quit  drinking  on  ac- 
count of  your  health."  "I  never  quit  at  all,"  was  the 
reply. 

He  Avas  met  with  a  buggy,  eleven  miles  from  Helena,  by 
an  old  and  cherished  Missouri  friend.  Major  J.  li.  Boyce,  a 
leading  merchant  of  that  place,  who  Avas  to  have  accompa- 
nied him  on  the  entire  round  of  over  three  hundred  miles. 
After  a  week  ]Maj.  Boyce  Avas  unexpectedly  called  back  to 
Helena,  and  Rev.  E.  J.  Stanley,  one  of  the  Montana 
preachers,  became  his  traveling  companion.  He  was  him- 
self "charioteer,"  Avith  a  strong  busfffy  and  a  fine  span  of 
horses  placed  at  his  disposal  during  his  stay  in  the  Terri- 
tory by  a  young  friend,  another  JNIissourian,  Col.  Broad- 
water, whom,  he  says,  five  years  before  he  Avould  have 
called  Arthur.  It  is  among  the  family  traditions  that  he 
was  a  good  horseman  in  his  youth.  All  his  life  he  Avas  zeal- 
ously affected  toAvards  a  good  horse.     In  his  Texas  corre- 


^20  BISIIOl'  .M.VllVIN. 

spoiulencc,  lie  said:  "I  always  come  to  have  a  strong 
iiffection  for  a  brute  that  has  served  mo  "" — the  sentiment 
exempliried,  as  the  muUii)lie(l  thousands  of  the  readers  of 
his  I)Ook  of  Travels  will  remember,  by  his  affectionate 
leave-taking  of  "  the  little  bay,"  wlio  l)ore  him  through 
Palestine.  A  kinsman  reports  that  the  gallop  through  the 
streets  of  Stamboul  on  the  pure  milk-white  Arabian,  was 
not  the  first  time  in  his  horsemanship  of  a  well-conditioned 
steed  and  an  ambitious  rider.  The  occasion,  in.  his  Circuit- 
life,  is  narrated — in  l)otli,  preachers  in  competition  for  the 
lead;  in  Turkey,  his  "Timothy,"  and  the  venerable  Dr. 
Hurst,  and,  in  Missouri,  some  brethren  of  the  Conference, 
on  the  road,  with  some  delinite  destination  ahead.  The 
gait  of  Marvin's  horse  was  not  adapted  to  heavy  roads,  and 
the  brethren  twitted  him  with  frequent  urgency  to  spur  up, 
or  they  would  be  late.  He  bided  his  time  for  a  beaten  road 
farther  on.  The  brethren  then  begged  him  to  slack  up,  as 
they  could  not  keep  up.  They  were  reminded — "  We'll  be 
late.  No!  No!"  Mr.  Stanley  narrates  another  such  epi- 
sode in  the  mountain  drives  : 

A  little  incident  occnn-L'd  in  tlie  summer  of  1872,  on  his  first  trip 
through  tlie  Territory,  whicli  I  must  meutiou.  There  were  two  buggies 
in  tlie  company.  We  liad  stopped  to  visit  a  family  on  the  roadside,  when 
the  Bishop  left  his  own  for  a  seat  in  the  other  buggy.  The  road  was 
smooth,  though  a  liltle  up-grade,  ascending  the  divide  between  Crow 
Creek  and  the  Jefferson  River.  They  were  in  the  lead,  and  I  thought  we 
never  would  get  to  the  summit.  When  we  did,  the  Bishop  resumed  his 
•seat  in  his  own  buggy,  and  took  the  lines  and  whip  in  hand,  saying  he 
could  not  stand  the  slow-coach  any  longer.  We  passed  our  traveling  com- 
l>iwuon,  and  away  we  went  down  the  slope  in  a  lively  trot.  Our  halt  for 
lunch  was  near  the  head  of  the  Missouri  River,  at  the  junction  of  its  three 
forks,  Madison,  Jefferson  and  Gallatin.  We  had  a  long  wait  for  our 
l)rother  to  come  up.  The  Bishop  twitted  him  in  a  good-natured  way 
about  his  being  left  so  far  beliiud,  saying  he  liked  to  feed  a  team  well,  and 
then  wanted  it  to  "  go  "  when  on  the  road.  He  knew  how  to  handle  the 
lines,  and  would  say  that  he  thought  I  improved  rapidly,  as  a  driver,  under 
Lis  tuition. 

We  ate  our  lunch  under  the  shade  of  the  trees,  spiced  with  pleasant 
chat,  and  crossing  over  right  at  the  head  of  the  "  Big  Muddy,"  continued 


IN    THE    MOUNTAINS.  521 

our  journey  to  Gallatin  City,  where  the  Bishop  preached  a  telling  sermon 
to  a  lai'ge  and  appreciative  congregation,  on  the  parable  of  the  Ten 
Virgins. 

Bishop  Marvin  adds  the  incident:  "The  owner  of  the 
ferry  greeted  me  most  cordially,  as  an  old  acquaintance. 
Judge  of  my  surprise  and  gratitication  when  I  found  him  to 
be  Mr.  James  Gallagher,  formerly  of  St.  Charles,  a  son  of 
Rev.  James  Gallagher,  so  long  and  largely  known  in  Mis- 
souri." Like  his  own  travels,  this  gentleman  "  had  gone 
from  almost  the  very  mouth,  literally,  to  the  head  of  the 
Missouri  River."  He  said  two  things  of  Missourians  ;  one, 
in  Montana,  as  everywhere  :  "  What  a  welcome  these  Mis- 
sourians did  give  me  !  I  am  confirmed  in  the  opinion  that 
there  are  no  cleverer  people  in  the  world  than  the  Missouri- 
ans." The  other  remark  is  on  their  dispersion  abroad: 
"  Texas,  like  California  and  Oregon,  swarms  Avith  Missouri- 
ans. The  fact  is,  you  may  find  them  from  the  Isthmus  to 
Sitka.  I  imagine  there  must  be  a  sprinkling  of  them  in 
Australia,  and,  perhaps,  even  in  Madagascar."  Missouri- 
ans waved  farewell  as  he  took  departure  from  the  Western 
hemisphere,  and  a  Missouri  hand  was  the  first  to  welcome 
his  coming  to  the  other  hemisphere,  in  the  Bay  of  Yeddo, 
at  Yokohama.  In  general,  he  said  :  "I  expect  to  meet  ac- 
quaintances whenever  I  turn  a  corner."  In  reference  to  a 
similar  fact  in  his  long,  and  especially  his  Episcopal  itiner- 
ancy, Bishop  Kavanaugh  once,  in  an  impromptu  speech, 
gave  a  happy  expression  of  it :  "I  expect  to  have  a  large 
acquaintance  in  Heaven  " — Bishop  Marvin's  larger  privi- 
lege, to  recognize  a  face  in  almost  literally  each  of  "  the 
every  tongue,  kindred  and  tribe,"  composing  the  great  mul- 
titude of  the  redeemed.  It  is  significant  of  his  wide  travels 
that  he  had  followed  the  Missourians  in  their  wide  dis- 
persions— meeting  one  himself  on  the  Isthmus,  and  crowds 
of  them  in  Oregon  and  Montana,  well  up  to  the  line  of 
British  America  ;  and  found  them  in  Florida,  at  the  end  of 
the  travel  of  a  single  tour,   from  the  mountains  in  which 


522  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

waters  of  the  Gulf  take  their  rise  to  the  peiunsuhi  -which 
makes  its  eastern  shore.  Even  in  America,  his  own  sur- 
passed the  min^ratious  of  even  iSIissourians — transcending 
the  wide  travels  of  any  of  his  colleagues  ;  of  any  of  his 
predecessors,  it  may  1)c  added,  perhaps,  in  the  generations 
of  itinerant  Bishops  or  traveling  preachers,  from  the  begin- 
ning, more  than  a  hundred  years  ago.  On  this  tour,  and 
that  of  a  preceding  and  following  year,  he  had  stood  on  the 
crest  of  the  water-sheds  of  the  Columbia  and  Missouri  ;  and 
skirted  the  shores  of  both  oceans  in  which  tiiey  emjity  ; 
and  traversed,  around  and  through,  the  valleys  in  which 
their  waters  ilow.  Almost  the  entire  coast  lino  of  the 
continent  on  which  he  lived  was  described  ])y  the  line 
of  his  travels  and  labors :  On  the  one  coast,  from  the  point 
w^iere  Asbury  laid  down  his  charge,  crossing  the  "  Pine 
Barrens"  and  swami)s  of  the  Carolinas,  which  Bishop 
George  pioneered,  and  embracing  the  spot  hallowed  by  the 
footsteps  of  Wesley  on  American  soil,  and  the  first  labors 
of  the  Ai)ostle  of  Methodism  ;  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
Gulf,  traversing  the  imperial  domain  of  Texas,  across  and 
along  its  rivers,  from  mouth  to  source,  ii[)  and  down,  at 
bridge  and  ford ;  preaching  on  the  deck  of  tlu;  vessel  steam- 
ing up  the  Pacific  Coast,  and,  as  testified  by  a  colleague, 
"  In  two  visitations  to  our  farther  West,  I  have  been  able 
to  find  few  places  where  Bishop  jMarvin  h:id  not  been. 
Many  paths  he  alone  had  traveled."  The  interior  of  the 
grand  circuit  was  penetrated  in  all  directions  of  the  compass 
and  was  crossed  in  all  parallels  of  latitude  and  longitude, 
from  north  to  south,  in  the  Connection,  and  from  side  to 
side  of  a  continent. 

Bishop  INIarvin  was  enlisted  for  the  Montana  work.  He  was 
resident  nearest  to  i^,  and  Avas  known  to  l)e  most  m  sjnnpathy 
with  it.  Affecting  appeals  reached  him  from  old  friends, 
who  had  fled  to  the  Avilderness  during  the  troubles  of  the  war, 
preferring,  as  he  wrote  it,  to  trust  the  Sioux  Indians  than 


IX    THE    MOUNTAINS.  52.^ 

the  Home-Guards.  Their  first  winter  was  a  hard  one ; 
but  they  were  contented  to  live  a  year  on  potatoes  and  have 
security.  Afterwards,  when  mining  was  first  fairly  opened, 
the  products  of  the  farm  brought  fabulous  prices,  and  a 
few  hens  and  milch  cows,  and  a  quarter  acre  of  ground  for 
a  garden  patch,  Avas  the  foundation  of  a  fortune.  Many 
had  become  prosperous  farmers,  and  there  was  urgent  cry 
for  the  ordinances  of  religion  in  their  new,  far  away  homes. 
Amonir  these  ostracised  Missourians  was  one  of  the  old 
and  a  hi'dilv-esteemed  Missouri  traveling  preacher,  Rev. 
L.  B.  Stateler,  who  had  made  his  way  to  the  mountains  in  a 
Ava<^-on  drawn  bv  oxen — in  the  train,  his  family  and  a  little 
household  plunder,  and  a  few  young  cattle.  He  made  a 
district  on  his  own  authority,  and  traveled  it  at  his  own 
char<i-es,  and  became  the  founder  of  Southern  Methodism  in 
Montana.  His  call  for  help  reached  the  ear  of  the  General 
Cop.ferance  in  1870,  and  Montana  was  included  in  the 
bounds  of  the  new  AVestern  Conference — "  for  boundary, 
westward  indefinitely,"  as  the  writer  had  it  in  nnnd  and  in 
bis  spoech,  Avhen  it  was  his  privilege  to  offer  the  motion 
that  irave  name  to  the  new  Conference.  He  remembers, 
also,  how  Bishop  Marvin  took  a  marked  interest  in  the 
movement  and  its  name  ;  as  an  inspiration  of  the  memories 
of  the  past,  and  summons  and  privilege  to  the  modern 
Methodism  to  emulate  the  heroism  of  the  old  history. 

Bishop  Marvin,  it  may  be  said,  was  the  Western  Bishop, 
not  exclusively,  but  by  large  labors,  and,  also,  by  natural 
taste  and  special  adaptation.  His  spirit  had  the  bent  of  the 
carriage  of  his  person — prone  forward.  By  eminence  he 
was  the  INlissionary  Bishop — in  his  day,  as  to  the  western 
half  what  As])ury  and  McKendree  had  been  to  the  east- 
ern half  of  the  American  continent.  The  monograph  in  his 
funeral  sermon  notes  :  "  Nor  was  it  in  mere  labor  and  travel 
that  he  was  eminent;  he  planned,  he  enterpriscd  for  the 
Church."     The    example    given    in    illustration   is:    '*  He 


524  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

saved  our  Indian  Mission  Conference,  and  this  act  signal- 
ized his  first  year  in  the  Episcopacy."  Such  exemplifica- 
tion al)ounds  from  first  to  last.  The  General  Conference 
-which  elected  him  Bishop,  authorized  an  Illinois  Confer- 
ence in  a  northward  movement.  Bishop  Doggctt  'was  the 
responsible  oiiicial ;  Bishop  Marvin  was  there,  driven  by  the 
gi-avitation  of  his  spirit,  and  its  delight  to  witness  a  new- 
born creation  of  Southern  Methodism.  Under  his  adminis- 
tration in  California,  the  Los  An<i:eles  is  added  to  the  list  of 
Conferences  ;  and  the  Dalles  in  Oregon  is  brought  into  the 
view  of  the  Conference.  Even  in  Old  Virginia  the  outlying 
territory  is  spied  out,  and  his  pen  is  clamorous  for  its  occu- 
pation. He  ordained  the  first  Mexican  preacher ;  the  last 
manifesto  of  the  Superintendent  of  the  Mexican  Border  Dis- 
trict announces  six  of  them,  lie  tells  of  opening  fields 
down  into  the  heart  or  Mexico,  foretokenmg  a  JSIexicaii 
Conference  to  grow  out  of  "  Laredo  Mission,"  first  written 
down  on  a  list  of  appointments  by  Bishop  Marvin's  pen. 
His  correspondence,  so  voluminous  and  minute,  during  two 
Episcopal  tours  in  Texas,  evinces  the  qualities  of  a  General 
Superintendent,  for  aggression  as  well  as  conservation  ;  the 
insight  of  observation  and  the  foresight  of  enterprise  :  })rac~ 
tical  wisdom  for  safe  methods,  and  the  courage  and  push 
of  zeal  for  conquest  of  the  situation.  It  exhibits  the  spirit 
of  wisdom  and  adventure  combined,  with  which  the  young- 
est man  and  Bishop  of  the  College  looked  out  upon  his  first 
Episcopal  District,  and  planned  the  work  and  stationed  the 
preachers  by  rules  of  social  progress  and  material  develop- 
ment of  the  country.  Texas,  large  enough  for  an  Empire, 
was  destined,  ho  saw,  to  imperial  population  and  power. 
His  look  was  on  the  future.  He  traveled  the  State  like  a 
topographical  engineer.  His  eye  Avas  n[)oii  the  course  of 
rivers  and  qualities  of  soils  and  flow  of  population  ;  and  it 
would  seem,  indeed,  that  he  took  into  the  stationing-room 
the  survey  of  railroads,  and  had  in  his  portfolio  the  census 


IX    THE    MOUNTAINS.  525 

of  towns  and  the  entries  of  the  Land  Office.  In  connection 
with  the  Mission  work  of  Texas  Methodism  and  of  the  Far 
West,  it  may  be  chiimed  that,  more  than  any  other,  he 
aroused  the  Church  from  the  supineness  into  w^hi'-h  it  had 
fallen  under  the  discouragements  and  impoverishment  of 
the  war.  In  the  following  extracts  from  one  of  his  Texas 
letters,  it  will  be  seen  what  was  the  temper  of  his  spu^it  and 
the  authority  of  his  speech  ;  and  his  example,  it  is  known, 
brought  to  him  responses  in  contvibution  of  money,  from  all 
parts  of  the  Connection  for  the  Mexican  Mission  • 

And  the  Church  is  able,  now,  to  go  up  and  possess  this  laud.  We  can 
plead  poverty  no  longer.  We  are  becoming  rich  and  increased  with  goods 
a-,ain,  even  now.  God  has  given  us  money,  and,  alas !  we  are  slow  to  use 
it  fo;  His  glory.  Wlien  He  so  strangely  converted  and  called  our  Brother 
Hernandez  to  this  worl<,  and  yet  more  strangely  sent  him  to  our  Church,  a 
poorly  paid  Presiding  Elder  of  the  West  Texas  Conference  had  to  provide 
almost  entirely  for  his  expenses  out  of  his  own  pocket  for  several  months. 
When  he  came  to  Conference,  and  the  time  had  fully  come  to  set  the  mis- 
sion on  foot  on  something  like  a  permanent  basis,  there  was  not  a  dollar 
in  the  treasury.  I  had,  absolutely,  to  traverse  the  country,  here  in  this 
frontier  Conference,  and  raise  in  dribs  so  much  as  would  meet  the  present 
emergency.  The  missionary  is  economical.  He  does  not  require  a  great 
deal  of  money,  but  must  have  some  little  to  meet  imperative  demands.  I 
have  done  this  work  in  prayer  and  faith.  And  now  let  me  say  to  all  who 
love  the  kingdom  of  Christ  above  their  chief  joy  a  few  words  in  the  name 
of  the  great  Master. 

1.  It  is  high  lime  for  us  to  wake  up  to  our  obligations  as  a  Mission- 
ary Church.  I  say,  to  loake  up,  for  we  have  been  asleep.  We  are  dozing 
over  a  small  mission  in  China.  This,  besides  the  work  in  the  Indian  Mis- 
sion Conference,  is  all  we  are  doing  that  can  be  called  foreign  missionary 
work  proper.  Our  people  spend  millions  in  sumptuous  living  and  the  vain 
ornamentation  of  their  dying  bodies,  while  we  are  doing  next  to  nothing 
for  the  conversion  of  the  world  beyond  our  own  domain.  Verily  we  are 
guilty  concerning  our  brother.  His  blood  is  upon  our  skirts.  We  have 
been  dosing  our  consciences  with  the  plea  of  poverty  ever  since  the  war. 
We  have  gone  too  far  with  this.  We  are  not  so  poor  as  we  have  pre- 
tended. We  waste  millions  on  onr  pride  every  year.  Other  millions  we 
hoard.  Many  of  us  are  ambitious  to  be  rich.  What  will  the  end  be?  Just 
■when  the  rich  fool  began  to  chuckle  over  his  accumulated  treasures  his 
soul  was  required  of  him.  That  very  night  he  died,  and  the  Lord  said: 
"  So  is  every  one  that  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself  and  is  not  rich  toward 
God." 


5-6  BISIIOr  MARVIN. 

2.  A  new  era  of  eiiliglitenmcnt  must  begin  -with  the  preachers.  Even 
we,  brethren,  ra  iny  of  us,  who  are  set  ap  irt  to  this  very  tiling,  do  not  see 
thy  truth  of  G  ).l  in  a  clear  light.  Wo  are  not  stirred  with  a  great,  sancti- 
fied ambition  to  become  pariicipants  iu  tlie  conquest  of  the  wli  .le  world 
lorC.irist.  We  d  )  sui  ill  things  in  a  small  way.  If  wo  get  through  the 
year,  and  <<  get  a  support;"  if  the  w  )rk  docs  not  actually  run  d  )wii  on 
our  hands,  and  wjpass  in  the  examination  of  cha-acter  at  Conference,  a-id 
get  another  "  g  )()d  circiit,"  we  are  cont-nt.  There  is  no  reslk-ss,  con- 
suming zeal.  We  communicate  no  high  sentiments  to  the  Church  where 
we  go.  We  do  not  drill  tlij  militant  host  for  invasion  and  conquc'-t.  We 
are  scarcely  fit  even  for  garrison  duty.  If  v/o  were  what  we  ouglit  to  be, 
the  Lord's  people  under  our  pastorate  would  soon  be  ready  for  the  "  sac- 
rilice  and  service  of  C'.irist,"  and  never  satisfied  except  when  doing  some- 
thing toward  the  grand  consummation— the  planting  of  the  banner  of  the 
cross  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  domains. 

In  a  Similar  tone  of  stern  remonstrance  and  earnest  ap- 
peal, lie  called  for  men  ;  men  for  the  jNIontana  work — "  not 
timid  men;  men  of  faith  and  consecration,  Avho  can  endure 
hardness."  Even  as  early  as  at  the  close  of  Lis  first  quad- 
rennniin,  he  issued  a  manifesto  in  the  columns  of  the 
Connectional  organ,  under  the  circumstances  and  Avith  doc- 
trine and  spirit  of  missions,  contained  in  the  following 
closing  paragraph  : 

I  call  the  attention  of  the  Churcli  to  this  matter,  for  the  reason  that 
dnring  the  eu'-ire  four  years  since  the  reorganization  of  the  missionary 
work,''[  have  been  ou  the  frontier,  and  have  felt  greatly  embarrassed  in 
many  cases.  It  does  seem  to  me  that  something  ought  to  be  done.  There 
must  be  a  more  adequate  circulation  in  the  extremities.  Cold  feet  are  a 
sigu  of  bad  health. 

Ill  proportion  as  we  are  aggressive  we  shall  be  vigorous.  A  merely 
defensive  policy  is  ruinous.  There  must  be  a  spirit  (f  enterprise,  or  a 
Church  will  die  at  last  of  inaintion.  We  must  push  out  and  take  posses- 
sion of  all  this  great  West.  Churches  never  die  of  too  much  work,  but 
orteii  of  too  little.  The  muscles  shrivel  and  become  fl  ibby  from  want  of 
labor.  These  new  countries  are  at  our  door,  and  we  shall  incur  both 
guilt  and  loss  if  we  neglect  tliem. 

To  his  call  at  one  time,  among  the  class  of  men  for 
which  he  represented  an  urgent  need  in  the  INIontan  i  work, 
there  w:is  for  awh'.lc  a  stir  and  sound  ns  for  enlistment 
of  a  "  JNIontana  battalion  ;"  but  at  the  last  the  recruiting 
office  was  closed.     In  the  dearth  of  men,  as  of  money,  his 


IX    THE    MOTJNTAINS.  527 

spirit  was  Avouiidcd,  but  iiivincillc — man  failing,  as   in  the 

Oregon  work,  he  cricl  unto  God  : 

What  Oregon  -wants  is  more  preachers— men  of  failh  and  energy, 
ready  to  sacrifice  ease  in  the  worlv  of  saving  souls.  Everywhere  the  peo- 
ple c.ill  for  us,  but,  ahis!  ^ve  have  no  men  to  enlarge  the  work.  0,  God 
of  our  fathers,  we  look  to  Thee  ! 

Except  the  year  of  his  absence  from  the  country,  on  his 
errand  to  the  China  Mission  and  to  h)ok  out  upon  the  mis- 
sion fields  of  the  world,  he  attended,  perhaps,  every  session 
of  the  Western  Conference.  In  1871  he  hold  it  at  Council 
Grove  for  Bishop  Doggett,  who  Avas  detained  by  dangerous 
illness  in  his  family.  There  he  sent  out  the  first  band  of 
Missionaries  to  Montana.  At  a  subsequent  session,  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  Eocky  Mountain  range,  Arizona  is  added 
to  the  area  of  church  labor  and  duty — then,  as  among  the 
Indians  and  "on  the  Rio  Grande,  charging  himself  with  the 
cost ;  under  pledge  to  the  Missionary  for  his  support,  and 
his  check-book  on  his  bank  showing  the  payment  of  $200 
for  the  year  out  of  his  own  pocket.  AVhen  he  was  in  Cali- 
fornia, amidst  teeming  population  and  abounding  wealth 
and  culture,  he  used  to  say  that  the  AVest  was  "  used  up." 
Eeportmg  the  remark,  he  added:  "It  has  only  taken  a 
leap,"  the  vast  territory  between  the  Sierra  Nevada  and 
the  basin  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  still  left  as  a  vast 
scf^ment  of  the  AA'est,  awaiting  the  emin:rant  wagon  and  the 
wheels  of  the  Methodist  itineranc3\  lie  fixed  his  eye  upon 
it,  and  fixed  his  heart  upon  its  occupation — on  his  heart 
Avhcn  he  died,  and  the  burden  of  one  of  the  last  letters  he 
wrote. 

His  first  visit  to  Montana  was  on  an  errand  anomalous 
in  Episcopal  administration.  The  distance  and  expense  of 
travel  precluded  the  attendance  of  the  preachers  at  Confer- 
ence ;  he  went  to  them  and  held  an  informal  Conference, 
bringing  up  to  the  session  report  of  the  men  and  of  the 
work  to  be  manned.  He  was  there  in  another  capacity  and 
purpose.     The  previous  fall  he  had  sent  preachers  to  the  ut- 


528  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

most  frontier;  and,  as  a  grant!  leader,  he  was  among  them 
to  inspirit  their  hearts,  as  well  as  to  appoint  and  supervise 
their  labors.  Before  his  second  coming,  in  1S75,  at  the 
General  Conference  at  Louisville,  chielly,  perhaps,  through 
his  influence,  Montana  was  erected  into  a  separate  Annual 
Conference.  In  the  jMission  fields  of  the  Far  West,  what- 
ever harvest  there  may  be  in  the  outcome  from  the  handful 
of  corn  cast  on  the  top  of  the  mountains,  will  be  to  the 
honor  of  his  name  ;  if  failure,  the  spirit  of  the  planting  will 
save  his  name  from  dishonor — not  dull  of  ear  to  hear  the 
cry,  as  he  caught  it:  "From  the  Eio  Grande  to  Puget 
Sound  an  Empire  calls  us  ;"  nor  faint  of  zeal  or  feeble  in 
tono-ue  to  re-echo  the  call  in  the  ear  of  the  Church:  "I 
cannot  acquit  my  conscience  without  calling  the  serious  at- 
tention of  the  Church  to  its  resi)onsibility." 

One  of  the  first  band,  Rev,  E.  J.  Stanley,  who  was  or- 
dained by  him  and  sent  from  the  Conference  of  1871,  and 
"  there  to  stay,"  has  acquired  a  right  to  speak  and  knows 
whereof  he  speaks,  and  will  command  an  interested  hearing. 
By  request  he  has  detailed  the  history  of  Bishop  Marvin's 
presence  and  labors  : 

Bishop  Marvin  made  two  visits  to  Montana,  the  first  in  tlie  summer  of 
1872.  He  spent  much  time  at  Helena,  tlie  political  and  commercial  nie- 
tri)i>olis  of  the  Territory.  He  labored  hard  in  pulpit  and  pastoral  worlc  to 
establish  our  Clmrcli  tliere,  and  with  good  effect.  H;s  preaching  pro- 
duced a  profound  popular  impression ;  and  tlio  cluirrh  edifice,  which  was 
encumbered  with  debt  hopelessly,  it  was  feared,  was  placed  in  a  salvable 
condition.  Before  his  departure  ho  made  a  tour  of  observation  in  the 
settled  portions  of  the  Territory— a  distance  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  and  stretching  from  Deer  Lodge,  on  the  west,  to  Bozemaa  City,  on 
the  east,  preaching  on  the  way  at  Eadersburg,  Willow  Creek,  Gallatin 
City,  and  Weaver's  School-house,  in  Gallatin  Valley.  It  is  doing  injustice 
to  none  to  say  that  as  a  plain,  earnest,  but  powerful  and  successful 
preacher  of  the  Gospel,  he  wielded  a  greater  influence  than  any  man  who 
ever  visited  Montana.  The  people  flocl^ed  to  hear  him  wlieri'vcr  lie  went, 
and  talk  yet  of  the  sermons  he  preached.  PIls  sermon  at  Bozeman  City 
on  Sunday  niu'ht,  on  "  What  is  Man?"  was  one  of  liis  happiest  efforts. 
He  preached  a  powerful  and  impressive  sermon  to  the  largest  congrega- 


IN    THE    MOUNTAINS.  529 

tion  ever  assembled  for  religious  service  in  Radersburg.  Hardened  sin- 
ners wept,  Christians  rejoiced,  and  all  gave  good  heed  to  the  Word  of 
Life.  After  the  sermon  eight  persons  were  received  and  organized  into  a 
class.  It  was  a  time  of  refreshing.  He  preached  in  the  larger  towns 
to  crowded  audiences,  held  spell-bound  by  his  eloquence;  and  at  the 
school-house  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains  to  a  little  company  of 
miners  or  ranchmen,  and  I  have  seen  sturdy  mountaineers  aud  miners 
weep  under  his  sermons. 

Tlie  tour  closed  with  holding  the  District  Conference  of  the  Ueer 
Lodge  District  at  Helena.  At  the  same  time  he  conducted  the  services  of 
the  week  of  pi-ayer,  i.i  August,  appointed  by  the  College  of  Bishops.  It 
was  an  occasion  of  great  interest.  On  the  KJth  of  the  month  he  held  au 
informal  Conference  of  preachers  and  lay  members  for  consultation  in  re- 
gard to  the  interests  of  the  Church  in  the  Territory,  and  for  report  to  the 
session  of  our  Westeru  Conference  to  be  held  in  the  fall  at  Nebraska  City, 
by  Bishop  Pierce. 

On  this  Episcopal  tour  it  was  my  great  privilege  to  be  his  traveling 
companion.     He  ha  1  ordaiued  me  Deacon  at  t!ie  Conference  at  Council 
Grove,  in  1871,  and  sent  me  to  this  far  away  field  of  labor.     His  coming 
to  Montana  during  the  Conference  year  was  a  i  angel-visit  to  me.     We 
traveled  together,  ate  and  slept  togL-ther,  and  oli!  how  my  s  -ul  was  re- 
freshed and  my  faith  quickened  and  strengthened  by  my  intercourse  with 
him,  as  he  referred  to  his  early  life,  and  we  talked  of  Christian  doctrine 
and  experience,  and  consulted  ab  jut  the  interests  of  the   Church  in  the 
EocVy  Mountains.     1  received  from  him  invaluable  instructions  in  the 
practical  work  of  the  ramistry.     His  example  in  personal  character  and 
apostoliclabors  was  an  inspiration.     How  devout  was  his  spirit,  wrest- 
ling with  God  evening  and  morning.     In  his  presence  there  was  a  holy 
atmosphere— yi>u  could  feel  it.     He  was,  nevertheless,  pleasant  and  cheer- 
ful, and  enjoyed  a  good  anecdote,  many  of  which  he  used  to  relate  in  our 
journeys.     His  sense  of  humor  had  illustration  in  an  unique  occurrence  at 
the  se-si<m  of  tlu   informal   Conference.     The  original  pi  >neer  on   this 
frontier,  Rev.  L.  B.  Stateler,  had  to  depend  on  his  own  resources  for  sup- 
port, chiefly  upon  his  heroic  wife,  who  looked  after  the  affairs  at  home  in 
the  care  of  a  dairy-farm,  while  he  continued  to  serve  the  Church  in  a  wide 
itinerancy,  and  in  every  appointment  given  him  by  the  Bishop.    The  Bish- 
op had  been  at  their  home,  near  Radersburg,  and  had  learned  the  facts. 
At  the  Conference  the  preachers  were  giving  in  their  financial  reports. 
Brother  Stateler,  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Helena  District,  arose,  when 
the  Bishop  asked:  "How  much  have  you  received  this  year,  Brother 
Stateler?  " 

"Ten  dollars,  sir." 

"  Is  that  all?"  inquired  the  Bishop. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Did you  receive  no  more  than  that  on  the  Helena  District?"  the 
Bishop  said,  with  an  air  of  surprise. 

34 


530  BISllOl'  MAUVIN. 

«'No,  sir.    That  is  all  I  have  received." 
"I  hoard  some  one  say  yon  liad  received  more  than  that." 
•'  Well,  a  friend  did  give  me  a  saclc  of  Hour." 
"  You  are  sure  that  is  all?  " 

"  I  believe,  too,  that  I  got  fifty  cents  besides;  but  it  was  not  consid- 
ered quarterage,  and  I  did  not  think  it  necessery  to  report  it." 

"  But,  I  heard  one  person  say  that  you  had  received  more  than  all  you 
have  j-et  reported,"  remarked  the  Bishop,  soberly. 

Things  were  getting  serious  by  this  time;.  The  preachers  did  not  un- 
derstand it.  Mischief  was  brewing.  A  secret  enemy  was  at  work  against 
tlie  veteran  and  lealer  of  the  Conference.  The  preachers  were  puzzled, 
and  Brother  Stateler's  countenance  indicated  astonishment  and  confusion. 
The  suspense  was  becoming  almost  painful,  when  the  Bishop,  with  a  pe- 
culiar twinkle  in  his  eye,  remarked  :  "  When  I  was  at  your  house,  I  heard 
bister  Statelcr  say  that  '  she  had  kept  one  preacher  in  the  field;'  and  you 
have  not  said  a  word  about  it." 

"  Oh!  Yes!  Well!  " — said  by  Bro.  Stateler,  with  a  smile  of  relief  on 
his  face,  and  an  outburst  of  laughter  from  all  present,  except  the  Bishop. 
lie  told  me  afterwards  that  it  was  about  the  roughest  joke  he  had  ever 
perpetrated;  but  that  the  opportunity  was  so  good  he  could  not  lose  it. 
All  enjoyed  it,  and  Brother  Stateler  forgave  him,  and  laugiis  about  it  yet. 
The  second  visit  of  Bishop  Marvin  was  in  the  summer  of  1875,  to  hold 
the  session  of  the  Montana  Conference,  in  Helena.  He  came  by  Virginia 
City  (where  I  was  stationed),  and  preached  to  crowded  houses  twice  on 
Sunday;  then  at  Whitehall,  sixty  miles  north,  on  Tuesday;  and  thence 
sixty  miles  to  the  seat  of  the  Conference,  wiiich  he  opeued  on  Thursday. 

I  can  never  forget  the  occasion  at  Whitehall.  Several  persons  were 
to  be  received  into  fall  membership  in  the  Church.  The  house  Avas 
crowded.  People  had  come  twenty  miles  to  liear  him  preach.  At  the 
close  of  the  service  he  baptized  two  children  of  the  family  of  Brother  E. 
G.  Brookes,  one  named  after  the  Bishop.  A  deep  solemnity  pervaded  the 
entire  congregation,  and  many  wept.  Tears  tilled  the  Bishop's  eyes  as  he 
proceeded  with  the  baptismal  service  and  pronounced  a  blessing  on  the 
dear  children.  It  was  at  this  time  he  told  me  of  the  solicitude  he  had 
always  felt  for  the  salvation  of  his  own  children  and  of  the  conversion  of 
his  j'oungest  daughter,  a  short  time  before  he  left  home— all  his  chUdren 
now  professors  of  religion.  Just  before  he  started  on  his  long  Avestern 
tour  he  had  talked  to  her  and  exhorted  her  to  give  her  heart  to  God.  She 
did  so,  an.l  found  peace.  It  gave  him  great  joy.  At  the  service  that  day 
he  sang  with  great  effect,  *' And  let  this  feeble  body  fail,"  etc.,  Avith  the 
chorus,  "  I'd  rather  be  the  least  of  those,"  etc.  He  also  sang,  "  My  latest 
sun  is  sinking  fast."  He  was  in  rapture,  and  several  persons  shouted  the 
praise  of  God. 

Amon<'  his  labors  after  Conference  Avas  the  dedication  of  a  nice  little 


IN    THE    MOUNTAINS.  531 

Church  in  Prickly  Pear  Valley,  near  Helena;  and  a  week's  meeting  at  Deer 
Lodge,  Avhere  he  paid  our  Church  out  of  debt.  Ilis  whole  path  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  Avas  marked  by  evangelical  labors— churches  dedicated, 
societies  founded  or  fostered,  the  Gospel  preached,  and  souls  saved. 

The  woi-k  in  Montana  laid  very  near  Bishop  Marvin's  heart.  He  knew 
our  situation,  our  toils,  our  trials,  and  our  wants,  and  was  in  hearty  sym- 
pathy with  us.  In  a  letter  to  me,  after  his  return  home,  dated  St.  Louis, 
October  30th,  1875,  he  reports  his  disappointment  in  not  getting  preachers 
for  our  work,  and  adds : 

'<  My  dear  brother,  you  do  not  know  how  much  I  think  about  you,  and 
with  what  lo^•e.  IMy  heart  was  warmed  Avith  an  account  of  your  trip  to 
Idaho;  God  will  surely  bless  you.  I  do  hope  to  be  able  to  send  you  some 
recruits  by  spring.  *  * '  *  *  *  *  Sometimes  I  thiuk 
about  Montana  so  much,  I  have  a  feeling  of  regret  that  I  cannot  go  and 
live  there  myself." 

I  have  many  letters  from  him,  which  are  invaluable  to  me,  and  go  to 
show  the  personal  interest  that  he  felt  in  the  work  and  in  the  welfare  of 
the  preachers  under  his  watch-care— especially  the  young  jjveachers.  He 
knew  how  to  sympathize  with  them  and  encourage  them,  and  he  did  it. 
But  such  letters  might  not  be  of  general  interest.  I  have  one,  however, 
which,  as  it  was  written  such  a  short  time  before  his  death,  might  be  of 
interest,  and  I  will  give  some  extracts.  It  is  dated  November  14th,  1877, 
and  did  not  reach  me  until  some  time  after  his  death,  as  I  was  away  on  the 
district.     You  do  not  know  how  I  prize  it.     He  says : 

"  Dear  Brother : — I  have  just  this  moment  received  your  letter — am 
overwhelmed  with  work,  and  answer  at  once,  lest  in  the  multiplicity  of 
cares  I  should  delay  it  too  long  if  I  delay  it  at  all.  I  am  glad  to  hear  from 
you,  but  you  need  not  be  told  of  that.  You  know  how  I  love  you.  As  to 
your  appointment,  I  have  no  doubt  you  are  in  the  right  place.  The  great 
trouble  about  the  work  in  Montana  is  the  want  of  men  of  the  right  sort  to 
go  and  stay.  If  we  had  had  men  enough  to  man  the  work  well  from  the 
beginning,  men  of  enterprise,  who  had  the  work  at  heart,  we  would  have 
been  very  strong  there  now.     I  hope  it  may  not  be  too  late  even  now. 

*  *  *  I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  enjoyed  my  travels  much 
myself.  That  is,  of  course.  *  *  *  [  have  much  to  say  if  Y 
ever  see  you,  but  cannot  possibly  say  it  on  paper." 

How  we  were  all  edified  and  encouraged  by  his  last  visit,  when  he 
held  our  Conference — the  first  Annual  Conference  ever  held  in  Montana — 
at  Helena.  The  preachers  seemed  to  catch  the  inspiration  of  his  great 
soul,  which  was  all  aglow  with  zeal  for  God,  and  were  ready  to  do  and  suf- 
fer for  the  Master;  and  could  his  plans  have  been  carried  out  at  that  time, 
that  year  would  have  marked  a  new  era  in  Montana  Methodism.  With 
what  unction  he  preached,  especially  on  Sunday  morning  during  our  Con- 
ference, as  he  held  the  vast  audience  spell-bound  for  over  an  hour.  Neither 
will  I  ever  forget  the  sermon  on  Sunday  night  of  the  Conference  on  the 


BISHOP  MARVIN. 


Lord's  Supper.  How  many  were  moved  to  tears  as  he  drew  the  scene  of 
our  Savior  and  his  disciples  gathered  around  tlie  table  for  the  hist  time, 
juiit  boforc  the  crucitixion,  and  what  an  affecting  time  as  our  little  band  of 
ministers  assembled  ai'ound  the  table  and  received  the  emblems  of  the 
broken  body  and  shed  blood  of  our  dying  Lord  at  the  hands  of  our  dear 
Bishop  for  the  hist  time.  It  is  a  scene  that  will  never  fade  from  my 
memory.  I  will  always  remember,  too,  the  time  I  saw  him  last.  He  was 
on  his  way  from  Helena,  leaving  the  Territory.  He  lo;jked  worn  from 
hard  toil  while  among  us.  Ha  took  supper  at  Whitehall,  and  then  I  accom- 
panied him  some  distance  on  the  way,  talking  about  the  work,  then  with 
heavy  heart  told  him  good-bye,  received  his  parting  blessing,  and  watched 
the  stage  coach  that  bore  him  away  till  it  was  out  of  sight,  and  the  rumble 
of  t'.ie  wheels  had  died  on  my  ear.  Alone  I  stood  in  the  twilight  and 
wept,  and  wondered  if  we  should  ever  see  his  face  again.  He  was  a  man 
whom  my  soul  loved.  I  feel  lonely  as  I  ride  over  these  mountains,  since 
he  has  gone.  How  the  Church  marks  and  mourns  his  loss!  May  God  in 
His  mercy  raise  up  some  Elisha,  on  whom  his  mantle  may  fall — who  -will 
hold  up  the  standard  and  ciUTy  it  forward  as  bravely  and  successfully  as 
he  did. 


e>iV9  ^ 


CHAPTER  XXVni. 


FROM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF. 


Southern  Methodism  iu  the  North — A  first  representative — From  across 
"the  old  line" — The  Baltimore  Conference — The  Christian  Union — 
The  Compact  of  ISi-l — Organization  and  growth  of  Illinois  Conference 
— Visitaticnis  and  labors — luterest  iu  that  Conference — Letter  of  Bishop 
Andrew  —  The  Indiana  Conference — Northward  movement  of  the 
Church,  South — A  prophecy — The  West  Virginia  Conference — The 
Conference  in  Louisiana — ^A  post-bellum  visit — Condition  of  the  Con- 
ferences— "  Disintegration  and  absorption  " — "  Stanton- Ames  order  " 
— "The  Government  not  running  the  Churches  " — Andrew  Johnson's 
order — Abraham  Lincoln's  record — The  order  an  offense  to  brethren 
of  the  Northern  Church — Bishop  Marvin's  strictures — The  colored 
people  of  the  South — ^Conferences  at  Minden  and  at  Baton  Rouge — 
Personalities — An  heirloom  of  Methodist  Episcopac}',  the  McKendree 
watch-seal  —  Love-tokens  —  The  lapsis  Ungucz  and  its  significance  — 
Standing  and  labors  in  the  Gulf  States. 

^fJ^N  his  way  from  the  Mountains  to  the  Gulf,  in  1872, 
^(^j^  Bishop  Marvin  hekl  the  Illinois  Conference.  It  was 
his  first  Presidency  in  that  Conference  by  regular  appoint- 
ment. It  was,  also,  on  his  plan  of  Adsitation  for  1873  ;  but 
previously  and  subsequently  to  those  dates  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  attend  its  sessions,  and  has  bestowed  large  Episco- 
pal and  ministerial  lal)ors  within  its  bounds.  Rev.  M.  R. 
Joiies  gives  the  following  summary  : 

Bishop  Marviu  was  at  the  organization  of  the  Illinois  Conference,  and 
took  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  in  that  State.  He  pi'esided  at  two  or 
three  Annual  Conferences,  and  was  much  among  us  at  the  District  Confer- 
ences, Church  dedications,  campmeetings  and  on  preaching  tours.  One 
spring  and  summer  he  remained  five  weeks,  visiting  the  Churches  and 


S;^  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

prcadunp:,  as  ho  only  could  preach.  It  was  my  privile_2je  to  be  -with  him 
all  Uic  liiuo.  1  was  then  tryiuy  to  work  up  a  C<)lleiJ:e  enterprise,  and  need 
not  say  that  he  earnestly  co-operated  with  nie  and  helped  l)y  his  influence. 

Ill  the  history  of  liis  pastorate  on  jMouticcllo  Circuit,  in 
1840,  including  an  appointment  at  Quincy,  it  has  appeared 
that  he  M'as  one  of  the  first  representatives  of  the  Southern 
Churcli  in  Illinois.  Soon  afterwards  the  Quincy  appoint- 
ment was  discontinued.  After  an  interval  of  about  seven- 
teen years,  he  is  on  Illinois  soil,  assisting  at  the  organiza- 
tion and  session  of  an  Annual  Conference.  The  occasion 
grew  out  of  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  18G6. 
The  circumstances  under  which  that  action  was  taken  con- 
nected him  in  feeling,  on  principle,  and  actively  in  a  North- 
ern movement  of  Southern  Methodism. 

At  that  General  Conference  there  was  survev  of  the 
condition  and  prospects  of  the  Church  after  the  desolations 
of  a  four  years'  war,  in  -which  its  pastoral  fields  had  been 
the  seat  of  war,  and  not  less  destructive  evils  were  impend- 
ing in  the  Church-policy  features  of  the  social  and  political 
reconstruction  which  followed  the  end  of  hostilities  at  arms-. 

In  the  midst  of  all  the  losses  there  were  substantial  and 
cheerinir  cains.  Though  dismantled,  the  Hag  of  the  Church 
was  flvinix  at  the  masthead.  It  rci)resented  the  honor  and 
integrity  of  the  Church  unsullied  and  unimpaired.  "  Thank 
God,"  it  is  the  language  of  the  address  of  the  Bishops, 
*'  that  we  have  so  safely  i)assed  through  a  most  painful  and 
fiery  ordeal  ;  that  the  Church  has  preserved  her  integrity  ; 
that  she  has  in  no  wise  become  complicated  with  political 
affairs  ;  but  keeping  in  view  her  own  high  mission,  has  been 
satisfied  to  perform  her  legitimate  duties."  The  conserva- 
tive Methodism  of  the  country  was  turning  its  eyes  to  this^ 
standard  :  and  from  the  Northeast  and  the  Northwest  there 
was  rally  to  it.  Messengers  from  across  the  old  boundary 
line  wore  at  the  bar  of  the  Conference  with  overtures  for 
admission  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Southern  Methodism.     Old 


FROM    THE    OHIO    TO    THE    GULF.  535 

Biiltiinore  Conference  was  present  by  delegation  to  take  its 
seat,  in  a  late  coming  but  welcome  arrival.  It  brought 
along  large  accessions  in  territory  and  in  numbers  and 
weight  of  influence,  commanding  public  and  special  respect. 
Rev.  Jacob  Ditzler,  who  had  been  prominent  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  "  Christian  Union,"  in  Illinois  and  Indiana, 
was  at  the  New  Orleans  General  Conference,  as  a  fraternal 
messenger  from  that  body,  and  accredited  with  authority  to 
negotiate  its  admission  into  the  Ecclesiastical  Connection  of 
the  M.  E.  Church,  South. 

Up  to  that  date  the  Church,  South,  had  scrupulously 
and  rigidly  kept  the  compact  of  1844  in  regard  to  the  boun- 
dary line  of  the  divided  jurisdiction.  The  history  of  that 
question,  and,  especially,  the  posture  of  the  two  Churches 
during  and  immediately  after  the  war,  constituted  a  mani- 
fest discharge  of  the  Southern  Church  from  further  oblijja- 
tions  under  the  original  compact ;  and  action  was  taken  au- 
thorizing the  crossing  of  the  old  line.  The  new  departure 
was  further  justified  by  the  circumstances  under  Avhich  it 
was  ordered,  not  as  an  invasion,  but  on  invitation  to  come  ; 
not  to  disrupt  existing  organizations,  but  for  the  care  of 
large  and  influential  religious  bodies,  already  organized  and 
established  in  strength  and  respectability. 

In  Illinois,  the  movement  was  initiated  at  a  Conference 
of  preachers  and  laymen,  held  at  Salem,  Marion  County, 
June  22,  1864.  They  had  severed  their  connection  with 
the  Churches  to  which  they  had  belonged,  and  formed  an 
oro:anization  under  the  name  of  the  *'  Evan^-elical  Church." 
At  its  second  Annual  Council,  in  the  fall  of  1865,  an  union 
was  made  with  another  body  having  a  similar  and  earlier 
origin,  the  united  body  taking  the  name  of  the  latter, 
"Christian  Union."  Bishop  Doggett  was  present  at  its 
Annual  Council,  in  1866,  held  at  Clinton,  De  Witt  County, 
as  a  fraternal  messenger  from  the  Southern  Church  ;  and  in 
virtue  of  its  action  and  by  authority,    at   the   next   meet- 


53G  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

ing  of  the  Council,  at  the  same  place,  in  October,  1807,  ho 
formally  received  that  body  into  the  sisterhood  of  Southern 
Methodist  Conferences  and  presided  over  its  session.  Bish- 
op Marvin's  presence  indicated  liis  interest  in  the  move- 
ment. Subsequently,  it  fell  lari^^ely  under  the  Episcopal 
supervision  of  Bisiiop  Kavanaugh,  resident  at  Louisville, 
Ky.  Its  nearer  proximity  to  the  residence  of  Bishop  Mar- 
vin, at  St.  Louis,  kept  it  prominently  undcn*  his  eye,  and  he 
has  contributed  much,  in  counsel  and  labor,  to  its  perma- 
nency and  progress. 

In  1872-3,  the  first  year  of  his  official  charije  and  re- 
sponsibility,  he  gave  to  that  Conference  a  large  part  of  his 
after-Conference  laljors  ;  in  the  summer  of  1873,  traversing 
its  bounds  with  a  line  of  appointments  for  District  Confer- 
ences and  other  special  occasions,  reaching  up  to  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  State,  near  to  the  Lake  Shore.  Wherever  he 
Avent  his  ministry  was  thronged.  His  presence  and  preach- 
ing enhanced  the  public  estimation  of  the  Conference  and 
inspirited  the  labors  of  the  preachers  and  the  heart  and  zeal 
of  the  membership.  At  the  session  of  the  Conference,  held 
Se[)tember  4tli,  1872,  at  Kushville,  he  had  great  satisfaction 
wdth  the  status  and  2;rowth  of  the  Conference.  The  Origan- 
ization  at  Salem,  in  18G4,  represented  five  ministers  and 
twenty-five  lajanen.  It  came  into  the  Southern  Church,  in 
1867,  with  forty  preachers  and  twenty-five  hundred  members. 
Its  growth  in  six  years  had  been  marvelous — an  hundred  per 
cent,  in  numbers  ;  anchored  to  the  soil  by  real  estate  titles  ; 
established  as  a  fixture  in  the  land  by  Christian  institutions 
and  agencies  ;  its  pulpit  vindicated  by  divine  credentials, 
and  its  principles,  more  and  more,  approved  to  popular  fa- 
vor ;  and  at  length,  after  a  history  of  obloquy  and  persecu- 
tion, commandinc:  the  recoirnition  of  other  Churches  and 
universal  public  respect. 

The  Conference  year  1871-2  had  been  exceedingly  pros- 
perous ;  the  Salem   District  alone,    the    birth-place    of  the 


FROM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF.  537 

Conference,  and  composed  of  twelve  Circuits,  adding  to  its 
membership  that  year  nearly  five  hundred,  and  aggregating 
twenty-six  hundred  and  forty-four  in  the  seven  years  of  its 
existence.  Other  interests  kept  pace  with  that  extraordinary 
advancement ;  ten  new  churches  built  that  year,  making 
twenty-eight ;  and  reporting  three  parsonages  and  fifty-three 
local  preachers,  and  about  two  thousand  in  the  census  of  the 
Sunday  School. 

It  is  needless  to  say,  what  is  well  known,  that  Bishop  Mar- 
vin greatly  admired  the  spirit  of  that  Conference — its  evan- 
gelical temper,  its  push  in  Church  enterprise,  its  brave  en- 
durance. He  rejoiced  in  its  triumphs,  and  gave  to  it  the 
help  of  a  willing  hand,  thrusting  a  keen  and  a  ready  sickle 
into  its  fields,  white  already  to  the  harvest.  There  were 
reasons  personal  to  himself  for  a  strong  attachment  to  some 
of  its  members  ;  among  the  number,  R.  P.  Holt,  one  of  his 
classmates  in  the  Missouri  Conference  ;  M.  R.  Jones,  the 
Presiding  Elder  of  Salem  District  for  three  years,  an  old 
friend  and  companion  in  the  labors  of  his  early  ministry  ;  and 
D.  T.  Sherman,  under  whose  preaching  he  professed  reli- 
gion, and  whose  house,  in  Warren  County,  was  his  Divinity 
School — in  the  course  of  his  personal  and  ofiicial  intercourse, 
a  strong  reciprocal  affection  created  between  him  and  all  the 
preachers. 

More  especially,  the  interest  Bishop  Marvin  took  in  the 
work  in  Illinois,  as,  also,  in  Maryland,  arose  out  of  the  princi- 
ples it  represented,  as  a  protest  against  politico-ecclesias- 
ticism.  During  his  visitations  of  those  States,  in  the  years 
1872  and  1873,  his  recorded  observations  in  travel  abound 
in  strictures  upon  the  shame  and  crime  of  the  debauchery  of 
the  Church  by  political  alliances  and  worldly  policies.  His 
sentiments  on  that  subject  are  quoted  on  a  former  page. 
Those  views  had  origin  in  1844,  in  the  study  of  the  ques- 
tions of  division,  and  his  adherence  to  the  Church,  South, 
on  the  issues    pending   in  Bishop   Andrew's  case.     Among 


538  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

his  papers,  clicrlsliecl  and  preserved  by  him,  is  a  letter  from 
Bishop  Andrew,  received  isi  the  first  months  after  liis  own 
election  to  tho  Episcopacy,  which,  no  doubt,  would  havo 
appeared  in  the  conteniphited  Life  of  the  IVishop  from  his 
jien,  as  illustrative  of  his  sentiments,  on  the  subject  inliand. 
It  is  given  entire,  in  part  in  evidence  of  tho  affectionate  re- 
lationship existing  between  the  older  and  the  younger 
Bishop  ;  ])ut  in  largo  part,  also,  as  an  exi)onont  of  their 
doctrine  of  the  true  function  and  mission  of  the  Church. 
It  was  held  by  both  alike,  and  held  in  its  integrity,  under 
tho  stress  and  strain  of  every  trial,  in  personal  history  and 
public  exigencies : 

SuMMEUFiELD,  June  9,  18(36. 
Dear  Bishop: 

Your  letter  was  received  a  day  or  two  since.  Glad  to  hear  from  you, 
and  especially  glad  to  hear  that  the  doings  of  the  General  Conferouee  ure 
generally  acceptable  to  our  friends  in  Texis.  I  lliink  that  is  generally  the 
report;  but,  no  doubt,  there  will  be  dissatisfaction  somewhere  (if  the 
preachers  don't  prevent  it)  by  a  contentious  spirit.  I  believe  that  South- 
ern Methodism  has  a  glorious  future  in  prospect.  Oh!  let  the  Southern 
preachers  be  faithful  to  their  holy  calling.  For,  unless  we  maintain  our 
non-political  character  and  prove  true  to  God,  the  fate  of  Constitutional 
liberty  is  sealed.  Oh,  that  God  may  over-ride  all  the  movements  of  the 
people,  political  and  ecclesiastical!  God  save  the  Country  and  the 
Church ! 

We  have  the  news  of  gracious  revivals  in  various  places.  I  learn  by 
letter  from  Baltimore  and  Miryland  that  our  cause  is  jirospering  there. 

How  does  your  new  Episcopal  harness  set  on  you  ?  Where  do  yea 
think  of  settling  your  family  ?  Let  me  hear  from  you  soon  and  often.  We 
are  all  crippled  up  at  my  house — my  wife  sick,  my  daughter  sick,  and  I 
am  good  for  nothing.  But  what  of  it  all,  so  long  as  we  can  say,  the  best 
of  all,  God  is  witli  us  and  God  is  love. 

(Jod  bless  the  people  of  Texas  !  1  love  them  all.  Mention  me  verv 
kindly  to  all  the  preachers  and  i>eople  who  love  me  and  ask  after  me.  God 
bless  you  and  your  precious  family  !     Much  love  to  you  all. 

Yours,  very  affectionately, 

James  O.  Andrew. 

A  movement  similar  to  that  in  Illinois  had  transpired  in 
Indiana,  under  the  leadership  and  labors,  chiefl}^  of  Kev.  J. 
Ditzler  and  Rev.   Wm.    Ilamblin.       As  early  as  the  fall  of 


FROM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF.  539' 

18(39,  the  Annual  Conference  of  the  new  organization  in  that 
State,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Evangelical  United  Breth- 
ren, "  was  attended  hy  Bishop  McTycire  and  Dr.  McFerrin, 
as  visitors,  who  made  a  report  of  their  hope  of  good  re- 
sults to  accrue  to  the  cause  of  a  pure  Christianity  and  an 
Evangelical  Methodism.  It  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer 
to  attend  its  session,  in  the  following  spring,  April  l-lth, 
held  at  Pleasant  View,  Shelby  Count}^ — the  first  session 
after  the  formal  and  public  avowal  of  its  adhesion,  as  a 
Conference,  to  the  M.  E.  Church,  South.  A  similar  con- 
viction was  then  formed  that  the  movement  was  justifiable 
and  substantial.  There,  as  in  Illinois,  there  was  repugnance 
and  revolt  towards  a  secularized  and  political  church,  and  a 
call  for  the  Gospel  at  the  hands  of  the  Southern  Church — 
otherwise,  the  loss  of  multitudes  to  Methodism.  Subse- 
quently, that  work  became  connected,  more  or  less  inti- 
mately, with  the  Conferences  in  Illinois  and  Kentucky.  At 
the  General  Conference  of  1878  it  was  erected  into  an  in- 
dependent Annual  Conference.  It  has  been  slower  in 
development ;  but  it  is  founded  on  the  same  principles — the 
purely  spiritual  function  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  Bishop 
Marvin  has  characterized  the  Methodism  of  the  South  as 
peculiarly  and  signally  an  exponent  of  that  principle  ;  and  in 
that,  conforming  to  Apostolical  Christianity  :  as  at  the  same 
time  non-political  in  its  mission,  and  in  the  destiny  of  its 
diffusion,  non-sectional. 

At  the  Louisville  Conference,  his  second  Conference  for 
the  year  1872,  he  looked  out  on  the  Indiana  work  from  the 
south  bank  of  the  Ohio  ;  and  has  spoken  of  it  as  a  path 
opened  for  the  spread  of  Southern  ^Methodism,  destined,  he 
prophesied,  to  extend  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Lakes,  as  it  had 
already  stretched  from  ocean  to  ocean.  His  expressions 
are  enthusiastic,  and  have  been  criticised  as  extravagant. 
Nevertheless,  Viri>;inia  gave  jNIcthodism  to  New  Enirhind. 
From  1783  to  1844  the  South  had  planted  Methodism  in  the 


540  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

North  ;  ill  the  later  history,  it  is  in  his  prophesy,  again  on  a 
northward  migration,  to  reform  or  re-establish  it,  on  the 
model  of  original  Wesleyanism,  and  after  the  type  of  the 
primitive  ISIethodist  spirit  and  polity.  His  prediction  is  on 
record,  awaiting  such  history  as  tlie  future  shall  make.  It 
was  made  at  two  different  times,  reiterated  in  May,  1870, 
and  was  a  deliberate  sentiment.  It  is  contained  in  the 
following  paragraphs  : 

We  need  not  concern  ourselves  about  our  relation  to  other  churches  if 
we  only  recognize  the  opportunities  and  meet  the  demands  of  the  hour. 
We  belong  to  God.  His  providence  has  given  us  being  as  a  church  at  this 
time.  We  are  His  witnesses.  We  have  already  a  /u'^fory.  We  stand  in 
a  place  that  God  will  not  allow  us  to  vacate.  We  can  not  alienate  our  his- 
tory and  be  guiltless.  The  INI.  E.  Churcli,  South,  is  conservative  of  vital 
principles.  This  conservation  can  be  inaintaiiicd  only  by  a  grand  and  sus- 
tained aggression.  Let  us  seek  more  and  more  the  presence  of  the  Master 
and  His  Spirit;  ]:il)or  more,  give  more,  be  more  holy,  and  God  will  do  a 
gi'eat  work  by  us  in  tiie  world. 

On  anotlier  border  au  open  door  invites.  Iowa,  Illinois,  Indiana, 
Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  recognize  our  mission  and  call  us.  Duly  is  clear. 
Our  character  is  distinctive.  Among  tlie  Methodist  organizations  on  this 
contin(!nt  it  is  unique,  and  as  it  is  unique,  it  approximates  the  true  Chris- 
tian standard. 

Our  work  in  Illinois  progresses  well.  Next  spring  we  will  have  a 
Conference  organized  in  Indiana  witli  good  auspices.  We  are  taking  root 
in  Iowa,  Pennsylvania,  and  even  in  New  York  City.  This  northward  de- 
velopment is  a  necessity.  Tliere  is  use  for  our  Church,  and  work  for  us 
to  do,  up  to  tlic  Canada  line.  As  fast  as  we  raise  up  men  we  will  possess 
the  land.  The  St.  Lawrence  and  the  lakes  will  be  tlie  north  line  of  Con- 
ferences in  a  few  years.  There  are  great  multitudes  of  people  in  the 
Nortli  who  must  be  Methodists— they  can  be  nothing  else— who  can  never 
be  at  peace  with  the  fanaticism  constantly  agitating  the  Northern  Church. 
They  seek  us— as  fast  as  possible  we  must  go  to  them. 

Another  Conference  along  the  northern  line  of  the  Con- 
nection, the  West  Virginia,  was  in  his  round  of  visitation  in 
1873 — held  at  Ashland.  The  conditions  of  Church  work 
were  similar,  in  the  respects  named,  to  those  in  Illinois — 
originally  a  conflict,  and  still,  a  competition  botwen  the  two 
Methodisms.  He  had  high  admiration  of  the  labors  and 
achievements  of   that    small,    but   brave.  Conference.     Its 


FROM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF.  541 

delegation  at  the  late  General  Conference  has  certified  to 
these  pages,  with  what  personal  interest  and  ofiicial  zeal  he 
presided  at  their  Conference  ;  and  how  the  whole  body  was 
animated  by  his  pulpit,  and  had  adjustment  and  a  push  for- 
ward from  his  wise  and  strong  hand. 

The  Louisiana  Conference  was  in  his  tour  of  Episcopal 
visitation  for  the  same  year — held  at  Baton  Kouge,  January 
7,  1874:.  His  first  visit  to  this  Conference  has  mention  in 
his  Army  Journal.  He  made  a  post  belluni  visit  to  that 
Conference — at  its  session  in  December,  1870,  held  at  New 
Orleans  by  Bishop  Doggett.  In  the  following  paragraphs 
are  notes  from  his  own  pen  of  that  visit,  which  will  interest 
those  most  concerned  in  the  picture  of  d  lys  when  the 
Church  sat  down  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon.  On  their  return 
after  the  decree  of  the  American  Cyrus,  even  as  late  as  in 
1871 ,  they  were  still  in  the  midst  of  the  Avastes  of  thoir  once 
fair  heritage,  and  at  work  on  the  ruins  of  what  Llethodist 
fathers  had  founded  and  built  up — clearing  away  the  rubbish 
for  rehabilitation  : 

I  have  been  present  for  some  days  at  the  session  of  the  Louisiana 
Conference.  In  many  portions  of  the  Conference  the  work  is  ia  a  pros- 
perous condition,  bat  in  sojae  of  the  districts  the  prostration  resulting 
from  the  war  was  so  great  that  neither  the  country  nor  the  Church  haa 
yet  recovered  from  it.  Mr.iy  p:)rtioas  of  it  are  nDty2t  re-occupi3:l  by  us 
in  any  effectual  way,  and  it  will  require  several  years  yet  to  bring  any 
large  measure  of  prosperity.  Bat,  upon  the  whole,  there  is  decided  ad- 
vancement and  a  very  hopeful  condition. 

Recuperation  ia  the  Church  would  be  much  more  rapid  if  there  were 
preachers  to  man  the  work  fully.  I  have  not  found  a  Conference  this  side 
of  Oregon  where  there  was  so  great  a  lack  in  this  respect.  It  is  distress- 
ing. Many  circuits  are  left  to  be  supplied,  without  e\^n  a  local  preacher 
available  to  serve  them.  Some  of  these  circuits  would  support  preachers 
with  small  families  very  comfortably.  No  one  of  the  Conferences  in  Texas 
is  nearly  so  destitute  as  this.  The  demand  is  scarcely  greater  even  in  the 
Western  Conference.  It  is  important  that  the  attention,  especially  of 
young  men,  in  the  crowded  Conferences,  should  be  turned  strongly  to 
Louisiana.  The  demand  is  urgent  and  instant.  This  Macedonia  cries  out 
for  help. 

At  his  visitation  in  1873,  the  condition  of  the  Conference 


542  BISHOP   MARVIX. 

was  not  materially  changed,  neither  in  the  trials  of  its  pa- 
tience nor  in  the  fortitude  of  its  endurance  and  the  couraije 
of  its  heroism.  That  Conference  had  received,  on  its  l>are 
bosom  and  at  its  stroni^holds,  the  first  shock  of  the  blow 
M'hich  fell  upon  the  peoples  and  Methodist  Church  of  the 
South  ;  and  was  the  last  to  come  out  from  under  the  lash  of 
the  scourije.  Its  sister  Conferences  of  the  Gulf  States  at 
the  dates  of  Bishop  ]\Iarvin's  visitations  had  recovered 
strength,  in  the  elasticity  of  dcvotedness  which  could  not 
be  destroyed,  and  in  the  divinity  of  principles  which  can 
not  be  killed.  In  the  history  of  the  jiart  taken  b}''  the  dom- 
inant Church  of  the  North  in  the  war  upon  a  kindred 
Methodism  at  the  South,  what  is  known  as  "  the  disintegra- 
tion and  absorption  policy  "  had  approached  by  the  way  of 
the  Atlantic  seaboard  under  the  particular  guidance  of  Bish- 
op Simpson.  It  was  met  by  the  indigenous  Methodism  of 
Georgia  and  the  Carolinas,  as  with  the  impregnable  front  of 
a  "stone  wall."  That  form  of  ecclesiastical  aggression, 
at  those  dates,  had  spent  its  force — more  than  that.  In  the 
recoil,  like  the  recession  of  a  wave  in  an  impotent  assault 
upon  the  rock  which  has  its  base  in  the  bod  of  the  ocean,  its 
authors  and  agents  were  engulfed  in  the  reprobation  of  an 
impartial  public  press  and  were  in  the  struggle  of  escape  to 
the  shore  in  the  events  of  1809  and  1870.  The  smitten 
Church  stood  before  the  Christian  world  commanding  the 
admiration  which  heroism  inspires,  when  it  triumphs  ;  as 
when,  after  the  storm  is  over,  the  rock  of  the  sea  is  ad- 
mired, as  it  is  seen  with  calm  waters  at  its  base  and  its  brow 
uplifted  in  the  eky  and  bathed  in  the  sunlight. 

But  the  Conference  in  Louisiana,  animated  bv  the  same 
spirit  of  unquenchable  love  and  unconquera1)le  dcvotedness 
to  Southern  Methodism  and  of  heroism  to  suffer  for  its 
name's  sake,  Avas  appointed  to  a  more  protracted  agony  of 
trial,  and,  if  possible,  a  more  signal  triumph  of  principle  and 
of  faith  in    God.     It   had  to  survive  the   first  and  recover 


FROM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF.  543 

from  the  severest  l)low.  In  the  path  of  approach  to  the 
South  along  the  Mississippi  Valle^^  to  the  enginery  of  Civil 
Reconstruction,  which  had  in  it  the  political  power  of  the 
Government  subsidized  to  the  uses  of  Ecclesiastical  disrup- 
tion of  the  Churches  of  the  South,  there  was  added  the 
military  arm.  In  a  letter  from  the  resident  Bishop  of  the 
Louisiana  Conference,  addressed  to  Bishop  Marvin  and 
found  among  his  papers,  the  strange  fact  of  that  anomalous 
history  is  given  ;  in  connection  with  the  fact,  its  final  issue. 
It  was  written  by  Bishop  Keener  on  his  return  from  a  success- 
ful mission  to  Washington  City  to  secure  a  restoration  of 
the  Churches  at  New  Orleans  and  at  other  places  in  the 
South,  which  had  been  seized  and  held  under  the  operation 
of  the  "  Stanton-Ames  Order.  "  It  was  done  by  President 
Johnson  directly.  A  detailed  narrative  is  given  of  the  in- 
terview between  the  Bishop  and  the  Presidant.  It  shows 
how  the  original  seizure  was  regarded — how  incongruous,  as 
a  question  of  morals,  in  a  Church  official  ;  and  in  an  Ameri- 
can State  officer,  glaring  political  misrule. 

The  mention  in  these  pages  of  the  "  Stanton-Ames 
Order,  "  besides  in  its  connection  in  this  writing  Avith  the 
times  of  Bishop  Marvin  and  the  administration  of  his  Epis- 
copal office,  may  be  justified,,  in  that  no  mention  can  add  to 
its  notoriety,  as  no  criticism  can  deepen  the  infamy  which 
lias  already  been  stamped  upon  it  by  the  verdict  of  public 
history.  The  fact  contains  in  itself  its  character,  as  alien 
from  the  genius  both  of  American  liberty  and  of  Catholic 
Christianity.  No  condemnation  can  be  more  sweeping  than 
that  it  was  reprobated  alike  by  statesmen  of  all  parties  and 
Christians  of  all  names.     No  stigma  can  be  blacker  than  that 

the  civil  ruler  forbade  the  madness  of  the  Ecclesiastic the 

President  of  the  Nation  undoing  the  work  of  the  Bishop  of 
a  Church. 

If,  as  it  was  at  that  time  charged,  Andrew  Johnson  Avas 
a  traitor  to  the  North,  it  is  well  authenticated  that  the  same 


544  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

sentiment  aiu]  judgment  on  the  Stimton-Amcs  Order  were 
held  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  Avas  rated  as  the  enemy  of 
the  South.  The  operation  of  that  order  beo:inninii:  at  the 
city  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  lying  near  the  mouth  of  the 
great  river  which  flows  through  it,  had  for  its  intended  des- 
tination the  city  at  the  other  end  of  the  Valley  where  the 
river  becomes  the  Father  of  Waters — in  the  plan  of  Eccle- 
siastical conquest  and  spoliation  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis 
to  become  bases  for  predatory  incursion  from  end  to  end  of 
the  river  and  side  to  side  of  the  Valley.  Bishop  Ames  was 
on  his  way  from  the  southern  to  the  northern  boundary  line 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  Southern  Methodism  to  seize  the 
Churches  of  the  great  city  of  the  West,  as  he  had  already 
done  the  Churches  in  the  great  citv  of  the  South.  His 
coming  was  antici[)ated,  and  appeal  was  made  to  Ciesar.  It 
may  not  l)e  generally  known,  but  it  is  the  fact,  that  the 
seizure  of  the  Centenary  and  First  Churches  in  St.  Louis 
was  forestalled  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  the  same  view  and 
on  the  same  principles,  that  President  Johnson  restored 
Carondelet  and  Felicity  at  New  Orleans  to  their  lawful  own- 
ers and  natural  worshippers — natives  to  thcni  by  baptism 
and  born  of  God  at  their  altars. 

In  regard  to  the  interference  of  President  Lincoln  to  put 
a  stop  to  that  business,  the  facts  arc  well  authenticated — 
within  the  personal  knowledj^e  of  liviii"^  and  reliable  wit- 
nesses,  who  were  actors  in  that  history  and  certified  by 
documentary  testimony.  When  the  approach  of  Bishop 
Ames  to  St.  Louis  became  known  at  Centenary  Church,  one 
of  its  members,  the  Hon.  John  Hogan,  an  old  personal, 
though  not  a  political,  friend  of  ]\Ir.  Lincoln,  was  deputed 
to  go  to  Washington  City  to  claim  at  the  hands  of  the  Chief 
Magistrate  the  protection  of  the  civil  power  against  lawless 
Churchism  ;  in  the  right  of  citizenship,  to  security  of  prop- 
erty, and  as  Churchmen,  to  unmolested  worship  of  God  at 
their  altar  places.     The  result  of  that  mission  was  a  suspeu- 


FTIOM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF.  545 

sion  of  the  order,  as  to  the  Churches  in  Missouri  and 
Kentucky.  Mr.  Ilogan  brought  back  with  him  this  supple- 
mental order.  TJie  original  document  is  in  the  possession 
of  the  winter.  It  contains  an  approving  endorsement  on  the 
back  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Lincohi  and  over  his  well 
known  signature. 

The  document  is  in  evidence  to  a  sinijular  fact  in  both  the 
religious  and  political  history  of  this  land  and  of  the  nine- 
teenth century ;  as  the  name  of  the  order  imports, 
coml)ining  that  of  a  Bishop  of  a  Church  and  a  Prime  Minis- 
ter of  the  State — a  Church  measure  of  the  Government  and  a 
Government  measure  of  the  Church.  It  was  so  stranjje  and 
so  foreign  both  to  the  genius  of  a  free  country  and  to  the 
charter  of  its  liberties  ;  and  so  repugnant  to  both  Testa- 
ments of  religion,  the  spirit  of  charity  in  the  New  and  the 
decalogue  of  the  Old — to  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  the  law 
of  Moses  ;  that  Mr.  Lincoln  could  with  difficulty  be  con- 
vinced that  ^uch  an  event  as  the  Stanton-Ames  Order  had 
any  existence.  He  would  not  and  did  not  credit  it  till  in  the 
second  interview  with  Mr.  Hogan,  after  he  had  inquired  and 
learned  it  from  the  archives  of  the  War  Department. 

The  real  and  unaffected  is-norance  of  the  existence  of  such 
an  order  on  the  part  of  the  President  indicates  the  character 
of  the  transaction  in  its  history,  as  done  in  the  dark  and  in 
a  mutual  subserviency  of  the  Church  and  State.  It  was 
planned  hy  the  Militant  Bishop  of  his  Church  and  the  War 
Secretary  of  the  State,  exchanging  weajDons  and  differing 
only  in  the  direction  of  the  blow  ;  the  one  looking  to  the 
muster  roll  of  the  army  for  the  overthrow  of  the  South  in 
tlie  field,  and  the  other  to  the  power  of  the  bayonet  for 
supplanting  Southern  Methodism  among  the  Churches. 
That  history,  also,  explains  the  revocation  of  the  order  in 
part  only,  and  the  attempted  apology  for  his  Secretary,  as 
Mr.  Hogan  has  reported  it^-the  President,  at  the  time, 
going  as  far  as  he  could  without  breaking  abruptly  with  his 
35 


546  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

War  Secretary,  and  without  alienating  a  Church,  of  which, 
he  had  said,  "it  sent  more  soUliers  to  the  field  and  more 
praj'ers  to  Heaven,  "  tiian  any  other  organized  body  in  the 
land.  Out  of  this  history  came  the  famous  m^yiifesto  of 
]\Ir.  Lincoln  he  was  bold  to  make  not  long  afterwards  : 
*'The  Government  is  not  running  the  Churches."  It  is 
presumable  Avith  reasonable  certainty  that  President  Lin- 
coln, if  he  had  lived,  would  have  done  at  New  Oi'leans,  in 
the  restoration  of  the  Churches  which  had  been  seized  from 
Southern  jNIethodisni  and  their  pulpits  occupied  by 
Simpson-Ames  Episcopal  appointments,  M'hat  Vice-Presi- 
dent Johnson  did,  when  he  sat  in  the  Presidential  chair,  as 
his  successor. 

It  is,  also,  aiact  for  just  and  grateful  record  that  the 
war  policies  of  the  Church,  North,  at  the  South,  in  the  days 
of  conquest  and  reconstruction,  were  deprecated  by  leading 
men  and  large  numbers  in  the  Communion  of  that  Bishop's 
own  Church.  On  the  authority  of  the  layman  who  spoke 
so  eloquently  in  bearing  fraternal  salutations  at  Louisville, 
and  who  acted  a  noble  part  in  the  peace-measures  of  the 
Cape  jMay  settlement,  it  is  known  to  the  writer,  that  while 
Mr.  Hogan  was  at  Washington  City  circumventing  the  War 
Secretary  through  the  veto  of  his  Chief,  a  message  was  dis- 
patched by  the  Union  M.  E.  Church  of  St.  Louis  to  forbid 
the  coming  of  the  Bishop.  In  like  tenor  of  testimony,  the 
various  independent  organizations  formed  in  Illinois,  Indi- 
ana and  Ohio,  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  were  composed 
chiefly  of  Methodists,  who  could  be  nothing  else,  but  could 
not  submit  to  the  prostitution  of  Methodism  to  political  par- 
tisanship, nor  that  its  altars  should  be  converted  into  re- 
cruiting stations  for  armies  and  its  pulpit  into  preaching  the 
crusades  of  war — far  less,  that  in  suppressing  the  rebellion, 
the  kindred  Methodism  at  the  South  should  be  overthrown  ; 
its  Churches  wrested  from  them  and  its  folds  deprived  of 
their  pastors  or  served  by  aliens — not  shepherds,  but 
spoilers  of  their  heritage. 


FROM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF.  547 

Bishop  Marvin,  during  the  war  between  the  States,  was 
near  by  at  the  beginning  of  the  onset  with  carnal  weapons 
hy  the  Northern  upon  the  Southern  Methodism.  In  his 
iirmy  itinerary  he  had  met  at  Homer,  La.,  in  the  chair  of  a 
College  Professor,  a  pastor  of  the  Church,  who  had  been 
driven  from  his  flock  when  Bishop  Ames,  on  his  route  to  St. 
Louis,  took  possession  of  the  Church  at  Natchez — no  other 
than  the  sweet  spirited  man  and  Gospel-herald  i^reacher  and 
Christ-like  pastor,  George  H.  Clinton,  whom  any  chief 
spiritual  overseer  should  have  kept  in  charge  of  the  fold,  not 
driven  away  from  it.  Bishop  Marvin's  intimate  knowledge 
and  personal  relations,  from  beginning  to  the  end  of  the 
collision  and  strife,  jjointed  his  pen,  which  has  been  consid- 
ered by  those  whose  history  it  reviewed,  as  unduly  sharp 
M'ith  invective.  Some  such  passages  occur  in  the  article  in 
the  /Southern  Review,  already  quoted  from,  in  which  strong 
repugnance  is  expressed  and  disgust  excited  towards  over- 
tures for  fraternity  and  even  organic  union,  when  they  came 
after  a  fierce  but  baffled  purpose  to  combine  the  Metho- 
disms  by  "disintegration  and  absorption,"  or  make  one 
Methodism  by  destroying  by  force  of  arms  the  other  of  the 
twain.  The  sentiment  of  the  approach,  as  he  estimated  it, 
was  smooth  with  words  of  fraternity,  but  not  proffers  of 
justice.  At  tlie  same  time,  however,  that  he  held  the  cor- 
porate Church,  in  the  absence  of  official  rebuke  or  disclaim- 
er, to  be  responsible  for  the  predatory  movement  upon  the 
Methodism  at  the  South  ;  yet,  he  wrote — "  the  great  major- 
ity of  the  private  members  of  that  Church  are  to  be  held 
blameless.  They  do  not  know  the  facts."  If  known,  he 
said  of  the  laity,  "  their  indignation  would  be   boundless." 

It  is  appropriate  and  the  privilege  of  this  pen  to  write, 
that  what  has  been  written  in  these  pages  is  in  the  interest 
at  the  same  time  of  truth,  justice  and  fraternity.  The  last 
came  to  pass,  at  length,  by  looking  the  first  in  the  face,  and 
mutual  justice  was  the  condition,  as  it  is    the  only  stable 


548  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

foundation  of  fraternity.  There  is  only  one  sense  in  which 
it  is  either  wise  or  Christian  "  to  hury  the  past  " — to  bury 
the  bitterness  strife  may  have  engendered,  but  to  keep  alive 
and  in  prominent  view,  as  a  monument  erected  over  that 
grave,  the  past  wrong-doing,  in  monition  against  the  causes 
w'liich  will  act  inevitably  as  a  resurrection  to  the  spirit  of 
'discord  and  the  renewal  of  strife.  Formal  fraternity  hap- 
pened at  all,  not  by  suppressing  the  truth  nor  blinking 
wron2;s,  but  as  reconciliation  between  man  and  his  Maker 
was  achieved — "  righteousness  and  peace  kiss  each  other." 
Only  thus  can  it  be  maintained.  Thus  it  is  put  in  the  ad- 
dress of  the  Cape  May  Commission,  in  which  every  pen  of 
the  ten  Commissioners  was  privileged  to  insert  its  sentnnent, 
and  the  sentiments  of  which  came  from  the  pen  of  the  living 
and  loving  Fancher  and  the  dead  and  revered  Myers,  and 
were  confirmed  by  all  voices.  Then  only  will  fraternity  be 
real  and  become  lasting,  as  the  Commissioners  uttered  it, 
when  the  two  Communions,  as  "dual  Churches  of  Ameri- 
can Methodism,  revolving  in  mutual  fellowship  and 
harmony,  shall  fulfill  the  wise  counsel  given  in  1820  to  the 
Missionaries  and  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  of  the 
Wesleyan  connection  in  the  Canadas  by  Bishop  McKendree 
and  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Committee,  namely  :  '  Feel 
that  you  are  one  with  your  brethren,  embarked  in  the  same 
great  cause  and  eminently  of  the  same  religious  family  ;  and 
if  any  warm  spirits  rise  up  and  trouble  you,  remember  that 
you  are  to  act  on  the  principles  now  sanctioned  and 
avowed  by  the  two  connections,  and  not  upon  local  preju- 
dices.' "  " 

In  the  notes  of  Bishop  Marvin,  made  on  his  visit  to  the 
Louisiana  Conference  in  the  winter  of  1870,  there  is  signifi- 
cant mention  of  the  continued  care  of  the  colored  people  of 
the  South.  The  Southern  Church,  which  had  established 
Missions  on  the  plantations  when  they  were  slaves,  when 
fre3dmen,  devised  for  them,  according  to  their  wishes,  an 


FKOxM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF.  549 

independent  organization  and  separate,  except  as  not  di- 
vorced from  the  sympathy  of  their  former  pastors  and  not 
set  off  without  the  dowry  of  the  title  deed  to  their  Houses 
of  Worship.  On  the  first  approach  of  the  British  Wesleyan 
Clonference  to  the  Southern  Cliurch,  at  Louisville,  it  is 
formally  stated  that  its  connection  with  slavery  had  forbid- 
den the  approach  during  all  the  previous  years  of  the 
existence  of  the  Church.  The  explanation,  as  an  apology, 
was  courteously  but  plainly  replied  to  in  the  answer  of  the 
General  Conference,  as  a  misconception  of  the  facts  of  the 
relation  of  the  Church  to  African  slavery  at  the  South.  In 
the  lio'ht  of  the  facts,  the  refusal  of  reco<2:nition  on  that 
ground  would  be  no  more  reasonable  than  the  recall  of  the 
Enijlish  Minister  from  the  seat  of  the  American  Govern- 
mentat  Washington  City,  because  the  INIormonism  of  Utah 
existed  in  the  body  politic.  The  Church  was  in  the  midst 
of  slavery,  neither  its  advocate  nor  Avith  a  commission  to 
overthrow  it ;  as  a  social  and  civil  institution  of  the  country, 
to  respect  it  and  to  adapt  the  Church  to  it  in  its  ministry, 
which,  as  it  was  in  a  Pauline  pastorate  and  EjDiscopacy,  had 
amission  and  a  duty  alike  to  master  and  slave.  How  both 
dwelt  together  in  patriarchal  fashion  and  simplicity,  and  in 
the  fellowship  of  Christ,  where  there  is  neither  bond  nor 
free,  had  witness  in  the  eloquent  utterance,  at  Atlanta,  of  the 
colored  fraternal  messennjer  of  one  of  the  largest  Churches 
among  hisTace  in  this  country.  In  substance  it  was  said  by 
him  :  "  When  the  fathers  and  sons  of  the  South  were  off  in 
the  armies  fighting  the  battles  of  their  country*  the  mothers 
and  daughters  were  left  to  our  protection  ;  and  were  we  true 
and  faithful  to  the  trust  ?  And  through  you,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of  Christ  and  the  ex- 
perience of  salvation,  and  we  will  bless  you  for  it." 

Without  havino;  the  form  or  the  reference  of  a  vindica- 
tion,  the  note  of  Bishop  Marvin  exhibits  that  relation  and 
attitude  of  the  Church  in  a  true  light  and  with  an  impressive 
testimony : 


550  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

There  are  still  quite  a  number  of  circuits  araon'4  the  colored  people 
remaining  iu  connection  with  this  Conference.  Tiiey  will  probably  be 
soon  united  with  the  "  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Arnerica.  " 
For  the  present,  however,  they  are  cared  for  by  this  Conference.  They 
are  served,  for  the  most  part,  liy  men  of  their  own  color,  some  of  whom 
stand  high,  both  for  intelligence  and  piety.  Indeed,  Bishop  Keener  says 
that  one  of  them  would  make  a  very  respectable  Bishop.  Several  were 
ordained  deacons,  and  one  an  elder,  at  this  Conference. 

In  the  follow! np^   piinigraphs  then  is  reciprocal  witness 

to  strong   and  tender    personal    ties    in    his    relations    to 

Louisiana  Methodism : 

It  is  on  the  lips  of  many  that  this  has  been  a  session  of  the  Louisiana 
Conference  distinguished  for  good  feeling  on  all  sides,  and  also  for  protita- 
ble  worship.  It  has  been  an  occasion  of  great  personal  interest  to  me. 
Many  of  the  preachers  I  became  acquainted  with  during  the  war,  and  as 
an  exile  and  a  wanderer  among  them,  I  was  received  with  a  generous  re- 
gard and  .sympathy  that  I  can  never  forget. 

Certainly  never  in  all  my  life  did  I  enjoy  the  hospitality  of  old  friends 
more  than  I  have  that  of  Brother  and  Sister  Dunnica  since  I  arrived  here. 
In  addition  to  all  other  kindnesses,  iu  the  presence  of  a  small  company  of 
personal  friends,  through  Bishop  Keener,  in  the  most  delicate  way,  an  ex- 
pression of  regard  came  upon  me  so  suddenly  that  I  scarcely  knew  what  to- 
say  or  do.  But  it  was  not  intended  for  the  public,  and  I  will  not  detail 
the  facts.  It  shall  be  a  memorial  of  them  with  me  forever.  Yet,  truly,, 
there  was  no  special  memorial  necessary  between  them  and  me. 

The  token  of  personal  regard  referred  to  was  an  elegant 
sold  watch  and  jjuard.  The  sentiment  of  admiration  and 
personal  love  on  the  part  of  the  preachers  had  an  unique  ex- 
pression at  the  Conference  held  by  him  at  Baton  Rouge  in 
1873.  It  occurred  m  connection  with  his  Conference  ser- 
mon. Everybody  knows  of  the  broken  wing  of  Bishop 
Kavanaugh's  flight,  when,  in  the  balk  of  memory,  his  poet- 
ical quotation  ended — "  like  Angels'  visits  ;  few,/e?«,  few, 
and  not  many  of  them.  "  Bishop  Marvin  has  reported  an 
ecjually  amusing  incident  of  the  Caples  pulpit :  "  The  only 
time  I  ever  knew  him  to  be  at  a  loss  for  a  word  was  at  this 
meetin"-.  In  that  instance  he  was  so  completely  at  fault 
that  after  a  pause  of  some  moments  he  used  a  word  that,  in 
the  connection,  was  really  ludicrous.  He  intended  to  say 
the  w^ounded  deer  forsakes  the  herd  ;  but  the  woviX  forsakes. 


FROM  THE  OHIO  TO  THE  GULF.  551 

forsook  hiin,  and  he  said  slopes — and  there  the  sentence 
ended.  "  Bishop  Marvin's  vocabuhiry  was  always  at  com- 
mand, but  it  sometimes  got  into  reverse  position,  as  a  lapsis 
linguoi,  in  rapid  utterance,  or  when  his  attention  was  di- 
verted by  incidents  of  the  audience  room.  He  records  in 
his  California  diary  how  he  was  disconcerted — "But,  oh! 
the  babies  ;"  and  again — "  Greatly  annoyed  in  Church  to- 
night by  a  boisterous,  ungovernable  child.  It  needed 
spanking."  Then  he  complains  of  loss  of  "  liberty  "  in 
the  sermon.  At  the  Louisiana  Conference  there  was,  in  his 
sermon  on  "Man,"  a  freak  of  wild  liberty  of  words,  and 
repeated  a  second  time,  as  he  saw  grown  men  and  grave 
preachers  smiling.  The  smile  and  its  interpretation  are 
narrated  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tudor,  at  the  time  a  member  of 
that  Conference  and  present:  "At  Baton  Rouge  during 
Conference,  he  was  preaching  one  night,  and  inverted  in  an 
impassioned  remark  of  his  discourse,  what  he  intended  to 
say,  saying — '  I  am  glad  I  was  born  an  angel  and  not  a  man.' 
He  repeated  the  sentence  in  the  same  form,  and  the  smile 
broadened  with  some  young  people  into  a  laugh  so  marked 
that  he  stopped  to  rebuke  the  laughter  severely.  Alex. 
Goodwyn,  the  pastor,  in  apology  for  his  congregation,  af- 
terwards explained  :  '  Bishop,  I  reckon  it  was  thought  so 
near  the  truth,  that  you  were  more  an  angel  than  a  man, 
that  they  couldn't  help  smiling  a  little.'  " 

The  Conferences  in  Alabama,  spoken  of  in  the  next 
chapter,  were  in  his  Episcopal  plan  for  1873.  In  all  the 
area  of  the  Conferences  of  the  Gulf  States,  the  history  of 
abundant  lalxn-s  is  repeated  ;  the  wayside  sowing,  the  week- 
iiight  preaching,  the  intervening  Episcopal  visitation  at 
District  Conferences,  the  painstaking  labors  of  the  Annual 
session — all  bringing  him  into  wide  contact  with  the  people 
and  the  preachers  and  the  work  ;  and  in  all  his  intercourse 
and  administration,  winning  the  affection  of  the  Church, 
and  inspiring  its  zeal  ;  everywhere  leaving  behind  him  the 
impress  of  his  personal  force  and  of  a  powerful  pulpit. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 


THE  CONFERENCE  PRESIDENT. 


Bishop  Marvin's  prentice  hand  in  the  Chair — Qualities  as  Chairman — An 
estimate  by  the  oldest  surviving  Missouri  itinerant — Testimony  from 
the  Gulf  States  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard — The  platform— Address  to 
candidates  and  ordination  service — Scenes  at  Conferences  in  Alabama 
— The  Missionary  speech — The  charge  to  the  preachers  at  reading  out 
appointments — The  stationiug-room — Planning  the  work — Bishop 
Soule's  policy— Supply  of  the  city  pulpit— " Local  itinerancy"  de- 
plored— The  integrity  of  the  economy  of  Methodist  itinei-ancj^ — Just 
and  sympathetic — Painstaking— Burden  of  responsibility — The  pulpit 
— Notable  occasions — At  Tennessee  Conference — At  Atlanta,  Ga. — In 
Alabama— Chief  sermons— "The  Church  the  Bride  of  Christ.  " 


N  the  older  and  larger  Conferences,  in    greatest  promin- 
ence, was  Bisliop    iNIarvin's    Presidency — the    Chair, 
the  Phitform  and  the  Pulpit. 

Bishop  Morris,  in  a  paper  combating  proposal  in  some 
quarters  in  his  Church  of  a  quadrennial  election  of  Bishops, 
said  that  it  took  him  four  years  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  practical  duties  of  his  office.  There  is  account  of  Bishop 
Marvin's  prentice  hand  in  the  chair,  at  his  lirst,  the  East  Texas 
Conference,  at  INIarshall,  calling  for  the  vote  viva  voce.  The 
brethren  reminded  him  that  it  was  not  the  Methodist  way  ; 
but  still,  occasionally  he  would  repeat  the  mistake.  This  is 
the  only  instance  reported  of  awkward  movement  or  abv 
scnce  of  self-possession.  In  the  dispatch  of  the  business  of 
a  Conference  he  was  alei-t,  direct,  not  slow,  tolerant  of  dis- 
cussion but  pushing  on,  having  the  business  readily  in  hand 
and  well  up  for   times    and  occasions.     Not  slighting  any- 


THE    CONFERENCE    PRESIDENT.  553 

thing  was  often  said  of  his  reports  of  Conferences  ;  at  the 
same  time  not  tedious,  quick  in  discernment,  guiding  remark 
and  resolution  to  the  point,  and  making  points  himself  not 
unfrequentlj.  Mere  routine  anywhere  and  in  anj'thing  was 
an  abhorrence  ;  and  a  Conference,  when  he  adjourned  it, 
was  understood  by  him  and  understood  itself — a  question 
of  the  minutes  exhausted  when  he  dismissed  it ;  and  all  an- 
swers finislied  off  roundly  and  squarely,  and  yet  the  Con- 
ference business  through  with  "in  good  time,"  as  he 
commonly  expressed  it.  His  Conferences  were  orderly  as- 
semblies ;  the  only  exception  known  to  the  writer  being  one 
of  his  first  Conferences  after  his  return  to  Missouri,  as 
Bishop.  The  brethren  presumed  upon  old  companionship 
and  personal  loves  ;  he  commanded  the  peace  sternly.  He 
was,  however,  not  a  martinet,  not  pretentious,  not  self- 
conscious.  He  was  affable,  courteous,  patient ;  in  much, 
maintaining  public  interest  by  the  interest  he  took  and  im- 
parted ;  and  order  commonly  was  a  consequent,  and  a  com- 
mand rarely.  Of  his  manner  in  the  chair,  Kev.  J.  C. 
Berryman,  now  the  oldest  Missouri  itinerant,  concluding  a 
general  estimate,  says  : 

I  was  at  the  session  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  held  at  Kansas  City, 
in  the  fall  of  1867,  in  which  Bishop  Marvin  presided.  It  was  the  first  time 
he  had  presided  in  his  old  Conference,  and  one  would  naturally  suppose 
there  would  be  some  embarrassment  on  his  part  in  performing  the  func- 
tions of  his  new  office  over  his  recent  associates  and  equals.  But  not  the 
least  sign  of  anything  of  the  sort.  We  were  all  convinced  that  Episcopal 
robes  sat  as  easily  and  as  fittingly  upon  his  shoulders  as  upon  any  of  his 
predecessors  in  the  chief  pastorate  of  our  Church.  I  have  personally 
known  Bishops  Soule,  Hedding,  Roberts,  Waugh,  Morris,  Andrew,  Paine, 
Kavanaugh,  Capers,  Pierce,  Doggett,  Wightman,  McTyiere,.  Eaily,  Bas- 
com.  Keener  and  Marvin ;  and  though  I  will  not  say  the  greatest  of  these 
was  Marvin,  I  do  say  that,  taking  him  in  his  entire  make-up,  he  had  no 
superior  among  them  all. 

The  followino:  well  considered  estimate  of  his  Presiden- 
tial  Chair  is  from  the  pen  of  a  prominent  member  of  one  of 
the  Conferences  of  the  Gulf  States,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Oliver; 


554  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Witliin  the  hist  five  jears  he  presided  at  two  different  sessions  of  the 
North  Alul)ania  Conference;  the  first  in  Talladej^a,  in  187:?,  and  the  second 
in  Birmingham,  in  1875.  On  botli  occasiong  his  administration  made  the 
most  favorable  impression  upon  our  preachers. 

He  seemed  familiar  with  the  law  of  the  Church,  and  decided  all  ques- 
tions arising  out  of  it  readil}-,  clearly  and  correctl}'.  The  temporal  ami 
spiritual  interests  of  the  Church,  as  they  came  in  review  before  the  Con- 
ference, were  not  dealt  with  in  any  perfunctory  way  by  him,  but  received 
all  that  scrutiny  and  attention  which  their  importance  demanded. 

In  presiding  over  the  Conference  he  was  firm  and  dignified,  yet  gentle 
and  courteous  towards  his  brethren. 

They  felt  that  he  had  not  come  among  tliem  to  make  a  show  of  Epis- 
copal authority,  but  to  aid  them,  as  ^^  primus  inter  pares''''  to  build  up  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  None  ever  alleged  to  have  discovered  in  him  the 
slightest  appearance  of  self-importance  or  pride  of  position;  in  his  intense 
concern  for  the  interests  of  the  Church  and  for  his  Master's  cause,  he  ap- 
peared to  have  lost  sight  of  himself. 

The  Rev.  Anson  West,  of  our  Conference,  a  man  of  large  experience 
as  a  presiding  elder,  in  a  private  letter,  says  of  Bishop  Marvin:  "Asa 
presiding  ofTicer  he  was  seldom  excelled.  Well  versed  in  parliamentary 
rules  and  thoroughly  acquainted  with  law  of  his  Cluirch,  his  rulings  were 
rendered  promptly,  and  his  decisions  of  law  were  clear  and  well  sustained. 
In  presiding  over  an  Annual  or  General  Conference,  he  maintained  order 
and  decorum  without  projecting  his  authority,  offensively,  over  the  body. 
There  was  no  objectionable  self-assertion  on  his  part;  he  ruled  and  guided 
by  general  consent. " 

Another  testimony  comes  from  a  good  observer  and 
skillful  reporter  in  the  bounds  of  the  old  Baltimore  Con- 
ference, Rev.  W.  K.  Boyle  : 

Every  one  I  ever  heard  speak  of  Bishop  Marvin  seemed  impressed  by 
the  purity  and  transparency  of  his  character.  I  think  he  Avas  one  of  those 
rare  persons  who  could  be  read  at  once  by  even  an  ordinarily  careless  ob- 
server. He  seemed  to  me  from  the  first  to  be  a  man  of  entire  consecration 
to  God,  of  such  singleness  of  eye  as  only  to  view  men  and  things  and  him- 
self with  reference  to  God's  glory.  There  was  a  wonderful  charm  about 
hnn  which  i^omjitly  won  all  hearts,  and  men  seemed  to  lose  sight  alto- 
gether of  the  Bishop  in  admiring  his  singularly  sweet  and  loveable  dispo- 
sition as  a  man,  which  rendered  him  so  approachable  that  after  an  hour's 
conversation  you  felt  you  had  known  him  a  life-time,  and  then  were  led  to 
wonder  at  your  temerity  in  talking  to  a  Bishop,  as  thougli  he  occupied 
just  your  plane  and  was  as  deeply  interested  in  your  affairs  as  a  long  tried 
brother.  The  children  were  drawn  to  him,  and  seemed  to  feel  a  sort  of 
kinship  with  him — a  proof  to  older  minds  that  he  had  attained  to  the  rare 
perfection  of  being  a  little  child. 


THE    CONFERENCE    PRESIDENT.  555 

He  seemed  to  me  to  have  a  wonderful  insight  into  the  experience  of 
those  who  sought  of  liim  religious  counsel.  I  shall  never  forget  his  solv- 
ing a  problem  for  me  by  the  simple  yet  very  kind  remark :  "  Your  faitli  is 
too  subjective;  it  ought  to  be  objective.  You  introspect  too  much.  Look 
more  to  Christ." 

At  Washington  City,  after  preaching  at  11  a.  m.  at  Mt.  Vernon,  and  in 
the  afternoon  for  the  colored  people,  he  promptly  responded  at  night, 
when,  for  some  cause,  the  i^ulpit  was  not  supplied,  and  preached  his  won- 
derful sermon,  "  On  the  Church."  In  the  chair  he  was  all  attention;  kept 
the  business  going;  never  allowed  a  tangle;  was  prompt  in  his  decisions 
and  always  correct  in  them ;  was  Arm  and  yet  mild ;  and  was  at  times  so 
witty  as  to  convulse  the  Conference  with  laughter. 

His  addresses  to  the  candidates  for  admission  into  the  Cpnference  and 
deacon's  orders  were  verj^  searchmg  and  impressive.  A  general  fast  was 
'announced  for  that  day;  and  I  thought  that  an  angel  from  Heaven  could 
not  have  spoken  more  sweetly  and  truly  than  did  he.  Ordinarily,  you 
know  our  Conferences  ai'e  not  now  as  religious  as  formerly;  but  when  he 
was  with  us,  men  came  to  each  session,  as  to  a  solemn  meeting,  and  were 
often  made  to  feel  that  they  were  in  the  presence  of  God. 

He  has  said  of  himself,  in  complaint,  that  he  was  not 
well  adapted  to  the  formalities  of  a  formal  occasion. 
Nevertheless,  in  the  calls  upon  the  chair  for  impromptu  ad- 
dress, he  was  sufficiently  ready  and  apt  in  speech.  In  the 
address  in  course  of  official  administration,  his  speech  trans- 
cended in  excellency  and  power.  It  has  commanded  uni- 
versally admiring  remark.  The  following  concerning  it,  in 
his  presidency  at  Conferences  in  Alabama,  is  from  the  pen 
of  one  of  the  leading  preachers,  Eev.  O.  R.  Blue  : 

I  shall  never  forget  his  first  visit  to  our  Conference  at  Selma,  in  1873. 
The  saintliness,  the  deep-toned  spirituality,  the  likeness  to  the  Master 
that  attended  all  his  words  and  works,  made  such  an  impression  as  had 
never  been  made  on  the  Conference  by  any  other.  He  drew  all  our  hearts 
to  him.  Especially  in  receiving  young  preachers  into  full  connection  did 
he  impress  himself  upon  the  Conference  and  congregation.  Duty  never 
before  seemed  so  sacred,  nor  ministerial  obligations  so  weighty,  nor  en- 
tire consecration  so  imperative  and  indispensable.  And  when,  after  a 
solemn  pause,  the  final  question  was  addressed  to  the  candidates,  and  the 
affirmative  response  that  sealed  their  devotion  to  the  work  was  given,  he 
broke  out  in  sinking  those  grand  old  words — 

"  'Tis  done,  the  great  transaction's  done, 
I  am  my  Lord's,  and  He  is  mine," 
there  fell  upon  the  Conference  and  the  whole  audience   such  a  baptism  of 


556  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

the  Holy  Ghost  as  rarely  visits  this  earth.  Tlie  heavenly  glovp  upon  many 
a  face,  the  tears  that  fell  from  many  eyes,  and  the  subdued  but  hallowed 
excUunalions  of  joy  that  burst  forth  from  many  lips,  attested  that  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  was  in  our  midst.  The  remembrauce  of  that  day  will  be  a 
joy  and  a  benediction  to  us  through  all  time. 

In  November,  1875,  I  attended  the  session  of  the  North  Alabama  Con- 
feieuce,  held  by  Bishop  Marvin,  at  Blrmingiiam.  I  preached  the  sermon 
preceding  the  ordination  of  elders,  in  the  close  of  which  I  contrasted  the 
toils  and  sacrifices  of  the  preachers  here  with  the  everlasting  recompense 
hereafter;  and  as  I  sat  down  Bishop  Marvin  rose  up,  singing— 

"  I'd  rather  be  the  least  of  those. 
Who  are  the  Lord's  alone, 
Thau  wear  a  royal  diadem. 
And  sit  upon  a  throne.  " 

And  as  he  closed  the  song,  he  suddenly  raised  his  hand  upward,  and  said 
■with  thrilling  emphasis:  "  Brethren,  before  God  I  would.  "  Never  have 
I  witnessed  such  power  attending  so  simple  an  utterance.  The  shouting 
was  such,  and  so  long  continued,  that  I  began  to  tlunk  the  ordination 
would  have  to  be  postponed. 

I  have  been  with  him  in  Annual  and  General  Conferences,  have  trav- 
eled with  him,  have  hud  him  in  my  house  and  at  my  table;  and  in  my 
recollections  of  him  he  seems  to  me  more  like  Christ  than  any  one  I  have 
ever  known.  I  do  not  wonder  at  the  expression  of  one  of  our  most  inde- 
pendent anl  orignial  thinkers,  who,  in  speaking  of  Bishop  Marvin,  said: 
"  If  I  had  only  the  Old  Testament,  and  that  man  should  come  along  and 
say  he  was  the  Messiah,  I  should  follow  right  after  him.  " 

No  other  man  so  projected  himself  into  and  upon  me  as  Bishop  Mar- 
vin; and  my  experience  is  the  common  experience  of  my  brethren  through 
this  country.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  me  he  calls  me  "an  intimate  and 
confidential  friend ;  "  and  that  expression  has  stimulated  me  to  be  a  bet- 
ter man.  And  now  that  he  is  gone.  Heaven  has  grown  brighter  and 
become  more  attractive  to  me. 

The  platform  of  the  Conference  session  commands  sur- 
passini^  public  interest ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  furnishes 
a  most  inviting  arena  for  the  exercise  and  the  aims  of 
native  eloquence  and  sanctified  genius.  There  is,  on  the 
one  side,  the  sea  of  upturned  faces,  greeting  the  phitform 
and  appealing  to  it  in  eager  expectation,  together  with  the 
magnitude  of  pcndmg  issues,  acting  as  a  mountainous 
weight  upon  the  lever  of  natural  powers  and  ainiointcd  am- 
bition.    On  the  other  side,  in  the  adaptation  and  wealth   of 


THE  CONFERENCE  PRESIDENT.  557 

the  platform,  there  is  the  nearer  approach  to  the  S3^mpathics 
and  the  director  blow,  the  impassioned  appeal,  the  spice  of 
anecdote,  the  charm  of  allegory,  the  rally  of  peroration  for 
final  assault  and  instant  capture  of  the  objective  point.  In 
all,  when  coming  forth  from  an  intense  spirit  and  fallen 
from  the  lips  of  eloquent  speech,  the  nerves  are  put  on  ten- 
sion and  the  soul  in  uproar  of  sensibilities,  and  thought  and 
will  overwhelmed,  as  the  land  is  deluged  by  torrent  or  the 
ocean  is  tossed  by  storm. 

In  this  posture  and  power  of  the  platform,  baptized  with 
a  warm  heart  and  an  earnest  faith,  a  brilliant  writer  finds 
the  secret,  and  the  trophy  of  high-born  eloquence, 
"  which,  "  he  writes,  "  in  ancient  days  shook  human  souls 
like  a  tempest  to  utter  ;  and  like  a  thunder-peal  to  hear.  " 
In  the  absence,  customarily,  of  such  conditions  of  high  and 
immediate  effect,  the  same  writer  finds  the  rationale  of  the 
successful  rivalry  of  the  platform  with  the  pulpit  in  attract- 
ing and  moving  the  masses.  On  the  one  hand  and  the  other, 
there  is  the  freshness  and  directness,  the  fervor  and  force  of 
the  platform  ;  and  the  literary  primness,  the  tame  scholas- 
ticism, the  cold  logic  of  the  ordinary  pulpit.  Exceptions 
are  admitted  and  cited — among  them  St.  Bernard,  the  last 
of  the  Fathers  and  a  preacher  of  the  Crusades  ;  the  majesty 
of  his  speech  awing  crowned  heads  and  armed  barons  flee- 
ing before  the  power  of  his  tongue.  It  will  occur  to  critics, 
also,  that  Bishop  Marvin  was  a  modern  exception  ;  carrjdng 
the  freedom  and  freshness  and  fire  of  the  platform  into  the 
pulpit ;  and  in  the  descent  to  the  platform  taking  along  the 
solemnities  of  the  preacher's  desk,  and  adding  to  natural 
force  the  divine  unction. 

One  platform-occasion  is  the  Missionary  address — all 
hearers  noting  of  his,  the  intellectual  strength,  the  intense 
earnestness,  the  glowing  speech,  all  as  lava-floods  of  thought 
and  feeling;  and  at  the  Siime  time,  its  weighty  theological 
import  and  religious  fervor  and  power :  spoken  of  by  one 


558  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

and  another,  as  the  best,  a  telling  speech,  and  the  most  re- 
ligious, ever  heard.  Another  such  occasion  is  the  address 
before  reading  out  the  appointments  of  tlie  preachers, 
which,  till  late  years,  was  customarily  at  considerable  length. 
In  the  first  years  of  his  E^jiscopacy,  it  was  sending  men  out 
to  encounter  privations  and  perils  on  frontier  work,  or 
amidst  the  conditions  of  troublous  times;  and  in  all  cases, 
as  he  apprehended  it,  to  the  toils  of  consuming  zeal  and 
heroic  service  and  sacrifice.  A  spectacle  to  men  and  angels, 
the  scene  stirred  his  soul  and  inspired  his  tongue — the 
effect  of  speech,  in  the  command  of  conscience  and  the  stir 
of  sensibilities,  not  less  marked  and  masterful,  than  is  re- 
lated of  the  wonderful  sway  of  a  Capuchin  friar  of  a  former 
century — "thirty  bishops,  starting  up  under  his  discourse, 
hastened  away  to  their  dioceses." 

In  the  stationing  room  the  i:j[ualitie8  of  a  Bishop  and  at 
the  same  time  the  character  of  the  man  wore  eminently 
displayed.  There  are  many  striking  illustrations  in  hand 
for  these  pages,  and  more  not  reported,  known  in  every  Con- 
ference and  by  the  whole  body  of  presiding  elders.  It  has 
already  been  noted,  what  the  fullness  of  his  information,  and 
breadth  of  view  and  practical  wisdom,  in  planning  the  work. 
In  the  distribution  of  the  preachers,  there  was  in  combina- 
tion the  prudence  of  cold  calculation  and  the  solicitudes  of 
sympathy — at  the  same  time,  chief  magistrate  and  the  head 
of  a  family.  In  this  department  of  administration,  one  of 
its  measures  of  policy  was  brought  down  from  his  adminis_ 
tration,  as  presiding  elder  of  the  St.  Charles  district.  It  is 
an  interesting  incident  that  Bishop  Soule,  in  his  valedictory 
message  to  the  General  Conference  of  18GG,  made  that 
policy  the  parting  word,  and  last  counsel  of  his  grand 
Episcopal  wisdom.  Too  feeble  to  attend  in  person,  and 
dying  within  the  year,  in  remnant  of  days  but  fullness  of 
experience  and  unabated  powers  of  mind,  he  sent  a  last 
message  to  that  Conference.     He  said  to  the  bearer  of  his 


THE    CONFERENCE    PRESIDENT.  559 

message,  presenting  to  him  a  copy  of  "  Letters  on  the 
Intinerancy  by  Wni.Beauchamp  "  with  a  preface  written  by 
the  Bisliop  himself  in  1848  :  "I  ask  you  to  take  this  book 
to  the  General  Conference  and  request  the  preface  to  be 
read  to  the  members  composing  that  body,  as  indicating  my 
views  on  the  general  itinerant  sj'-stem  of  the  Church,"  The 
book  is  out  of  print  and  the  reader  may  l)e  interested  in  the 
following  closing  paragraph  of  the  preface.  It  contains 
an  expression  of  the  view  which  Bishop  Marvin  held  in  his 
earlier  ministry  and  to  the  last : 

In  all  ordinary  cases,  the  experience  of  many  years  has  fully  satisfied 
me,  that  the  division  of  our  great  Itinerant  work  into  full  four  weeks'  cir- 
cuits, with  two  preachers  appointed  to  each,  is  the  most  suitable  and  effi- 
cient mode  of  operations,  in  view  of  all  the  interests  connected  with  our 
ministry.  On  tliis  plan,  in  almost  all  cases,  the  circuits  may  be  supplied 
-with  ordained  ministers  in  charge;  anil  the  preachers  on  trial  be  usefully 
employed  as  helpers  in  carrying  on  the  Avork.  One  of  the  peculiar  advan- 
tages of  this  plan  is,  that  the  young  preachers  will  have  the  opportunity 
and  the  means  of  improvement  in  communion  with  ministers  of  greater  age 
and  experience.  Let  this  plan  be  adopted,  and  all  the  traveling  preachers 
be  "?nc)i  of  one  work,''''  being  called  of  God.  not  to  their  farms  or  their 
merchandise,  but  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  and  the 
happy  results  of  the  system  will  soon  be  realized  over  the  length  and 
breadth  of  these  lands.  Wherein  we  have  departed  from  the  efficient 
Weslcyan  Itinerancy,  I  would  say,  in  the  emphatic  words  of  our  memorable 
Asbury:     '■'■Comeback!  Comeback!'''' 

Joshua  Soule. 

Hill  Grove,  Texx.,  Nov.  1848. 

It  was,  also,  a  marked  policy  of  his  list  of  appoint- 
ments to  look  w^ell  to  the  supply  of  the  large  cities — as 
centres  of  influence  and  the  key  of  the  position  in  respect 
to  large  areas  of  Church  work.  For  this  purpose,  in  case 
of  need,  he  sought  the  right  men  by  transfer.  He  repro- 
bated the  prejudice  against  transfers,  as  a  narrow  view.  He 
held  and  acted  on  the  broader  and  juster  view  that  the  entire 
area  of  the  connection  should  be  subservient  to  the  manning 
of  principal  places,  as  other  denominations  supplied  them 
by  the  canvass  of  a  continent.       At  this  point,  however,  he 


560  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

was  jealous  for  the  intcgritj''  of  the  itinerant  spirit,  as  well 
as  ]ilan,  guarding  against  any  countenance  to  the  vice  of  am- 
bitious, selfisli  and  mercenary  place-seeking.  It  is  known 
to  the  writer  that  he  dropped  correspondence  in  reference 
to  the  supply  of  a  chief  station  at  the  point  of  stipulation 
for  salary  and  other  such  considerations ;  expressing  the 
view,  that  properly  and  according  to  usage,  transfers  should 
be  consulted,  but,  consenting  to  removal,  they  should  go 
from  one  Conforoncc  to  another,  in  tlie  same  spirit  and 
under  the  same  conditions  of  ]\Iethodist  economy,  as  they 
would  pass  from  one  appointment  to  another  in  their  native 
C<mference. 

In  the  same  line  of  devotedncss  to  the  itinerant  plan  of 
labors,  he  deplored,  what  has  been  called  and  written 
a^-ainst  by  another  Bishop,  as  "  Local  Itinerancy" — in  the 
absence  of  parsonages  the  locating  of  their  families  by  the 
preachers  ;  of  which,  meeting  with  it  in  Texas,  he  said,  "  iu 
such  case  the  preachers  can  not  be  very  itinerant/'  On  the 
other  hand,  it  was  a  hindrance,  ho  considered,  in  the  supply 
of  the  work  in  a  connectional  and  itinerant  system — the  un- 
due exercise  of  the  right  of  petition  for  persons.  It  was 
sometimes  granted  and  sometimes  not ;  and  then,  rebellion 
a<^ainst  appointments  might  be  in  issue.  That  is  capital  of- 
fense. And  so,  in  the  last  year  and  in  almost  the  last  act 
of  his  official  administration,  ho  dropped  from  the  list  of 
appointments,  as  a  separate  pastoral  charge,  a  society  which 
had  been  adjudged  derelict  in  regard  to  receiving  the 
preacher  sent. 

In  the  inevitable  and  often  perplexing  embarrassments 
arisin"-  in  the  adjustment  of  the  itinerant  work,  in  regard  to 
both  preachers  and  places,  besides  a  firm  and  bold  hand,  he 
dealt  with  them  in  well  considered  justness.  The  only  in- 
stance, known  to  the  writer  of  serious  complaint  by  a 
preacher,  was  by  on(^,  whose  name  has  been  prominent  in 
the  Church — displeasing  the  preacher  in  justice  to  the  place. 


THE  COXFEREXCE  PRESIDENT.  561 

Another  incident,  on  the  other  side,  is  reported  bj  a 
prominent  layman,  who,  in  view  of  Church  troubles  in  a 
certain  locality,  recommended  the  removal  of  all  the  preach- 
ers, as  a  measure  of  pacification.  The  answer  was  prompt 
and  decided  :  ''Pastors  who  have  stood  firm  to  duty  and 
have  been  fearless  in  the  right  must  not  be  placed  in  an 
equivocal  position." 

Such  intricacies  and  perplexities  in  the  stationing-work 
made  a  burden  upon  his  spirit — in  familiarity  with  them  not 
made  callous.  At  Jiis  last,  as  at  his  first  Conference,  he  is 
seen  pondering  the  arrangement  for  the  year  with  the  ut- 
most painstaking  and  most  acute  solicitudes.  *'  On  his  last 
Episcopal  tour,  at  the  session  of  the  Missouri  Conference," 
says  Kev.  ]M.  K.  Jones,  one  of  the  presiding  elders,  *'  I 
roomed  with*  the  Bishop.  I  never  saw  him  so  painstaking^ 
in  making  the  appointments  of  the  preachers.  Several 
nights  after  he  had  adjourned  his  Cabinet,  he  would  remain 
up  revising  his  work  until  I  would  remind  him  that  he  must 
take  rest,  when  he  would  say,  '  "Well,  I  suppose  you  are 
right.'  That,  you  know,  was  his  third  Conference  in  three 
weeks."  It  was  at  this  point  of  sensibility  in  reference  to 
his  presidency  over  the  ministerial  fortunes  and  labors  of 
the  preachers  and  destinies  of  the  work,  that  Mrs.  Marvin 
speaks  of  his  feeling  oppressed  when  starting  off  to  Con- 
ference, saying  often,  "So  much  depends  upon  my  single 
decision  ;"  and  always  adding  on  departure,  "Pray  for  me." 
It  was  the  same  reference  in  his  own  remark,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  a  visit  to  a  Conference  held  by  one  of  his  colleagues  : 
"  I  always  enjoy  a  Conference,  M'hen  its  responsibilities  are 
not  on  me."  His  sensibility  amounted  to  heart  agony.  In 
this  he  approached  to  what  is  said  by  him,  who  was  not  a 
whit  behind  the  Chief  of  Apostles  :  "  "Who  is  weak  and  I 
am  not  weak?  Who  is  offended  and  I  burn  not?  "  In  col- 
lecting material  for  this  Biography,  the  very  first  response 

to  a  public  call  was  a  statement  from  the  President  of  Iliwas- 
36 


5G2  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

sec  College,  Rev.  J.  II.  Cruner,  tluit  after  the  adjournment 
of  an  Annual  Conference,  goinginto  the  Bishop's  room,  he 
found  Inni  in  tears — the  explanation  of  them  :  "  I  have  un- 
wittingly afflicted  a  brother  in  his  appointment." 

The  most  notable  record  of  his  pul[)it,  perhaps,  was  the 
funeral  sermon  of  Gov.  Allen,  atShreveport,  La. — the  next, 
in  the  interest  of  occasion  and  pul[)it  triumph,  his  preaching 
at  the  session  of  the  Tennessee  Conference,  at  Galhitin,  in 
1874.  The  reporter  of  the  one.  Rev.  Mr.  Dotv,  happened 
to  be  present  on  the  other  occasion,  and  says  of  his  Sunday 
morning  sermon  :  *'  lie  preached  until  his  voice  "was  drowned 
by  the  triumphant  shouts  both  of  preachers  and  people." 
Three  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Conference  had  passed  away 
during  the  year — of  the  memorial  service,  as  "well  as  Sunday 
sermon,  a  member  of  that  Conference,  Rev.  J.  B.  Erwin, 
■writes : 

The  sermon  on  Sunday  made  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  on  my 
mind.  Its  peroration  Avas  overwlielming.  lie  frequently  made  his  gest- 
ures before  utterance;  and  in  closing  lie  lifted  his  right  arm,  and,  pointing 
npward,  exclaimed,  "What  is  that  which  appears,  like  a  snow-flalce,  in  the 
distance !  It  comes  nearer  and  nearer  I  It  is  tlie  Angel  of  the  Lord,  the 
mighty  Angel,  come  as  the  forerunner  of  the  returning  Lord!"  "I 
•want,"  he  added,  'on  that  day  to  come  up  with  Pitts,  Green,  Madden  and 
all  the  members  of  the  Tennessee  Conference  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the 
air."  An  incident  of  his  early  ministry  was  then  narrated — an  appoint- 
ment at  a  private  house  on  a  cold  December  day.  Only  three  persons  were 
present;  two  were  professors;  the  third  joined  the  Church  that  day.  She 
sent  him  a  message  from  her  death-bed — "  I  am  going  to  Heaven  and  shall 
be  there  to  welcome  you."  lie  would,  he  said,  search  Heaven  for  that 
convert  of  his  ministry  on  his  first  Circuit.  Tlie  effect  was  overpowering. 
The  whole  Conference  was  bathed  in  tears ;  many  were  crying  aloud,  and 
some  were  shouting. 

The  sway  of  his  speech  over  the  Conference  was  repeated  at  the  me- 
morial service  held  in  honor  of  Brothers  Madden,  Green  and  Pitts.  At  the 
conclusion  of  remarks  by  Drs.  Kelly,  Young  and  others,  the  Bishop  spoke, 
elosing  by  singing  Bculah,  his  favorite  song.  It  was  a  Pentecost.  Eyes 
unused  to  weep  shed  tears  freely.     It  was  good  to  be  there. 

Neither  of  these  reporters  mention  the  topic  of  discourse 
— according  to   the   recollection  of  the  writer,  an  old  and 


THE    CONFERENCE    PRESIDENT.  563 

standard  theme,  "Jesus  and  the  Resurrection  ;"  but  in  its 
plan,  a  new  sermon,  prepared  for  that   occasion.       Just  be-- 
iove  a  visit  to  Tennessee,  as  now  remembered  to   hold   that 
Conference,  in  a  private  interview  he  sketched  to  the  writer 
the   sermon  he   proposed  to  preach,   as  a  new  cast  of  his 
thoughts  and  studies  on  that  theme.      The  general  statement 
was  the  doctrinal  import  of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ — the 
enlargement   contained  in  four  propositions  ;  the  first,  the 
Resurrection  of  Christ  accredited  as   an  historical  fact ;  the 
others,   in   the  fact  to   be  found  the  truth  and  divinity  of 
Christianity,  the   resurrection  power  of  the  Gospel,  the  as- 
surance of  future  judgment — as  to  them  which  hav^e  fallen 
asleep  in  Jesus,  the   pledge  and  pattern  of  bodily  immortal- 
ity.    The  propositions,  as  was  the  wont  of  his  sermonizino^, 
were  Scriptural  statements  ;  the  plan  was  simple  ;  the  fillm«- 
up,  as  heard   by  the  writer  subsequently,  can  not  be  repre- 
sented in  type,  except  by  the  statement  of  the  overwhelming 
power  of  the  discourse  and,  to   those  who  have  heard   him 
preach,  by  their  own  conceptions,  how  the  structure  of  the 
sermon  furnished  scope  and  afforded  room  for  the  exercise 
and  display,  remarkably  in  one  production,  as   in  a  kaleido- 
scopic view,  of  all  the  powers  of   his  great  and    versatile 
genius — the  facility   and  charm  of  narrative,  vigor  of  state- 
ment,  the  scenic  grandeurs  of  word-painting,  and    at    the 
same  time,  philosophic  breadth  of  view  and  logical   analysis 
and  force  ;  at  every  point,  his  most  elevated  sensil)ilities  set 
on  fire  ;  now  exultant  in  the  glory  of  the  Risen  Lord,  "  who 
was  dead  and  is  alive  again  and  is  alive   forevermore,"  and 
then,  himself  translated  in   personal  rapture,  with  clear  vis- 
ion of  faith   and  anticipation  of  hope  to    meet  the  Lord  in 
the  air  and  to  be  glorified  together  with  Christ. 

The  sermon  at  his  session  of  the  North  Georaia  Confer- 
ence,  in  1872,  held  at  Atlanta,  was  an  old  one,  oft  repeated. 
It  Iiad  been  preached  on  the  shores  of  both  Oceans  and  from 
the  Mountains  to  the  Gulf,  in  the  cabin  and  in  the  cathe- 


564  BISHOP  MAKVIX. 

drill  ;  understood,  appreciated,  inspiring,  whether  before  an 
audience  of  miners  and  ranchmen,  or  the  cultured  conirre<ra.- 
tion  ;ind  Conference  of  preachers.  The  fact  of  repetition  is 
common  in  the  history  of  great  pulpits  ;  the  value  of  it  sig- 
iiided  in  the  remark  of  Bascom,  as  quoted  in  the  Preface  to 
his  Volume  of  Sermons — "  no  sermon  is  perfect  till  it  has 
been  preached  forty-nine  times."  Ncverlheless,  the  sermon 
never  became  tame  to  the  preacher  or  frequent  hearer — the 
subject  grand  as  the  INIonarch  of  the  Mountains,  and  its 
treatment  not  stereotyped.  In  successive  delivery,  here  and 
there,  in  argument  or  illustration  or  form  of  speech,  even  to 
the  substitution  of  a  -word  or  turn  of  expression  or  flow  and 
round  of  period,  it  was  modified,  altered,  improved  ;  the 
same  grand  mountain,  but  seen  from  new  points  of  view  and 
in  varynig  lights.  His  chief  sermons  thus  grew — the  pro- 
duct of  years  of  culture.  They  were  remodeled,  from  time 
to  time,  a  new  stone  put  in  the  foundation  and  grace  added 
to  the  ornamentation  ;  strengthened,  enlarged  and  embel- 
lished, till  the  sermon  realized  the  skill  and  ambition  of  the 
architect  and  stood  before  the  hearer  complete  in  architect- 
ural finish — massive  as  a  castle  and  in  the  grace  of  a  palace. 
The  beholder  does  not  tire  in  notice  of  the  successive  stajjes 
of  the  erection  of  a  grand  edifice,  and  will  shout  when  the 
cap-stone  is  laid.  The  industrious  and  ambitious  husband- 
man does  not  lose  interest  in  the  3'early  cropping  in  the 
£ame  fields  ;  and  every  harvest  brings  its  joy  to  the  reaper. 
The  Sunday  sermon  at  the  Virginia  Conference  was  soon 
after  put  away  in  his  Volume  of  Sermons,  as  finished.  It 
was  first  heard  by  the  writer  nearly  twenty  years  before  in 
his  St.  Louis  i)ulpit.  In  its  latest  delivery,  the  effect,  at 
length,  answered  to  the  crown  and  glory  as  of  a  seventh 
day  of  creation  ;  and  the  speaker  moved  as  with  the  pro- 
found satisfaction  of  travail  of  soul — in  that  sermon,  a 
realixed  sense  of  the  Christian  faith  justified,  so  far  as  he 
could  do  it ;  commended  to   reason  as  well  as    endeared  to 


THE    CONFERENCE    PRESIDENT.  5 1)5 

the  heart.  The  sentiment  is  natural  ;  kindred  to  the  love  of 
o:ffspring — its  joy  at  the  birth  and  the  supreme  complacency 
in  the  perfect  manhood. 

How  his  pulpit  impressed  the  Conferences  in  Alabama 
appears  in  the  following  critical  observations  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Oliver,  who  adds  to  the  notice  of  Bishop  Marvin  in  the 
chair,  his  powers  and  fame  as  a  preacher  : 

It  was,  perhaps,  in  the  pulpit  Bisliop  Marvin  achieved  his  greatest 
triumplis  and  won  liis  greatest  fame.  He  possessed  the  art  or  grace  of  en- 
listing the  sympathy  and  of  holdhig  the  attention  of  all  classes  of  hearers. 
The  unlearned  and  educated  alike  felt  edified  by  his  discourses.  He  was 
occasionally  oratorical  and  often  eloquent,  or  in  other  words,  he  was 
sometimes  artistic  in  the  collocation  of  his  words,  and  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  his  sentences;  but  generally  his  full  soul  poured  forth  itself  in  a 
torrent  of  spontaneous  utterances  which  carried  along  with  it  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers.  Some  writer  snjs  the  perfection  of  art  is  the  imitation  of 
Dature.  Whether  his  elocution  had  been  much  improved  by  study  we  can 
not  say;  he  seemed  to  be  one  of  the  most  natural  of  speakers. 

The  most  critical  of  his  hearers,  we  imagine,  failed  to  detect  in  him, 
■while  expouudiug  the  word  of  God,  the  slightest  tinge  of  vanity  or  effort 
to  win  popular  applause.  If  the  definition  of  eloquence  given  by  a  certain 
■writer  be  a  correct  one,  namely,  that  it  is  that  power  in  the  speaker  that 
■causes  his  audience  to  forget  him,  in  his  theme,  then  was  Bishop  Marvin 
often  eloquent.  For  who  among  his  frequent  hearers  have  not  been  pres- 
ent on  occasions,  wdien  under  the  divhie  afflatus,  he  stood  upon  the  tower- 
ing heights  of  faith  and  portrayed  so  vividly  the  glories  of  the  celestial 
Canaan,  as  to  make  them  almost  forget  whether  they  were  <'  in  the  bodj 
or  out  of  the  body,"  when  earth  w^as  eclipsed  by  the  ravishing  splendors  of 
that  "place," 

"  Where  happier  bowers  than  Eden's  bloom. 
Nor  sin,  nor  sorrow,  know." 

As  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  he  seems  to  have  had  no  higher  aspiration 
than  to  win  souls  to  Christ.  He  was  no  pulpit  actor.  No  vain  declamation 
or  airy  speculation  were  indulged  in  by  him,  to  regale  the  fancy  or  stir  the 
emotions  of  his  audience.  Like  Paul,  he  reasoued.  His  hearers  were 
moved,  but  every  emotion  had  its  definite  source  and  its  substantial  origin 
in  the  truth  vindicated  to  the  understanding  and  bound  on  the  conscience. 
In  a  word  he  employed  all  his  great  and  varied  gifts  and  acquirements  in 
enforcing  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  in  substantiating  its 
facts,  in  guarding  and  defending  its  doctrines,  and  in  establishing  the  ex- 
perience of  the  truth  in  the  hearts  of  his  hearers. 


5GG  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

The  sornion  proaohcd  at  the  North  Georgia  Conference 
the  writer  has  heard  four  times — the  first  time  at  a  village 
Church,  at  Thomasville,  Mo.,  out  among  the  hills  of  the 
Ozark  Mountains.  Then,  it  was  not  more  enchanting  in  its 
beauty  and  subduing  in  its  marvelous  pathos  and  i)ower  than 
when  it  was  heard  for  the  fourth  time,  in  the  summer  of  his 
departure  from  St.  Louis  for  the  tour  of  the  world.  Then 
it  was  delivered  in  a  Cathedral-Church  of  Southern  Method- 
ism ;  before  an  audience  composed  of  the  select  hearers  of 
six  congregations,  three  Methodist  and  three  Presl)yteriaa 
with  their  pastors,  Brookes,  Brank  and  Rutherford — all 
alike',  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  held  enchained  in  unwearied 
attention  ;  at  its  close,  all  faces  aglow  with  the  kindled  en- 
thusiasm of  faithful  love  to  the  Bridegroom  and  all  hearts 
enraptured  with  the  pictured  destiny  of  the  Church,  as  a 
bride  adorned  for  her  husband  and  brought  home  to  the- 
Father's  house. 

Besides  the  natural  sentiment  of  the  ambition  of  an  arti- 
ficer, there  was  in  the  structure  of  his  sermons  so  much  of 
Christ,  as  not  to  fail  alwaj^s  to  stir  to  profoundest  depths 
the  supernatural  sentiments  of  faith  and  command  upon  his 
spirit  the  Divine  afflatus.  That  sermon,  it  is  likewise  to  be 
said,  was  selected  by  himself  for  preservation  in  typo,  and 
by  every  token  was  marked  out  as  the  personal  delight  of 
his  ministry.  In  a  critical  notice  of  his  Volume  of  Ser- 
mons by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Summers,  the  Book  Editor  of  the 
Church,  it  has  evidently  been  singled  out  as  the  masterpiece 
of  the  Marvin  pulpit,  compared  admiringly  to  the  sermon  on 
the  same  subject  by  Jeremy  Taylor.  As  preached  at  Atlan- 
ta, Ga.,  it  is  reported  by  a  skillful  i)en — in  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  writer  by  Rev.  George  Smith,  the  author  of  the  His- 
tory of  Methodism  in  Georgia  : 

I  was  in  Baltimore,  a  Tncmbei*  of  the  B  Utimore  Conference,  the  first 
time  he  presided  there,  and  l)ecame  accjuainted  with  him,  but  did  not  hear 
Lim  preacli,  and  only  from  others   learned  of   his  glorious  sermon — on» 


THE    CONFERENCE    PRESIDENT.  5G7 

</ 

«*  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfled."  You  know  we 
of  the  East  knew  even  less  of  him  than  tlie  General  Conference  of  1808 
had  known  of  McKondree;  and  many  who  merely  knew  him  in  the  chair 
as  I  did,  as  a  gentle,  dignified,  unpretentious  Christian,  were  astounded 
when  tlie  thinl-cers  of  the  Conference  broke  out  in  such  praise  of  him  as  a 
preacher.     I  resolved  to  hear  him,  and  waited  eagerly  for  a  chance. 

He  came  to  Atlanta,  at  the  Conference  of  1872.  I  fully  expected  to 
hear  liim— I  was  flxed  in  my  determination.  On  Saturday  I  was  rea.l  out 
against  my  protest  to  au  appointment  in  a  city  Church.  Such  a  rebellioa 
I  had  not  been  guilty  of  before,  and  have  not  been  since,  as  I  was  at  once 
engaged  in.  I  conquered  a  peace,  and  was  relieved,  and  that  night  heard 
Marvin  in  a  Missionary  address,  the  first  time.  There  was  a  matchless 
charm  about  that  speech  I  cannot  describe.  It  was  not  the  magnificence 
of  thought  nor  of  language,  but  an  indescribable  beauty  and  pathos  that 
made  me  weep  now,  and  then  rejoice.  One  picture  in  it  was  so  graphic 
that  Dr.  Haygood,  who  was  present,  has  given  it  a  place  in  his  excellent 
book—"  Our  Children."  The  description  of  his  Missouri  home,  his  moth- 
er's lap  in  which  he  sat,  the  rocking  chair,  the  song,  the  tears  which  fell, 
the  name  of  Jesus  for  the  llrst  time  remombered,  his  love  for  his  mother's 
Saviour— all  this  so  personal, with  a  sweet  obliviousness  to  everything  like 
dread  of  harsh  criticism,  and  a  perfect  oneness  with  his  hearers  which 
made  personal  allusion  frequent  and  appropriate.  It  was  the  most  reli- 
gious missionary  speech  I  ever  heard. 

The  next  morning  we  were  early,  but  not  soon  enough.  Long  before 
the  hour  the  room  in  which  the  General  Conference  sessions  were  held, 
then  the  Conference  room,  was  crowded.  I  secured  a  seat  on  the  pulpit 
8teps.  Marvin  came  in  with  Bishop  Pierce.  He  prayed  as  few  men  have 
ever  been  able  to  pray,  and  preached  that  sermon,  so  often  preached  by 
Lim,  on  "  The  Church,  the  Bride  of  Christ."  For  one  and  a  half  hours  that 
immense  audience  was  spell-bound.  I  sat  within  ten  feet  of  him,  enrap- 
tured. I  thmk  I  speak  calmly  now,  for  it  is  near  seven  years  ago,  when  I 
say  I  never  hoard,  and  never  expect  to  hear,  such  a  sermon.  There  was 
beautiful  delivery,  for  his  voice  was  rich  and  musical  and  his  manner 
grace ;  but  I  had  heard  Punshon  and  Duncan.  There  was  brilliant  rhetor- 
ic, but  I  had  heard  Minncgerode  and  Hanner.  There  was  broad  philoso- 
phy, but  I  had  heard  Bond.  There  was  religious  pathos  and  unction,  but 
I  had  heard  Bishop  Pierce.  But  such  a  union  of  all,  such  a  glorious 
blending,  when  everything  that  makes  a  sermon  great  was  present,  I  had 
never  heard ;  and  I  was  not  alone  in  my  opinion — all  united  in  the  same 
testimony. 

I  met  him  in  private  life.  I  learned  to  love  him.  "We  were  together 
correspondents  of  the  paper  which  you  edited  in  connection  with  dear  Dr. 
Bond,  and  this  was  a  cord  which  united  us.  I  followed  him  as  he  went 
around  the  world.  I  heard  with  joy  of  his  return;  I  hoped  to  meet  him 
again,  and  know  him  better,  ere  he  passed  away.     But  he  has  gone.     God 


568 


BISHOP   MARVIN. 


has  called  away  from  earth  the  most  xmique  and  remarkable  man  our 
Church  has  ever  produced.  lie  was  at  ouce  philosopher,  scholar,  orator, 
poet,  hero  and  saiut.  But  I  am  saying,  not  more  than  his  memory  de- 
serves, but  more  than  your  needs  demand. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 


AS     PREACHER. 


The  pulpit  and  the  study— "Compelled  to  study  "—Method— Lord 
Brougham's  theory— Dauiel  Webster's  method— "  Prepared  unpre- 
pareduess  "—"  Liberty  "—The  Bible  iu  the  Study— Godliuess  in  the 
pulpit— Closet  and  preacher's  desk— Preached  out  of  his  experience — 
"  The  dynamic  spirit  of  the  Gospel  "—The  prevalent  pulpit— The  bur- 
den of  souls— Faith  in  his  Gospel— Manner  in  pulpit— The  shining  face 
—Voice  in  preaching— "  My  mamma  is  dead"— "Eloi,  Eloi,  Lama 
Sabachthani  "-Pulpit  action— Sydney  Smith's  rule— Jonathan  Ed- 
wards— Wesley  and  Whitfield — Genuine  feeling — Honest  rhetoric- 
Embarrassment  of  self-consciousness  managed— Sense  of  self-import- 
ance regulated  -An  "  itching-  ear  "— "  The  manufacturer  "—Before 
God,  '•  dust  and  ashes." 

•TIT-HE  difficulty  of  conveying  a  just  conception  of  living 
^4L^  '111 J  speaking  orators  to  posterity  has  been  often  re- 
marked. "Actors  and  orators  die  and  leave  no  siirn." 
Nevertheless,  it  belongs  to  these  pages,  if  not  adequately  to 
portray  the  orator  in  the  pulpit,  yet  to  record  the  history  of 
preparation  and  performance. 

In  the  lumber-room  of  the  house  of  a  Methodist,  in  St. 
Louis,  an  old  letter  was  picked  up,  dated  at  Palmyra,  in 
1850,  from  Marvin  to  Pollock,  in  which  he  complained  of 
*«  intellectual  slothfulness."  That  is  the  only  known  in- 
stance, and  he  bewailed  it.  What  pleased  him  in  his  ap- 
pointment to  St.  Louis,  Mrs.  Marvin  testifies,  was  the 
"  Study,"  which  is  an  appendage  of  the  city  pulpit.  It  is 
further  remarked,  having  to  preach  constantly  to  the  same 
congregation,  he  felt  "  compelled"  to  studj^ — even  Marvin 


570  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

with  such  rich  endowment  of  genius  and  wealth  of  original 
resources.  He  is  under  2)ressuro  of  study,  as  of  intellectual 
necessity.  In  a  higher  view,  it  is,  also,  of  moral  obliga- 
tion. The  divine  word  defines  the  relation  betwee.i  the  pul- 
pit and  the  pew—"  the  Priest's  lips  should  keep  knowledge 
and  tlio  people  should  learn  wisdom  at  his  mouth."  That 
definition  brings  tlie  preacher's  study  into  view.  A  word 
of  admonition  enforces  the  claims  of  tliat  rehition — "  take 
heed  what  3'ou  speak."  It  is  the  eloquent  comment  of 
01  in: 

The  theory  suggested  by  our  subject,  as  well  as  by  every  rational  view 
of  tlic  Christian  ministry,  is  not  over  solicitous  about  the  production  of 
great,  or  learned  or  higlily-fiuished,  or  eloquent  seruuns;  but  it  docs  im- 
peratively demand  tliat  every  preacher  of  the  G js;)^!  shjuld  put  forth  his 
utmost  energies  both  for  pre2);iratio;i  and  for  p;;rform.iuc2 — that  ha  keep 
his  soul  all  alive  to  the  sacreducss  a:id  fearful  responsibilities  of  his  call- 
ing— that  he  shun  as  a  fatal,  damnable  dereliction,  a  negllgant,  perfunctory 
ministry  which  satislies  itself  with  decent,  easy  routine,  anl  deems  it  no 
offense  to  bring  into  the  Divine  presence  a  maimed  sacrifice,  that  costs 
neither  study  nor  prayer,  and  conciliates  the  favor  of  neither  God  nor 
man. 

Bishop  ]\Iarvin  aimed  at  high  performance  and  bestowed 
upon  it  large  preparation.  iio  read  much  ;  ho  meditated 
more.  His  sermons  had  substance  and  form  :  the  two  rules 
of  a  celebrated  divine  fulfilled — "  have  something  to  say  and 
say  it."  It  was  the  same  wnsdom  in  a  President  of  Harvard 
College,  who  replied  to  an  inquiry:.  "It  takes  me  a  week 
to  make  one  sermon;  sometimes,  longer."  The  comment 
of  the  inquirer  was,  "  ^\'hy,  I  often  produce  a  sermon  in  a 
day  and  make  nothing  of  it  " — the  rejoinder  :  "  But  I  make 
something  of  mine."  It  took  Euripides  three  days  to  com- 
pose one  verse  of  a  poem.  On  mention  of  it  to  a  poet  of  his 
time,  whose  name  has  not  survived,  he  boasted  that  he  had 
written  three  hundred  in  a  day.  "But,"  it  was  replied, 
*'  my  verses  will  be  read  after  three  centuries,  and  yours, 
forgotten  after  three  days."  "  It  is  fourteen  years,"  says 
a  preacher,   "  since  I  heard  Bishop  Marvin  preach  the  ser- 


AS     PREACHER.  571 

nion.  Glorj  be  to  God  that  I  ever  heard  it!"  That 
sermon,  which  was  still  jDreseiit  and  prevalent  after  fourteen 
years,  had  been  in  the  Marvin  work-shop  as  many  years  as 
the  hearer  remembered  it.  That  is  a  common  fact  in  the 
history  of  great  names  and  great  sermons.  A  distinguished 
divine  pronounced  Lyman  Beecher's  sermon  on  the  Govern- 
ment of  God  tlie  greatest  discourse  ho  had  ever  listened  to. 
He  added  :   "  lie  Avas  forty  years  in  i)reparin«-  it." 

All  the  sermons  Bishop  Marvin  ever  wrote  were  for  the 
press,  not  the  pulpit.  Among  his  literary  remains  there  is 
not  a  single  scrap  containing  even  the  heads  of  discourse. 
He  sometimes  made  them,  but  seldom.  His  method  was 
extemporaneous,  but  for  that  reason  requiring  not  less  but 
more  study.  His  sermons  were  carefully  thought  out.  "  It 
is  well,"  Si\ys  Spurgeon,  "to  preach  without  notes,  no 
doubt ;  but  a  man  who  shf)ulil  preach  pui-cly  extemporane- 
ously, without  thinking  beforehand,  w^ould  probably  be  an 
exceedingly  dull  and  dry  preacher."  Another  has  assigned 
to  such  a  pulpit  the  part  in  Shakespeare's  play  given  to  Bot- 
tom, the  weaver — 

"Eoariiig ; 
And  that  may  be  doue  extempore." 

And   so,  also,  it  is  rated  by  another,   in  unique  but  good 
fultillment    of  the  Latin  saying:    "  Vox  et praeterea  nihil.'' 

There  was  no  such  absurdity  in  the  history  of  his  pulpifc 
fame,  as  not  "  thinking  beforehand."  "Mouth  ai:d  wis- 
dom," such  as  his,  was  not  without  human  effort  as  well  as 
divine  help — not  born  at  the  rostrum,  but  its  nativity  in  the 
study  and  its  nurture  in  the  closet. 

Lord  Brougham  strongly  advises  the  j^ractice  of  written 
discourse,  when  there  is  opportunity  for  it.  Pie  contends 
that  the  habitual  writer  will  be  the  best  extemporaneous 
speaker  when  there  is  no  opportunity  for  writing.  Pie  adds 
that  the  history  of  all  the  best  orators  at  the  bar  and  in  the 
pulpit  confirms  his  theory.     Substantially,  Bishop  Marvin's 


572  BISHOP  MARvix. 

method  conformed  to  the  rccoininendatioii  of  the  great  Ea- 
li.sh  Commoner,  and  is  not  an  exception  to  his  theory,  lie 
did  not  write,  but  he  secured  the  chief  uses  and  advantages 
of  the  pen.  Ilo  did  not  connnit  meditation  and  study  to 
pajKU-,  but  they  were  written  on  his  memory  and  in  a  full- 
ness beyond  what  may  be  commonly  supposed.  The  benefit 
of  the  manuscript,  in  chief  respects,  is  the  more  logical  or 
philosophical  structure  of  the  discourse,  a  clearer  and 
sharper  definition  of  the  thought,  and  fit  words  where  the 
impression  depends  largely  or  wholly  on  style. 

lie  was  not  a  writer  of  sermons,  but  no  pen-structure  is 
more  complete  in  philosophical  plan  and  logical  connection 
of  parts  and  symmetry  of  arrangement  than  was  the  produc- 
tion of  his  unaided  reflection.  Ordinary  minds  need  the  aid 
of  the  pen.  His  did  not — its  service  supplied  by  marvelous 
insight,  and  powers  of  analysis,  and  by  quick  perception 
and  creative  genius.  He  did  not  even  make  notes  ;  but  no 
reader  of  sermons  had  in  the  i)ulpit-manuscript  the  line  of 
thought  and  track  of  discourse  more  clearly  marked  out, 
than  these  were  printed  on  Marvin's  extraordinary  memory 
— sceinir  the  end  from  the  beginning. 

The  thinkins:  beforehand  extended  further  than  may  be 
supposed — to  choice  words  and  select  phrases,  which  is  the 
meaning  of  the  movement  of  his  lips,  as  he  paces  the  floor 
in  hours  of  preparation  for  the  pulpit.  They  are  pronounced 
to  himself  in  whisper,  and  not  aloud;  but,  as  if  addressed 
to  the  assembly.  So  Dr.  Guthrie  advises  when  they  are  being 
composed.  They  are,  thus,  ready  at  hand  for  the  parts  of 
discourse  where  the  impression  depends  mainly  on  "  right 
words  in  right  places."  This  premeditation  in  both  the 
thou<dit  and  its  dress  is  indicated  and  illustrated  in  the  elo- 
quence  of  the  forum  in  the  career  of  Wm.  Pitt  Fessenden, 
the  Senator  from  Maine.  When  he  was  a  young  man  and 
traveling  companion  of  Daniel  Webster,  in  a  tour  of  the  West 
atancaily  day,  it  is  said,  he  learned  the  art  of  eloquence 
from  the  great  American  statesman  and  orator  : 


AS    PREACHER.  573 

Mr.  "Webster  treated  him  with  ^roat  l<indncss,  and  gave  him  much 
good  advice,  wliich  he  treasured  up  in  his  memory.  Webster  told  him  how 
hard  lie  had  studied,  and  how  careful  he  was  iu  making  out  papers  when 
he  corameaced  the  practice  of  law.  Ho  said  he  never  le",  a  writ  or  legal 
document  pass  from  his  hands  until  he  had  read  it  over  three  times  at 
least.  And  still  further  remarked  that  while  many  young  men  were  idling 
their  time  hi3  was  trimming  the  midnight  lamp. 

"  Now,"  said  Webs  er,  "  I  have  acquired  some  fame  both  as  a  lawyer 
and  as  an  orator,  and  have  made  speeches  in  which  occurred  some  figures 
and  illustrations  often  quoted,  and  which  have  already  passed  into  mot- 
toes. And  now,  do  you  suppose  those  terse  sayings  were  made  from  the 
spur  of  the  moment?  By  no  means;  they  were  the  result  of  previous 
study,  and  close  study,  too.  Some  of  my  best  illustrations  of  th  ught 
have  been  studied  and  trimmed  d  nvu  when  the  fisliing  rod  was  in  my 
hands  The  words  which  so  fitly  represent  Englaml's  power,  so  often 
quoted  and  so  much  pvaised,  wei-e  strung  together  while  I  stood  on  the 
American  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  near  Niagara  Falls,  and  heard 
the  B.  iiisli  drums  beat  on  the  Canada  side." 

With  a  pluii  as  complete  as  the  written  sermon,  and 
made  sure  security  of  discourse  and  self-possession  of 
speaker  as  in  tlie  read  sermon,  tliere  was  not  in  the  IMarvin 
pulpit  the  dullness  and  stiffness  of  the  reader,  nor  the  want 
or  affectation  of  soul  of  the  merely  memoriter  sermon.  A 
radical  fact  in  the  life  and  power  of  his  pulpit  was  in  its 
thorough  preparation,  and,  at  the  same  time,  its  freedom  ; 
leaving  room  not  only  for  the  creative  power  of  human  ge- 
nius, but  as  well  for  the  afflatus  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  The 
famed  Scotch  divine,  Dr.  Guthrie,  who  was  a  writer  but  not 
areader,  has  described  Marvin's  in  the  manner  of  his  own  writ- 
ten butspoken  sermons  :  "  I  never,"  he  says,  "  made  myself 
the  slave  of  memory — repeating  the  discourse  verhatim,  ex- 
actly as  it  was  written.  On  the  contrary,  new  ideas  were 
often  introduced,  that  rose  unbidden,  and  were  thrown  off, 
like  sparks,  in  the  heat  of  delivery  ;  and  the  comparatively 
cold  expressions  of  the  quiet  study  were  also  often  cx- 
chano-ed  for  more  fervid  and  forcible  terms."  The  same 
thin^'  is  contained  in  what  is  an  almost  invariable  note  iu 
Bishop  Marvin's  diary  record  or  verbal  report  of  his  preach- 
iuo- — as  having  or  not  having   "liberty."       A  homilist  on 


574  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

pulpit  preparation  on  this  side  of  the  waters  has,  also,  de- 
fined and  commended  Dr.  Guthrie's  metiiod  :  "It  must  be 
said  again  that  the  highest  state  of  preparation  is  prei)arcd 
unprcparedness — heart,  mind,  language,  all  well  furnished 
— a  perfect  knowlego  of  the  subject,  a  perfect  faitli,  a  per- 
fect self-possession,  svm[)athy  and  loftiness  of  aim,  and 
then — let  the  '  wind  blow  Avhercsoever  itlisteth,'  'it  shall  be 
given  in  th3  same  hour  what  to  speak.'  " 

Mrs.  Marvin's  account  presents  him  at  the  hour  before 
preaching:  *'IIc  used  the  Scriptures  a  great  deal  in  his 
study  of  sermons.  On  Sunday  morning  before  going  to  the 
pulpit  he  Nvould  have  the  Bible  in  his  hand,  and  after  read- 
ing some  ti:nc,  would  lay  it  on  the  table  and  pace  tli3  floor, 
his  hands  behind  him,  and  deeply  absorbed  ;  only  his  lips 
were  seen  to  move."  A  saying  of  the  London  Tunes,  in 
18G9,  has  had  Avidc  quotation — in  satire  upon  the  resort  of 
the  pulpit  to  any  other  reliance  than  the  substantial  claims 
of  its  message — "the  Gospel  preacher  needs  only  a  room 
and  a  Bible."  The  Bible  was  the  chief  book  in  his  Study, 
and  not  the  commentary  but  the  original  word,  the  last  in 
his  hand  before  going  into  the  pulpit.  It  was  in  true  char- 
acter as  a  minister — God's  messenger  and  the  message  ;  the 
witness  and  the  testimony ;  the  watchman  and  the  trumpet 
of  warning  ;  the  herald  and  his  Gospel.  All  the  chairs  of  a 
Divinity  School  he  found  in  the  school  of  the  prophets  and 
the  companying  of  the  Great  Teacher  and  his  twelve  Apos- 
tles. "  Understandest  thou  what  thou  readest?"  made 
him  a  theoloii'ian  ;  his  messa2;e  he  found  in  the  Commission 
at  the  INIount  of  Ascension  ;  his  homiletics  learned  at  the 
pulpit  of  Pentecost ;  and  for  testimony  of  Jesus,  searching 
the  Scriptures.  The  Bible  in  his  hand — first,  most,  last — 
made  the  sermon  like  the  original  Word,  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit. 

One  of  the  most  eloquent  preachers  of  the  American 
Church  has  said — "  thorouirh  irodliness  is  more  effective  in 


AS    PREACHER.  575 

the  pulpit  than  genius."  The  same  sentiment  is  in  one  of 
Bishop  Marvin's  set  phrases — "  the  momentum  of  godli- 
ness." The  truth  in  liis  mind  was  not  simplj  ohjective,  tin 
intellectual  landscape.  It  is  reported  as  a  testimony  to  one 
of  the  first  American  INIissionaries  to  China  by  his  Chinese 
converts — their  saying,  which,  literally  translated,  read: 
*'■  In  all  things  he  uses  his  heart."  That  saying  describes 
J^ishop  Marvin's  pulpit.  Ilis  sermon  was  all  on  fire  with 
feeling.  It  had  the  same  history  in  the  pew.  It  did  not 
stop  in  the  porch  of  the  understanding.  It  was  lodged  in 
the  mnor  chambers  of  the  soul.  It  came  from  the  heart  and 
went  to  the  heart.  It  both  enliirhtened  and  warmed  ;  sub- 
ji'dive,  both  in  the  preacher  and  in  the  hearer — the  dis- 
<-()urse  not  an  external  thing  to  bo  admired  merely,  but  in- 
wrouirht  and  enjoyed.  Accordinirly,  there  is  warmth  in  the 
moral  atmosphere  and  a  blaze  in  the  assembl3^  It  is  kin- 
<lled  by  "  the  fire  in  the  bones  "  of  the  preacher. 

He  came  to  the  pulpit  from  the  closet,  and  in  the  ser- 
mon there  was  reward  openly.  He  had  been  within  the  yeil 
^ndhis  discourse  had  the  authority  of  Urim  and  Thummim, 
i\\u\  was  briii'ht  in  the  r^low  of  a  Shekinah.  On  the  way  to 
the  audience  of  the  people  it  became  redolent  with  the  per- 
fume of  an  altar  of  incense  and  radiant  with  the  rapture  of 
t!io  mercy-seat.  He  preached  out  of  his  experience.  It  was 
clear  and  positiye.  There  was  in  the  preaching  the  witness- 
ing power  as  well  as  the  word  of  testimony. 

"  What  we  \v^vQfeU  and  sern 
\s"vt\\  confidence  we  lell." 

The  Avords  are  quoted  from  a  printed  page  in  one  of  his 
"books,  and  his  own  pen  put  the  italic  marks  for  the  printer. 
In  the  closet  the  experience,  never  doubted,  was  freshened 
and  inflamed.  He  came  from  the  closet  as  from  the  mount 
of  communion  with  divine  credentials  renewed,  and  messen- 
ger and  message  alike  authenticated.  It  is  not  known  to 
the  writer  that  he  ever  told  in  the  pulpit,  except  in   casual 


57G  BISHOI'    MARVIN. 

allusion,  liis  experience  of  conversion  or  the  liistory  of  his 
secret  interviews  with  God.  It  told  itself,  like  the  shininjj: 
of  Moses'  face.  When  he  i)re:iched  Lannius'  funeral  ser- 
mon, so  it  was  apparent  to  a  beholder — "  I  saw  God  in  that 
man  that  niirht." 

His  visit  to  the  closet  was  the  waiting  for  the  endowment 
of  power.  One  of  his  grandest  Conference  sermons,  it  will 
be  remembered,  was  on  that  fact  in  the  Pentecostal  pulpit. 
His  expression  will  bo  recalled — "  the  dynamics  of  the 
Gospel."  How  well  he  understood  the  constitution  of  the 
Christian  ministry.  Perhaps,  none  ever  more  largely  ex- 
emplified the  counsel  of  Adam  Clark — "  study  yourself  dead 
and  pray  yourself  alive  again."  In  the  preparation  of  a 
discourse  he  exhausted  tlie  magazine  of  study  and  then 
went,  helpless  as  an  infant,  to  "the  secret  place  of  the 
thunder."  Great  as  he  was  in  personal  force  and  intellect- 
ual power  and  furniture  of  mind,  none  ever  stood  in  the 
pulpit,  in  self-consciousntss,  more  utterly  shorn  of  a  sense 
of  personal  sufficiency.  How  well  he  knew  where  the  abode 
of  the  wind  ;  and  how  he  tarried  there,  till  he  had  a  commis- 
sion to  the  valley  of  vision  and  authority  to  command  the 
life-'nvino"  power.  Ho  preached  with  the  Holv  Ghost  sent 
down  from  Heaven.  That  was  the  doctrine  of  his  Commis- 
sion and  the  habitual  fact  in  his  ministry. 

"  "Without  the  ministiy  of  the  Spirit,"  Bishop  Marvin 
has  written,  "the  ministry  of  the  word  is  powerless."  With 
this  sentiment,  m  the  convictions  and  demands  of  his  faith, 
he  associated  the  correlative  fact  of  a  triuni[)hant  Gospel — 
uniformly  and  signally.  At  the  dedication  of  the  new  Cen- 
tenary Church  in  St.  Louis,  the  sermon  by  Bishop  Keener 
was  on  the  Eesurrection  Powxr  in  the  INIinistry  ;  the  same 
power  that  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus  from  the  dead — John 
XX.  21-23.  There  is  a  sketch  of  the  sermon  extant  from 
the  pen  of  Bishop  jMarvin — better  than  is  common  in  the 
newspaper  reports  of  the  city  pulpit.       The  doctrine  of  the 


AS     TREACHER.  577 

sermon  is  strongly  approved.  He  only  is  a  true  minister 
who  is  born  of  God  and  has  been  endowed  with  power  from 
on  high.  "  lie  has  the  keys  ;"  the  prerogative  of  the  open 
and  the  shut  door  at  the  entrance  into  the  Kinirdoin  of  Ilcav- 
en:  "  Whosoever's  sins  ye  remit  they  are  remitted  unto 
them,  and  whosoever's  sins  3'e  retain  they  are  retained." 
The  question  is  raised  and  answered  :  "  How  shall  we  know 
that  a  man  has  the  kevs?  '  Bv  their  fruits  ve  shall  know 
them.'  Our  Lord  spoke  this  of  ministers  cxpresslv.  If 
you  have  the  kcj^s  show  us  those  ^vhom  you  have  actually 
introduced  into  the  kingdom.  "Where  are  the  men  soundly 
converted  under  your  ministrj'?  "Where  arc  the  men  who, 
throuo-h  vour  means,  actually  know  God  as  a  sin-pardonino^ 
God?  Tlie  ministry  that  fails  to  approve  itself  by  these 
tests  is  spurious.  Until  you  vindicate  3'our  claim  by  these 
proofs  ^-our  boast  is  empty  and  vain,  and  3'ou  stand  con- 
victed of  blasphemous  assumption."  In  atrue ministry  the 
door  is  unlocked.  It  stands  invitingly  open.  Some  "will 
not  enter  ;  but  some  do.  The  Gospel  is,  thus,  "  a  savor  of 
'  r.fe  unto  life  or  of  death  unto  death  ;"  sins  are  remitted  or 
retained. 

Under  such  views  of  the  Gospel,  Bishop  Marvin  preached 
it.  On  the  one  hand  it  was  under  sense  of  the  awful  de- 
pendencies of  his  ministry,  and  .under  the  tremendous 
burden  of  responsibility  for  souls  ;  upon  him  as  the  M^eight 
of  a  mountain  and  startling  as  the  thunder-bolt  that  leaps 
from  the  crag  of  the  mountain  ;  not  less  impressive  than  as 
realized  by  the  great  preacher,  whose  name  he  bore.  Cotton 
jMather,  who  said,  that  every  time  he  thought  of  the  account 
to  be  rendered  by  the  Under-Shepherd  to  the  Chief  Shep- 
herd and  Bishop  of  souls,  it  caused  an  earthquake  in  him. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  Gospel  of  power  to  save,  he  preached 
it  Avitli  the  inspiration  of  faith  and  hope.  He  contemplated 
effect,  immediate  and  full  effect.  He  sent  forth  every  ser- 
mon,   as    a   soldier  is    sent   to    the   battle-field,    with   the  • 


578  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

eoraraand  and  the  hope  of  return  with  trophy  of  victory — 
captives  chained  to  the  chariot  wheels.  His  own  prayer 
always  preceded  his  sermon,  and  in  it  he  prayed  much  and  fer- 
vently for  the  preacher — the  divine  unction  on  the  pulpit. 
The  petition  of  the  closet  was  the  cry  of  the  pulpit  prayer — 
"  help  from  on  High."  The  closing  prayer,  if  he  made  it, 
after  his  own  or  the  sermon  of  another,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, how,  less  than  with  a  review  of  the  sermon,  it  was  a 
ery  to  God  for  the  increase.  He  left  results  to  God  ;  but  it 
was  done  in  submission,  not  unconcern.  He  coveted  con- 
versions under  the  preaching  and  craved  fruit  from  every 
sermon.  "  Added  to  the  Lord  "  and  "  daily  "  was  a  pen- 
tecostal  fact.  It  had  place  in  the  fail'h  as  well  as  in  the 
prayer  of  his  ministry — the  gathering  not  of  a  periodical,  but 
perpetual  harvest.  In  frequent  entries  in  his  California 
Diary  there  is  much  prayer  for  it;  but  often,  likewise,  the 
lamruaire  of  praver  chano-ed  into  the  word  of  faith — "  God 
can  give  the  increase  !  "  "  God  w/?^  give  the  increase!" 
Often,  with  what  power  of  faith  did  he  thus  claim  the  in- 
crease and  was  answered  in  that  he  feared.  There  were 
first  fruits  during  the  sermon.  Under  the  moisture  of  con- 
trite tears  falling  upon  the  fallow  ground  of  hearts  already 
broken  up,  and  sermon  followed  by  prayer  and  its  preva- 
lency,  the  light  which  is  "the  life  of  men"  shone  down, 
and  the  service  often  closed  with  a  ripened  harvest  and  the 
gathering  of  sheaves. 

His  manner  in  the  pulpit,  all  along  in  these  pages,  has 
been  remarked  by  the  reporters  of  his  sermons.  It  was  dig- 
nified, but  not  dull ;  impassioned,  but  not  extravagant ; 
impressive  without  being  sanctimonious ;  direct,  but  not 
rude  ;  reaching  the  highest  oratorical  effects  without  the 
throes  of  labored  effort — in  the  manner  of  it,  negatively,  no 
cold  professionalism,  nor  artificial  tone,  nor  transparent  af- 
fectation ;  positively,  heartiness  and  enthusiasm,  natural  and 
fresh. 


AS     PREACHER.  579 

Ever  since  the  days  of  1844,  when  he  used  to  pray  at  the 
altar  of  old  Fourth  Street  Church,  in  St.  Louis,  there  has 
been  notice,  in  the  rapture  of  prayer  or  song  or  sermon,  of 
the  glow  on  his  face.  In  the  traditions  of  that  old  pulpit, 
the  same  phenomenon  was  observed  in  the  ministry  of  Bish- 
op Roberts  : 

Once  he  preached  from  the  text,  "  My  peace  I  give  unto  you;  not  as 
the  world  giveth  give  I  unto  you."  Among  his  hearers  was  a  young  man, 
highljr  gifted  and  cultivated,  who  had  imbibed  the  virus  of  infidelity.  A 
few  months  afterward  the  young  man  was  prostrated  by  disease,  and  death 
Tvas  announced.  His  friends,  knowing  his  sentiments,  became  deeply  so- 
licitous for  the  welfare  of  his  soul.  To  their  astonishment  and  gratifica- 
tion, upon  inquiry,  they  found  the  mind  of  the  young  man  in  pei'fect  peace 
and  joyous  in  hope  of  a  blessed  immortality.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  as  he  moved 
toward  Heaven's  opening  gates,  "  I  have  not  been  an  infidel  since  I  heard 
Bishop  Roberts  preach  in  St.  Louis.  As  he  spoke  of  the  peace  which 
Jesus  gives  to  the  believer,  I  saw  the  divine  reality  reflected  from  his 
countenance." 

He  has  himself  interpreted  that  phenomenon  in  what  he 
has  written  of  celestial  radiance  tinging  nature  and  fringing 
the  forest,  as  it  appeared  to  him  when  he  was  converted  ;  and 
how  the  plain  face  of  Mother  McConnell  glowed  to  his  eye, 
as  if  illumined  by  the  outbeaming  of  an  inner  glow  or  re- 
flection from  the  invisible  glory. 

The  pulpit  of  Bishop  Marvin  has  not  been  considered,  in 
any  special  manner,  to  have  been  either  aided  or  marred  by 
voice  in  preaching.  There  are  exceptions,  in  both  direc- 
tions of  the  remark,  to  be  noted.  At  one  time,  but  only 
for  a  short  time,  he  vociferated  painfully — screamed.  It 
was  after  his  return  to  Missouri  from  the  Pacific  Coast,  and 
is  accounted  for  by  the  preaching  on  that  tour,  incessant!}'' 
and  in  the  open  air  or  under  other  disadvantageous  condi- 
tions. His  voice,  all  his  life,  had  hard  usage  ;  and  it  is  a 
wonder  that  its  volume  and  tone  had  not  been  utterly 
wrecked.  In  the  usual  fact,  his  voice,  though  not  naturally 
musical,  at  times  sounded  in  tones  of  extraordinary  pathos  ; 
and  in  the  higher  keys  and  in  full  volume,  with  clear,    ring- 


580  BISHOP   MAUVIN. 

\uc^  notes,  it-struck  on  the  ear  with  the  effect  of  a  startlinsr 
concussion.  Many  readers  will  remenil)er  tlic  incident  he 
has  so  widely  narrated  of  a  walk  in  his  St.  Louis  pastorate 
— the  little  three-year-old  ii\v\,  found  sittin<jc  on  a  strano'e 
door  step,  attracted  by  her  crying.  "  My  mamma  is  dead  ! 
Mv  mamma  is  dead!"  Iler  Avail,  through  his  voice,  has 
pierced  a  thousand  hearts  and  had  an  echo  throughout  a 
continent.  It  was  a  bold  venture  of  speech,  but  he  at- 
tempted it,  and  has  sounded  all  around  the  globe,  in  a  voice 
which  has  not  died  out  in  any  ear  that  has  heard  it,  the  cry 
of  Calvary  in  the  supreme  note  of  the  agony — "  Elol !  Eloi  I 
Lama  Sabachthani  !  " 

His  enunciation  was  distinct,  commanding  the  car  of 
juiditors  in  the  rear  seats  f)f  the  Cathedral  Church,  or  onthe 
outskirts  of  a  camp-meeting  coiiLrregation.  Ills  intonation 
Avas  flexible — adapted  to  colloquial  phrase,  or  narrative,  or 
cahn  statement;  and  sustained  in  full  compass  for  the 
I'ound  of  the  period  or  the  swell  of  the  climax — to  carry  his 
til)eech  to  the  most  distant  aphelion  of  the  flights  of  imagi- 
nation and  to  convoy  the  return  with  graceful  descent.  In 
general,  the  course  of  his  speech  was  a  gentle  flow.  The 
occasional  outbursts  of  animated  and  even  j^assionate  utter- 
ance, occurrimj  m  everv  sermon,  Avere  like  the  cui"rent  of 
the  freshet,  hiviniz;  a  natural  subsidence.  The  hearer  Avas 
not  let  down  in  vacancy,  but,  the  freshet  over,  carried  foi'- 
Avard  Avithout  pause,  as  on  the  ever-flowing  under-current. 
However  it  may  bo  explained,  his  voice  not  only  did  not 
vex  or  weary  the  ear,  but  hearers  generally  speak  of  the 
straMire  and  subduini^  effect  of  its  tones,  as  Avell  as  of  the 
thoughts  it  clothed. 

In  the  action  of  the  pulpit,  some  contributors  have  men- 
tioned, and  evciy  coin[)aiiy  of  hearers  must  have  had  the 
eye  arrested  by  the  r-.ven-black  lock  in  the  roach  of  his 
hail-,  in  aiiiinat«id  delivery,  drooi)ing  upon  his  pale  forehead. 
It   has    been   remarked,    also,    as    customary — the  gesture 


AS    PREACHER.  581 

which  preceded  the  utterance  with  startling  effect,  like  the 
snup  of  Bascom's  thumb  and  finger,  wheu  he  derided  the 
nothingness  of  opposition  to  the  Gospel.  Sometimes  there 
was  the  sudden  start  and  quick-movement  from  side  to  side 
of  the  pUitform.  It  all  signified,  in  concord  with  the  inner 
stir  of  thought  and  sensibiht}^  the  intense  movement  of  the 
whole  man.  It  realized  Sydney  Smith's  definition  of  pulpit 
action,  when  it  is  natural  and  effective  : 

Why  are  we  natural  everywhere  but  in  the  pulpit  ?  No  man  ex- 
presses warm  and  animated  feelings  anywhere  else  with  his  mouth  alone, 
but  with  his  whole  body;  he  articulates  Avith  every  limb,  and  talks  from 
head  to  foot  with  a  thousand  voices.  Why  this  hyloplexia  on  sacred  occa- 
sions alone  ?  Why  call  in  the  aid  of  paralysis  to  piety  ?  Is  it  a  rule  of 
oratory  to  balance  the  style  against  the  subject,  and  to  handle  the  most 
sublime  truths  in  the  dullest  language  and  the  driest  manner  ?  Is  sin  to  be 
taken  from  men  as  Eve  was  taken  from  Adam,  by  casting  them  into  a  deep 
slumber  ?  Or  from  what  possible  perversion  of  common  sense  are  we  all 
to  look  like  field  preachers  in  Zembla,  holy  lumps  of  ice  numbed  into  qui- 
escence, and  stagnation,  and  mumbling  ? 

The  quick  discernment  of  the  cultured  hearer  and  the 
instinct  of  piety  in  the  most  untutored  saint  will  rarely  fail 
to  detect  affectation  in  the  pulpit ;  on  the  look-out  for  it, 
too,  chiefly  at  three  points — the  rhetoric,  the  voice,  and  the 
action.  It  is  an  unexplained  mystery  in  the  pulpit  life  and 
personal  character  of  the  celebrated  Kobert  Hall,  the  mar- 
ginal note  on  one  of  his  manuscript  sermons — "cry  here," 
written  opposite  to  affecting  passages  ;  and  equallj^  the 
*'  Hem,"  on  the  margin  of  the  manuscript  of  a  renowned 
French  preacher  of  ,the  Sixteenth  Century — Dr.  Oliver 
Maillard.  Nothing  can  atone  for  that  offense,  Avhich  has 
been  called  moral  foro;erv.  No  artistic  polish  and  finish  can 
supply  the  absence  of  genuine  feeling.  Of  splendor  of  dic- 
tion, charm  of  voice,  grace  or  grandeur  of  action,  a  modern 
writer  has  said — "  these  may  be,  but  feeling  is  always  elo- 
quence." 

Jonathan  Edwards  is  cited  as  an  example  of  an  eloquent 
pulpit,  in  the  absence  of  all  adventitious  aids  to  oratory  ; 


582  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

unadorned  style,  calm  utterance,  rarely  making  a  gesture, 
yet  attention  was  enchained  for  hours  and  the  multitude 
convulsed  with  emotion— he  had  feeling.  Bishop  Marvin 
has  noted  the  same  fact  in  a  masterly  criticism  on  the 
preaching  of  Whiteficld  and  Wesley,  different  in  manner  as 
the  ocean  in  calm  and  storm;  but  iu  both,  the  irresistible 
flood.  He  has  written  of  Wesley's  deliberate  manner,  but 
not  unimpassioned  soul :  "  There  Avas  no  acting.  There 
was  'no  dry  thunder.'  But  there  was  power."  Of 
Whitefield,  in  both  utterance  and  action,  he  wrote  :  "  There 
was  in  him  the  vehemence,  the  fire,  the  electric  explosiveness^ 
which  make  the  first-class  orator,  with  the  spirituality  which 
makes  the  preacher  irresistible" — in  neither,  mere  storm 
and  bluster;  in  both,  the  thunder  peal  preceded  by  the 
licrhtninf'  shaft  and  followed  by  the  descending  rain. 

In  performance — diction,  voice,  action — no  auditor  of 
Bishop  Marvin's  preaching  detected  or  found  room  for 
suspicion  of  art  or  simulation,  of  sensational  aim,  or  pur- 
pose of  theatrical  effect.  Those  most  intimately  acquainted 
with  his  preparation  for  the  pulpit,  with  whom  he  has  talked 
over  his  sermons,  will  best  know  of  his  rhetoric,  that  it  was 
wrou<'-htin  the  feeling  which  made  Rousseau,  in  his  enthusi- 
asm, wish  "  to  enhance  the  beauty  of  the  French  language, 
that  he  might  describe  the  beauty  of  the  Gospel."  His 
preaching,  substance  and  form,  sprang  from  inward  sources 

the  stream  of  a  pure  fountain  ;  like  what  he  has  written  of 

the  original  portrait  of  Wesleyan  preaching,  having  origin 
in  the  convictions  and  sensibilities  of  faith:  "Hell  and 
Heaven,  sin  and  holiness,  guilt  and  salvation,  God  and 
judgment  were  realities.  They  felt  the  powers  of  the  world 
to  come.  Head  and  eye  and  voice  and  gesture  were  vital 
with  the  message." 

The  Conference  pulpit  is  a  formal  occasion.  To  such, 
he  said,  he  felt  himself  not  well  adapted,  and  that  he  had 
not  been  ever  able  to  get  over  the  feeling.     The  history  of 


AS   PREACHER.  583 

the  Sunday  night  sermons,  ah'eady  recorded,  when  he  was  a 
member  of  Conference,  shows  how  the  popuhir  hour,  the 
crowd  collected  by  his  fame,  and  the  public  expectation 
added  to  the  special  interest  connected  Avith  the  occasion, 
embarrassed  his  consciousness.  It  was  expressed  in  the 
exordium  of  the  Lannius  funeral  sermon,  and  that  of  Sun- 
day night  at  the  Boonville  session  of  the  St.  -  Louis 
Conference.  An  Episcopal  colleague,  with  whom  he  was 
accustomed  to  hold  free  interchange  of  personal  sentiment 
and  unreserved  communication,  in  these  pages  has  disclosed 
similar  trouble  of  consciousness  in  reference  to  the  Episco- 
pal pulpit  at  the  Annual  Conference.  It  was  at  the  point, 
not  of  desire  for  himself  to  be  accounted  a  great  preacher, 
but  he  knew  that  his  brethren  felt  a  solicitude,  not  to  $ay 
pride,  in  the  success  of  their  Chief  Pastor  upon  the  import- 
ant Sabbath  hour  of  the  Conference.  The  temptation  to 
come  up  to  public  expectation,  it  is  testified,  was  an  offense 
to  his  soul.  Ho  combatted  it  with  prayer ;  and  how  he 
overcame  it  and  trampled  it  under  foot,  is  the  uniform  tes- 
timony of  his  pulpit — "  preaching  to  multitudes  in  the 
simplicity  of  the  Gospel  as  but  a  handful,  and  to  a  mere 
handful  with  all  the  strength  of  his  soul." 

The  trouble  referred  to  is  difficult  to  manage  wisely  and 
justly  ;  its  mismanagement  involving  a  snare,  a  weakness, 
or  a  vice.  In  a  blunder,  there  is  sometimes  the  honest 
self -depreciation,  but  which  is,  also,  a  degradation  of  the 
dignity  of  a  man's  nature,  as  though  a  King  should  not  put 
the  crown  upon  his  head  and  not  beneath  his  feet.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  the  disingenuous  censure  which  Dr. 
Johnson  calls  "  oblique  praise,  having  all  the  invidiousness  of 
self-praise  and  all  the  reproach  of  falsehood."  Bishop 
Marvin  managed  the  sense  of  self-importance,  not  by  the 
faulty  and  vain  effort  to  extinguish  it,  but  to  regulate  it — 
according  to  the  ethics  of  Addison,  which  he  had,  perhaps, 
never   known  of,   but   exemplified:     "The  sense  of   self-- 


584  BISHOP  MAKVIX. 

importance  is  nii  universal  feeling.  Among  its  protean 
shapes  some  may  be  eriniinal  and  many  ridiculous  ;  but  tlie 
essence  of  the  thing  itself  is  entirely  compatible  with  the 
dignity  of  human  nature.  The  evil  is  not  in  the  sentiment, 
but  ia  the  perversion  of  it."  He  did  not  fall  into  the  snare, 
pointed  out  by  Burton — "  all  boasting  in  contempt  of  van- 
ity is  vanity  itself  ;"  nor  err,  as  Montaigne  has  admonished  : 
"  It  would  not  be  proper  for  a  man,  forfear  of  falling  binder 
the  sway  of  vanity,  to  err  on  the  other  side  (if  this  be  pos- 
sii)le)  and  think  less  of  himself  than  he  deserves.  He 
should  maintain  his  rank  in  his  own  conceit,  as  well  as  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world."  It  is  the  Pauline  ethics  "  to  think 
of  himself" — not  more  highly  than  he  ought  to  think,  but 
in«fact  and  justly  and  "according  to  the  measure  of  the 
gift  that  is  in  him." 

His  manhood,  both  of  nature  and  grace.  Bishop  Marvm 
honored  in  his  self-estimate  ;  but  held  it  free  from  alloy — 
the  littleness  of  vanity,  the  offense  of  pretension,  the  sin  of 
pride,  or,  in  the  pulpit,  the  crime  and  shame  of  self-seeking. 
Without  affectation,  he  was  without  pretension  in  the  pul- 
pit—the  crown  of  its  greatness,  its  humility.  It  was 
adorned  by  that  grace,  in  its  purity,  as  he  defined  it,  "un- 
conscious of  itself  or  distrusting  itself  ;"  and  in  its  beauty, 
as  another  has  classified  the  bright  and  fragrant  virtue,  "  it 
springs  out  of  the  ashes  of  pride  and  vanity  and  grows  on 
the  grave  of  selfishness."  In  his  literary  fame,  there  is 
DO  vain  conceit,  as  in  Watson,  the  Bishop  of  Llandaff, 
"  who  praised  his  books,  each  as  the  best  on  the  subject ;" 
nor,  as  a  pulpit  celebrity,  the  exigent  cry  of  Cicero— "  Onia 
we."  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  he  was  free  from  the 
lust  of  praise  ;  he  contemned  it.      He  despised  the  detected 

self-display. 

Of  even  a  literary  address,  at  a  college  commencement, 
in  a  manifest  assumption  and  attempted  show  of  smartness, 
he     said,    as    he     left    the    audience    of    the    pretentious 


AS     PREACHER.  585 

speaker — "  a  bushel  of  moonshine  !  "  It  is  remembered  by 
the  writer  how  warmly  he  admired  the  sermon  of  Dr.  Lovick 
Pierce  at  the  Memphis  General  Conference,  on  Paul's 
prophecy  and  portrait  of  an  Apostate  Church  and  a  corrupt 
ministry — particularly,  the  comment  on  the  "  itching  ear." 
More  is  to  be  said  than  that  he  shunned  that  vice  ;  he  ab- 
horred it,  and  on  occasion,  rebuked  it — once,  with  sharp 
wit  as  well  as  severe  reproof,  in  a  preacher  who  had  held 
forth  before  him  at  a  District  Conference.  The  preacher 
had  tried  in  vain,  by  all  the  arts  of  sly  approach,  to  got  at 
the  Bishop's  opinion  of  his  effort.  At  length,  in  despera- 
tion, he  ventured  on  a  more  direct  appeal.  It  ^yas  made  in 
the  hearing  of  quite  a  number  of  preachers,  one  of  whom 
reports  the  anxious  brother :  "Bishop,  your  presence  yes- 
terday scared  me.  I  am  naturally  timid.  The  fact  is,  I 
have  had  to  manufacture  all  the  brass  I  have,  since  I  com- 
menced preaching."  Looking  him  in  the  face,  the  Bishop 
replied:  "Well,  brother,  I  must  say  you  have  been  a  suc- 
cess— as  a  manufacturer.^'' 

Whatever  self-assertion  in  act,  or  self-esteem  in  thought, 
may  have  been  becoming  or  practiced  in  another  presence 
and  in  worldly  pursuits,  as  toward  God  and  in  handling  the 
sacred  mysteries  of  the  Gospel,  his  spirit  was  clothed  with 
humility.  He  trod  the  pav^ement  of  the  Lord's  House  with 
unsandaled  feet  and  touched  the  vessels  of  the  sanctuary 
with  reverent  fingers.  In  that  presence  the  most  seraphic 
of  the  pro[)hets,  in  self-estimate,  was  "a  man  of  unclean 
lips."  The  Chief  of  Apostles  said  for  all — "  not  that  we 
are  sufficient  of  ourselves.'*  In  prayer,  as  on  a  death  bed, 
a  man,  if  ever,  will  be  sincere.  In  closet  and  at  altar,  INIar- 
vin's  sermons  were  heralded  with  a  cry  for  help  ;  and  the 
plea  of  petition  was  the  divine  glory — according  as  it  is 
written,  "  Let  him  that  glorieth  glory  in  the  Lord."  His 
prayer  was  often  pathetic  in  deprecation,  "  lest  flesh  should 
glory  in  His  sight."     A   remarkable  instance  occurred  at 


586  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

the  point  of  greatest  public  interest  in  the  Marvin-Smarius 
debute,  and  when  his  fame  in  that  contest  had  cuhninated. 
The  audience  had  reached  its  largest  magnitude,  exhausting 
the  capacity  of  the  house.  It  may  be,  "  Satan  came  also  " 
— on  that  elevation,  showing  him  things  of  creature  benefit 
and  personal  pride  and  carnal  ambition.  A  correspondent 
reports  the  saying  of  the  prayer.  The  writer  remembers  it : 
"  O,  Lord!  make  thy  word  effective  to-night,  though  it 
should  involve  the  humiliation  of  thy  servant." 


CHAPTER     XXXI. 


THE     PEE  ACHING. 


Travel  in  order  to  preach — The  District  Conference — The  business  routine 
— Religious  services  prominent  —  The  preaching — His  pulpit  —  Its 
themes — Censor  and  reformer — A  Methodist  pulpit — A  Gospel  of  im- 
mortality— Revival  pulpit — Sketches  of  sermons— After-meetings — 
Teaching  by  parable— The  Texan  wife— The  scarred  hand — Christ  a 
rock — Tent-preachmg. 

^WYHE  General  Conference  at  which  Bishop  Marvin  was 
^l^^  made  Bishop  added  the  tenth  item  in  answer  to  the 
question,  What  are  the  duties  of  a  Bishop  ?  "To  travel  during 
the  year,  as  far  as  practicable,  through  the  Presiding  Eld- 
ers' Districts  which  may  be  included  in  his  Episcoi3al 
District,  in  order  to  preach  and  to  oversee  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  affairs  of  the  Church."  The  requirement  is  bound, 
also,  on  the  personal  conscience  by  ordination  vows,  and  en- 
forced by  statute  law,  under  penalty  so  extreme  as  condition 
of  tenure  of  office  :  "If  he  cease  from  traveling,  without 
the  consent  of  the  General  Conference,  he  shall  not  there- 
after exercise  the  Episcopal  office  in  our  Church." 

It  may  be  remarked  how  secure,  in  the  public  sentiment 
of  the  Southern  Church,  is  the  integrity  of  the  original 
Methodist  Episcopacy.  On  the  one  hand,  the  General  Con- 
ference is  inhibited,  by  Constitutional  restriction,  from 
doing  away  with  "the  plan  of  itinerant  General  Superin- 
tendency  ;"  on  the  other  hand,  in  its  legislation,  touching  it 


588  BISHOP  MAUVIN. 

only  to  guard  and  j^rotect  it — to  enjoin  it  as  duty,  and  hy 
positive  statute  compel  the  peifcn-nianee  of  the  office,  as 
Itinerant  Bishops  and  Chief  Pastors. 

At  the  next  General  Conference,  in  1870,  the  District 
Conference  was  constituted,  in  which  the  Presidency  hy  a 
Bishop  was  provided  for  and  impliedly,  to  the  extent  of  op- 
portunity, required.  The  history  of  experiment,  during 
eight  years,  has  justified  the  utility  of  that  measure  in  all 
the  respects  contem[)lated  and  claimed  for  it — as  an  addi- 
tional cord  in  the  connectional  bond  ;  as  an  instrument  of 
executive  admini&tration  ;  and,  also,  as  intended,  f()r  the 
wider  survey  and  more  intimate  inspection  of  Episcopal 
oversiirht. 

]\Iost  prominent  among  his  occupations  in  the  intervals 
of  the  Annual  Conference  was  the  District  Conference  ses- 
sions. Next  to  the  Annual  Conference,  he  prized  these 
assemblies  and  sought,  in  every  way,  to  impart  to  them  dig- 
nity and  value. 

In  a  lai-ge  measure,  the  history  is  parallel  with  that  of 
the  Annual  Conference  visitation.  Among  other  such 
thinfj:;s,  it  comes  into  view,  how  he  made  it  a  point  to  be  on 
time  at  the  opening,  and  both  practiced  and  insisted  on 
punctuality.  Not  allowing  unpunctuality  or  disappoint- 
ments in  himself,  ho  could  not  tolerate  it  in  others — not  in 
railroad  officers  nor  stage  agents  nor  his  brethren,  as  ap- 
pears from  his  CaliforniaDiary  under  date  January  23,  18G9, 
at  San  Jose,  not  sparing  one  he  loved  so  much  :  "  Am  dom- 
iciled with  my  old  friend.  Rev.  W.  F.  Compton.  Find  I 
was  expected  on  Friday  evening.  I  do  most  heartily  desire 
that  brethren  would  stop  this  way  of  making  appointments 
for  me  that  are  not  authorized  by  me,  or,  at  least,  if  they  do 
make  them,  let  me  know  the  fact."  To  reach  Colusa,  the 
seat  of  the  INIaryville  District  Conference,  he  had  traveled  in 
the  night,  arriving  there  at  "  ten  minutes  to  eleven  r.  m.," 
]\Iay  21st,  to    be    on  hand  for   the    Conference  next  day. 


THE    PREACHING.  589 

The  next  day  he  made  this  note  :  <'  Meeting  did  not  assem- 
ble in  the  morning  owing  to  the  fact  that  brethren  were  slow 
coming.     "When  will  our  people  learn  to  be  punctual  ?  " 

The  brother  who  writes  this  once  turned  the  cd^e  of  a 
sharp  rebuke  by  appeal  to  the  rule — "  do  everything  exact- 
ly at  the  time,"  and  his  habit  to  make  a  point  of  it.  The 
Bishop  will  hold  for  him  the  District  Conference  of  the  Old 
Salem  District,  at  Thomasville,  Oregon  Co.,  Mo.,  to  meet 
on  Wednesday,  at  nine  o'clock  a.  m.  On  Tuesday  morning 
we  are  sixty  miles  away.  The  road  gets  around* and  over 
the  Ozark  Hills,  and  crosses  tiie  Current  River  and  the 
Eleven  Points.  The  Presidmg  Elder  takes  the  reins  over  a 
good  team  hitched  to  a  stout  spring  wagon,  furnished  by 
Rev.  R.  Bradley.  "With  travel  after  night,  through  rain 
and  mud,  we  are  at  Eleven  Points,  at  the  house  of  Brother 
Shoemaker,  the  only  chance  for  shelter,  and  it  was  kind. 
Ten  or  twelve  miles  remain  for  the  morninir,  with  no  o:f)od 
road  except  on  the  ridge  approaching  Thomasville.  The 
driver  took  the  lines  about  fifty  miles  back  to  make  sure  of 
the  schedule  of  time,  and,  two  or  three  miles  off,  there  Avas 
no  hope  for  it  except  in  a  brisk  drive.  There  are  some 
stones  i.i  the  road.  The  wheel  strikes  one  ;  the  seat  of  the 
Bishop  is  dislodged  and  he  is  let  down,  and  narrowly  es- 
caped a  fall  backward  from  the  end  of  the  wagon.  "  What 
do  3'ou  mean?"  quickly  and  sharply,  began  a  rebuke,  cut 
short  by  a  quick  reply  :  "To  get  you  to  the  District  Confer- 
ence at  nine  o'clock."  He  was  satisfied,  at  least  when  he 
took  the  chair — on  time  ! 

The  line  of  travel  from  District  to  District  is  marked  by 
intervening  appointments  to  preach — in  many  cases,  i)icked 
up  i a  an  unexpected  sojourn,  and  the  village  church  bells 
the  only  previous  announcement.  There  is  the  same  pains- 
takinsrand  thorouiihness  with  the  business  routine.  Within 
the  scope  of  inquiry,  it  is  known  of  the  District  as  of  the 
Conference,    what  its  condition,  and  what  the  urgent  de- 


O90  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

mands  and  the  possibilities  of  the  situation  ;  and  in  the  one 
as  in  the  other  Conference,  under  the  guidance  and  inspira- 
tion of  his  speech  from  chair  and  phitform  and  pulpit,  there 
is  an  adjournment  to  fields  of  labor  for  higher  daring  and 
larger  consecration.  Especially  it  is  prominent  and  univer- 
sal in  that  history,  how  he  raised  the  spirituality  of  the 
smaller  as  of  the  larger  convocation,  impressing  on  it  his 
own.  The  closing  printed  record  of  Lexington  (Mo.)  Dis- 
trict Conference,  may  answer  for  an  hundred  occasions: 
"  Under  the  counsel  and  exhortation  of  the  Bishop,  we  have 
all  resolved  to  be  better  Christians,  and  to  try  to  do  more 
for  the  cause  of  the  Master." 

The  interest  to  himself  and  that  which  he  imparted  most 
decidedly,  was  in  connection  with  the  religious  services,  to 
which  it  is  required  prominence  shall  be  given,  and  which 
he  always  gave.  The  love-feasts  are  reported,  as  at  Lex- 
ino-ton,  "  glorious  ;"  the  sacrament,  as  in  the  mountains  of 
Montana,  and  as  it  was  in  the  house  at  Emmaus,  where 
Christ  was  made  known  in  the  breaking  of  bread,  "  never 
to  be  forootten."  His  preaching  was  abundant,  as  at  Sa- 
vannah (Mo.)  District,  in  1873— four  times  ;  and  there,  as 
everywhere,  reported  in  the  sentiment  of  a  layman:  "I 
have  heard  a  great  deal  of  preaching  about  the  Gospel ;  but 
Bishop  Marvm  preached  the  Gospel.''  The  Annual  Confer- 
ence pulpit,  in  the  report  of  it,  presents  him  chiefly  in  the 
view,  as  a  famous  preacher ;  the  District  Conference  pulpit 
discloses  the  Gospel  preacher.  In  the  one  connection  it  has 
been  said  what  the  powers  of  the  preacher  ;  it  remains  to  be 
said,  what  the  character  of  the  preaching. 

Under  the  four  divisions  of  the  Gospel-pulpit,  as  classi- 
fied by  Dr.  Vaughan,  many  sermons,  no  doubt,  will  be 
recalled — the  Gospel  of  quickening,  of  instruction,  of  con- 
solation, of  immortality.  One  of  his  constant  hearers  has 
said  :  "I  never  heard  him  without  learning  something.  He 
would  send  me  home  to  meditate,  to  read  the  Bible,  to  pray, 


THE  PREACHING.  591 

to  weep."  Salvation,  as  personal,  not  corporate,  was  a 
constant  theme — "Ye  must  be  born  again."  How  he 
guarded  the  door  of  the  sheepfold  against  sacramentarian- 
ism  in  uU  its  forms — "  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of 
the  flesh,  nor  of  man,  but  born  of  God."  How  he  feared 
and  dreaded  an  unregenerate  Church — the  carnal  spirit 
which  might  rend  the  flock  or  despoil  it  of  its  garments  of 
beauty  or  the  locks  of  its  strength.  The  pitiable  self-de- 
lusion and  the  terrors  of  the  final  renunciation  were  em- 
bodied in  his  sermon  on  the  parable  of  the  "  Ten  Virgins." 
In  the  West,  particularly,  with  the  influx  of  popuUition, 
there  was  a  concurrent  tide  of  ungodliness  and  infidelity, 
like  a  mighty  flood.  He  summoned  the  Church  to  the  wit- 
ness stand — "  Ye  are  my  witnesses."  It  is  an  age  and 
country  of  fortune-hunters.  Large  wealth  is  flowing  into 
the  Church  and  bringing  with  it  a  temptation  and  a  snare. 
He  has  related  it  as  an  observation  of  the  pew,  that,  once 
from  his  own  pulpit,  he  saw  a  Churchman,  pencil  in  hand, 
during  the  sermon,  making  commercial  calculations  upon  the 
surface  of  a  polished  boot.  If  that  observation  did  not  pro- 
duce the  sermon — "The  Rich  Fool" — it  inspirited  the 
facile  speech  of  his  description  of  mone3'-getting,  and  inspir- 
ed the  terrible  satire  of  his  denunciations  of  money-loving. 
Other  forms  of  worldliness,  pleasure-loving  and  pleasure- 
seeking,  the  frivolities  and  the  parade  of  fashion,  did  not 
escape  the  pastor's  eye  and  had  mention  in  the  preacher's 
pulpit.  In  the  instruction,  "  God  or  Mammon"  was  made 
alternative  ;  and  "  the  lover  of  pleasure  more  than  God" 
was  put  in  his  own  and  a  recognized  place.  The  speech  was 
plain  and  some  hearers  were  restive.  The  exhortation  was 
bold  and  sometimes  approached  the  indignation  of  protest, 
and  had  in  it  the  lash  of  the  scourge.  With  mingled  pity, 
but  undisguised  derision,  he  rebuked  the  "  enfleshed  "  spir- 
it— "  soul !  "  "  Eat,  drink."  The  whip  of  the  severest  invec- 
tive, known   to   his   hearers,    was   laid  upon   the   back  of 


592  BISHOP   MARVIN. 


money-changers  and  nionoy-lioarders  in  the  House  of  God.. 
Ko  pulpit,  more  than  his,  guarded  the  jiurity  of  the  Tem- 
ple and  the  sanctity  of  the  Altar.  IIispul[)it,  at  times  and  on 
occasion  for  it,  was  Censor  and  Kefornicr.  1'hcre  was,  as 
ill  t!ie  Ohl  Testament  ]\Iinistry,  the  "  cry  aloud  and  spare 
not  ;"'  and,  as  in  the  New,  in  the  preaching  of  the  Great 
Teacher,  woes  intermingled  with  beatitudes.  In  his  minis- 
try there  was  no  miinio  hattlc ;  the  sermon  "  lionestly 
shotted,"  not  "  a  blank  cartridge  tmd  fired  at  random." 
AVhatcvcr  courage  A\as  required  was  not  Avaiiting.  The 
prophet  of  the  Lamentations  needed  tiic  support  of  the  ad- 
monition "  not  to  1)0  dismayed  at  their  faces."  A  pertinent 
comment  is  in  the  saving  of  a  modern  divine,  himself  a 
fearless  preacher:  "  The  moment  }()U  begin  to  tremble  be- 
fore an  auditor,  you  are  gone.  Fear  God  always,  man 
never."  The  INIarvin-pliillipio  had  nerves  of  steel.  The 
assault  was  upon  sin,  not  in  the  abstract,  but  concrete  ;  and 
not  ui)ou  vices,  as  it  has  been  said,  transatlantic  and  anti- 
podal, but  present  and  embodied.  Wrong-doing  was  de- 
nounced in  the  presence  of  the  wrong-doers.  In  the  courage 
of  his  ])ulpit  as  in  the  fidelity  of  the  Pastor,  the  culprit  Avas 
jmt  not  in  the  third,  but  in  the  second  person — "thou  art 
the  man  ;"  and,  as  Horace  Greel(>y  described  the  pul[)it  of 
the  first  ]\Iethodist  preachers  on  American  soil:  "They 
fou""!it  no  dead  Satans."  The  attack  Avas  on  living  vices. 
Tlie  fire  was  aimed  to  hit.  The  nuirk  was  defined  unmistaka- 
bly in  the  nomenclature  of  aIcc.  On  one  occasion  called  to 
an  a<'C()unt  for  the  plainness  of  bold  and  severe  speech,  he 
rei)lied  :  "I  am  accustomed  to  call  thin^vs  by  their  riirht 
names."  In  bis  vocabulary,  from  the  first  to  the  tenth, 
each  commandment  stood  forth,  as  has  been  written,  in  hon- 
est nakedness  and  the  utterance  in  tones  of  Sinaitic  thunder 
and  with  the  toir^ue  of  the  liirhtning. 

K.J  <.  .  dJ 

The  expository  sermon   had  the   ]ihilosophical  tone  and 
logical  grasp  which  appear  in  his  printed  sermon — "  Do  we 


THE    PREACHING.  593 

make  void  the  law  throui>li  faith?"  Another  such  M^as 
"  The  parable  of  the  Talents  ;"  the  pul[)it  rallying  the  pew 
at  the  fields  of  enterprise  and  work,  emulous  of  the  activi- 
ties of  the  business  world  astir  all  around  him  and  jealous 
for  the  spiritual  thrift  which  might  enrich  the  Kingdom  of 
Christ. 

II is  discourse  was  a  Methodist  pulpit — the  privilege  of 
believers  "even  vour  sanctification  ;"  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit;  joy  in  the  IIol}^  Ghost.  The  doctrines  of  experi- 
mental rcliiiion  he  brou<2:ht  forth  from  the  truth  once 
delivered  to  the  saints.  Thev  tlamed  out  from  many  texts. 
The  otficc  of  the  Spirit  was  honored  and  glorified.  His  pul- 
l)it  was  a  Comforter:  "Wrestling  Jacob"  for  the  tried 
disciple — the  refuge  of  prayer  aiUl  the  triumph  of  weakness  ; 
and  for  the  fearful,  weak  in  faith,  "  The  Kiii'ht  Passajre  of 
the  Gallilee."  The  powers  of  the  world  to  come  came 
down  upon  the  preacher  and  were  delivered  on  the  pew.  As 
in  the  "  Sowing  to  Flesh  and  Spirit,"  or  "  The  Drag  Net," 
or  "  Tares  and  Wheat  " — thehomiletic  discourse  went  from 
his  pulpit  labeled  :   "  Character  Makes  Destiny." 

The  finger-board  in  the  sermon  pointing  to  the  path  of 
duty  or  in  the  way  of  self-denial,  had  alongside  of  it  an  up- 
ward fin^^er  ijoint  to  the  final  reward  and  the  o;reat 
recompense.  It  was  a  Gospel  of  immortality.  The  pier- 
head anchorage  of  Hope — as  he  described  it,  cabled  by  two 
immutable  thiniis,  many  a  heart  felt  the  sensible  draw 
Heavemvard.  His  "Earnest  of  Spirit  "  brought  Heaven 
down.  The  last  sermon  he  preached  at  Centenary  was  an 
old  theme — "  the  Entrance  within  the  gates  into  the  City." 
Often  there  was  a  jjarted  sky  and  a  returning  Lord,  coming 
a  second  time  "  without  siu  unto  salvation."  It  is  an  old 
and  well  preached  Gospel  of  the  Methodist  pulpit.  The  last 
survivor,  ]\Irs.  Susanna  Jarvis,  of  Kilmington,  England, 
amoni;  the  converts  of  Wesley's  preaching,  it  is  said,  died 
on  Thursday,  December  9th,  1869,  at  the  age  of  ninety-four 


5U4  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

years.  Her  last  words  were  the  "We  know  "  of  Paul  and  his 
converts  (2  Cor.  v.  I.) — the  Tent-sojourn  and  the  Temple- 
life.  Wherever  he  went  he  found  old  Mothers  in  Israel, 
as  in  the  St.  Louis  Churches  ;  some,  as  he  said,  who  went 
to  Heaven  under  the  old  Methodist  bonnet.  Their  saintly 
faces  were  an  ins[)iration  to  his  sermons ;  and,  as  ho 
preached,  they  often  saw  the  light-house  at  the  harbor. 
Often  they  feasted  on  grapes  of  Eschol  and  the  grasp  on  the 
pilgrim's  staff  tightened.  At  last,  when  they  went  from 
his  pulpit  to  the  Jordan,  they  recognized  the  fords  and  knew 
the  places  of  the  stepping-stones.  On  the  other  side  the 
glory  was  not  a  strange  landscape. 

His  preaching  was  a  revival  pulpit.  It  was  often  "  very 
tempestuous  round  about."  His  meetings  were  spirited  and 
jul)ilant.  But  emotion  must  have  good  foundation.  He 
discriminated  what  is  spiritual  joy.  The  happy  after- 
meetins:  was  not  born  of  sensationalism — neither  the  shout 
of  Zion  nor  the  joy  of  the  new  convert.  The  altar  scenes 
came  out  of  thorough  altar  work — that  well  looked  after  ; 
and  all  preceded  by  sound  pulpit  work — the  sui)stantial  ser- 
mon, with  exhortation  as  an  accompaniment  but  not 
substitute.  He  preached — the  revival  seruKMi  a  full,  round 
discourse  ;  the  text  expounded,  the  topic  discussed,  exhorta- 
tion following,  founded  upon  the  truth  vindicated,  and, 
hence,  powerful  in  appeal.  The  aroused  sensibilities  were 
both  quick  and  abiding,  as  rooted  in  conviction. 

Sermons  in  his  pulpit  of  awakening  will  never  be  for- 
gotten— to  multitudes  the  starting  point  of  return  to  God. 
Many,  no  doubt,  have  gone  away  from  it  not  captive,  l)ut 
carrying  away  the  thrust  of  a  wound  which  time  has  not 
healed.  It  gave  special  prominence  to  the  terrors  of  the 
Lord — the  pulpit  of  Sinai.  The  divine  administration  is 
penal — "  The  wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell."  The  struc- 
ture of  the  sermon  is  simple.  It  is  possible  there  is  a  hell ; 
it  is  probable  there  is  a  hell :  if  the    Word  of  God  is  true, 


THE    PREACHING.  595 

hell  is  a  certainty.  The  first  division  is  dispatched  briefly 
with  scarcely  more  than  the  single  thought,  the  very  Avords 
— the  possibility  can  not  be  denied  by  us  who  can  look  so 
short  a  distance  along  the  line  of  infinite  possibilities.  It  is 
enough.  Attention  is  secured.  Unconcern  is  disturbed. 
The  arrested  look  beholds  God  arrayed  in  the  majesty  of 
his  moral  perfections.  The  Bible  is  not  yet  opened.  He 
reasons.  The  Infinite  One — He  can  not  be  half  a  God  ;  He 
€an  not  be  self-contradictory.  Purity  conies  into  view 
clothed  in  spotless  robes.  Justice  discloses  its  stern  and  in- 
violable mien.  There  is  both  a  providential  and  a  moral 
government.  All  analogy  notifies  it.  In  the  perspective 
there  is  an  incensed  Lawgiver  vindicatino:  the  insulted 
honors  of  his  law  ;  a  righteous  Judge  raised  up  out  of  his 
holy  habitation  to  defend  the  right.  The  oppressed  have  a 
comforter  and  avenger — if  not  in  time,  at  length.  It  is 
2)robable  there  is  a  Hell.  There  is  a  Hell.  It  is  the  word 
of  God — the  first  word  and  the  last  word  of  revelation. 
The  first  preacher  and  the  Great  Teacher  taught  it.  The 
symbols  are  fearful — the  undying  worm,  the  smoke  of  tor- 
ment, the  second  death.  The  imagery  is  terrific  in  both  the 
symbols  and  the  sweep  of  description — the  federative  curse 
IJronounced  at  the  gates  of  a  lost  Eden  ;  Sinai  ablaze  with 
typical  terrors;  the  coming  Judge  and  the  Throne  set  and 
the  Books  opened.  The  earth  burnt  up  and  all  things  that 
are  therein  is  a  literal  conflagration.  "  The  internal  fires  of 
our  globe  may  be  the  torch  already  kindled  to  set  the  world 
on  fire  " — so  he  said.  The  lake  of  fire  is  a  material  flame. 
There  is  a  gnawing  worm  of  remorse  for  the  soul.  There  is 
for  the  material  man  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched.  Hell  is  a 
certainty.  The  wicked  shall  be  "turned  into  it."  The 
being  and  the  perfections  of  God,  the  power  and  glory  of 
His  government,  assure  it.  It  is  certified  by  prophecy.  It 
is  history — Dives.  To  the  coming  multitude  and  the  na- 
tions  crowding  the  way  to  Hell,   there  is  a  voice  of  protest 


596  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

and  II  word  of  wani'mg — "Come  not  to   this  place  of  tor- 
ment." 

The  foregoing  sketch  is  copied  from  a  distinct  and  indel- 
ible memory  of  the  text  and  sermon,  heard  by  the  writer 
three  times — the  tirst,  at  the  session  of  the  St.  Louis  Con- 
ference, in  BoonviHe,  in  1857  ;  the  last  time,  at  its  session 
at  Charleston,  in  1873,  Bishop  AVightnian  presiding.  The 
members  of  that  Conference  have  marked  the  occasion  as  a 
modern  sample  of  the  Old  Methodist  pulpit — the  visiting 
Bishop  preaching  in  the  power  of  the  ancient  pulpit  of 
awakenmg,  and  the  presiding  Iiishop  following  in  fervid  ex- 
hortation, and  both  on  their  knees  l>y  the  side  of  the  peni- 
tents at  the  mourners'  bench,  pointing  smitten  souls  to  the 
Cross.  Several  of  the  old  and  prominent  citizens  of  Charles- 
ton, added  to  the  Church  and  added  to  the  Lord,  are  the 
livinir  witnesses  and  the  abiding  fruits  of  that  ni«:ht's  work. 

Another  such  sermon  was  preached  in  St.  Louis,  at 
First  Church — the  *' Anathema  Maranatha  "  hurled  from 
his  pulpit,  now  planted  on  Zion's  Hill.  He  has  described 
the  [)ath  to  Calvary  from  the  l)osom  of  God  by  the  way  of 
the  manger  and  through  the  Garden  to  the  Cross — Christ, 
the  Lord,  introduced  by  the  Angels  and  despised  and  re- 
jected of  men.  The  God-^lan,  tiie  son  of  (iod  and  Mary's 
child,  without  sin  in  him  and  none  on  him  except  the  siu  of 
the  world,  the  promise  of  the  Father,  Sovereign  and  Sa- 
vior— not  to  receive,  not  to  worship,  nor  obey,  nor  serve, 
not  to  love  Him,  the  despisers  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross 
typed  the  guilt  and  the  shame  of  the  rejection,  the  consum- 
mate outrage,  and  the  certainty  and  desert  of  the  woe.  The 
dreadful  anathema  is  re-echoed  in  the  voice  of  all  men  and 
all  An^i^els.  The  verdict  and  assent  of  the  assembled  uui- 
verse  pronounces  :   "  Let  him  be  accursed  !  " 

U[)on  a.  simihir  l)ack-ground  of  bhuikness  of  darkness,  a 
sermon  at  the  same  Chiiicli  pictured  the  hope  and  glory  of 
Salvation — the  torment  and    the    comfort.     His  pictures  of 


THE  PREACHING.  597 

niaiisiou  and  gate  ;  of  rags  and  robes,  the  loaf  and  the  crumb, 
the  good  things  and  the  evil  things,  can  not  be  copied  ;  nor 
the  tremendous  reversal  of  eartlilj  history  in  eternal  desti- 
nies :  the  colloquy  across  the  impassable  gulf,  the  quench- 
less thirst,  the  pang  of  memory,  the  fruitless  prayer — a  lost 
human  spirit  as  an  intruder  in  Hell  and  its  torment  bewail- 
ing companionship  ;  on  the  other  side,  the  company  of  the 
redeemed,  Abraham's  bosom,  giving  welcome  to  the  un- 
buried  Lazarus,  "  whom,"  he  said,  "  Angels  had  picked  up 
on  the  road-side  of  earth."  He  appealed  to  the  hopes  and 
fears  of  men,  avowedly  ;  sometimes  a  point  in  the  appeal  to 
be  governed  by  these  principles  in  religion  as  in  everything 
else — not  a  weakness,  but  wisdom,  to  heed  the  signals  of 
danger  and  to  steer  by  the  beacon  lights  on  a  dangerous 
coast.  The  sound  of  alarm,  especially,  was  his  chief  instru- 
ment for  awakening.  Awakened  and  alarmed,  his  pulpit 
was  a  Gospel  of  guidance,  and  comfort,  and  cure. 

In  all  the  Gospels  of  his  pulpit,  he  preached  Christ.  In 
185 —  he  assisted  the  pastor,  J.  H.  Ileadlee,  in  a  meeting 
at  Jefferson  City.  The  officers  of  State  were  among  his 
constant  and  admiring  hearers.  He  had  been  preaching  the 
old  themes  of  his  own  and  the  Apostolic  pulpit — sin  and 
salvation.  Talked  over,  perhaps,  at  a  Cabinet  meeting,  the 
name  of  Governor  Sterling  Price  heads  the  seductive  writ- 
ten request  to  preach  on  some  popular  theme.  That  night 
— "Come  let  us  reason  together:  sins  red  like  crimson 
made  whiter  than  snow."  It  is  Christ,  Author  and  Preacher 
of  the  Gospel :  the  need  and  sufficiency  of  Christ :  Christ, 
the  Atoning  Sacrifice  and  the  sin-pardoning  God.  The 
peroration — "  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead."  Says  the 
pastor:  ''He  cU)Scd  with  the  most  powerful  appeal  to  the 
unconverted  I  ever  heard." 

He  preached  Christ — "the  way,  the  truth,  the  life;" 
Him  only,  fully,  savingh'.  Christ  was  offered  freely,  but 
not  unconditionally  ;  nor  without  an  agony   in  the  seeking. 


598  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

as  ill  tlic  sacrifice.  There  was  neither  theoretical  uiiiversal- 
ism  nor  practical  antinomianism  in  his  pulpit.  In  its 
teaching,  as  in  the  evangelical  narrative,  the  ministry  of 
John  preceded  the  heraldry  of  Jesus.  The  awakening  wa& 
o-eneral  lu  the  congregation  and  deep  in  the  penitents  at  the 
altar — "  the  mourners'  bench."  He  cherished  that  Institu- 
tion of  Methodist  revivalism  ;  not  because  of  inherent 
virtue,  but  the  conventional  value  of  it.  He  preferred  the 
Methodist  terminology  to  the  modern  "  stand-up."  As  uii^ 
derstood  in  Methodist  speech  it  had  a  doctrinal  import — 
mourninir  before  comfort.  It  had,  also,  an  exi)erimental 
value — "  the  come  out  from  among  them,"  in  a  visible  sep- 
aration and  a  public  profession,  more  scriptural  and  self- 
crucifying,  than  the  latter-day  and  easy,  if  not,  also, 
sometimes  nonchalant  and  sly,  "  hold  up  your  hand."  It 
meant  earnestness  ;  even  more  than  seeking — striving.  If 
"  pricked  in  their  hearts,"  the  penteco^tal  cry,  also  :  "  Men 
and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?  "  and  as  in  the  history  of  a 
still  more  ancient  evangelism  :  "Oh,  tnat  I  knew  where  I 
mi"-ht  find  him  !  "  The  methods  of  other  Churches  he  did 
not  oppose,  nor  did  he  denounce  those  of  the  late  extraor- 
dinary Evangelical  movement  which  extended  over  the  land. 
In  various  places,  and  particularly  in  St.  Louis,  he  joined  in 
it.  He  recognized  its  validity  as  a  Avork  of  God  and  re- 
joiced 111  its  progress  of  triumph.  In  Gamalic'-like  wisdom, 
though  he  did  not  prefer,  ho  did  not  decrv-  its  'aiethods,  as- 
being,  perhaps,  necessary  incidents  of  an  anomalous  history. 
He  even  conformed  to  them  as  the  order  of  the  service  in 
which  he  joined,  and  in  wise  subserviency  to  the  contribu- 
tion of  his  infiuence  to  honor  a  manifest  presence  of  the 
Divine  Spirit  in  a  Great  Awakening  of  the  Churches.  Per- 
chance, it  was  the  Spirit,  "  as  blowing  where  it  listeth,''  and 
working  a  godly  sorrow  and  a  divine  renewal  without  ordi- 
nary methods,  as  it  is  independent  of  all  means.  In  the 
later  history  of  the  movement,  and  as  it  might  fall  into  dif- 


THE    PREACHING.  599 

ferent  hands,  now  and  then,  and  here  and  there,  the 
unguarded  tendencies  to  antinomianisni  wouhl  be  found,  as 
might  be  expected,  and  as  Rutherford  terms  it,  "  laying 
bastard  foundations,"  On  the  whole  and  for  ordinary  use, 
the  Methodist  method  he  approved  as  the  more  excellent 
way.  He  adopted  it  from  first  to  last — at  the  school-house 
on  the  Monticello  Circuit  and  at  the  altar-place  of  the  most 
costly  and  elegant  city  Church.  His  method  and  its  value 
are  illustrated  in  an  anecdote  of  a  New  York  City  Methodist 
pastor,  iu  the  succession  of  Captain  Webb's  pulpit,  but  set- 
tins:  aside  the  mourners'  bench,  in  receivin<2;  members.  He 
soon  found  that  the  world  was  running  away  Avith  his 
•Church.  He  carried  his  trouble  to  one  of  the  old  Bishops, 
Hedding  or  Waugh,  who  replied  :  "  Bench  'em,  sir  !  Bench 
'em,  sir !  " 

A  striking  characteristic  of  Bishop  Marvin's  preaching, 
too  prominent  to  be  over-looked,  was  that  he  spoke  hy  par- 
ables. He  had  great  fondness  and  facility  in  exposition  of 
the  Lo'xFs  parables,  and  his  own  discourse  was  in  much 
embellished  and  pointed  by  illustration  drawn  from  the 
forms  nf  nature  and  events  of  life  occurring  under  his  own 
observytion.  The  description  was  fine  drawing  and  beauti- 
ful coloring.  The  application  was  apparent  and  of  ten  over- 
whelmingly effective — the  illustration,  as  has  been  written, 
letting  light  in  upon  the  subject  of  discourse,  as  a  window 
lets  light  into  a  room  ;  and  the  effect,  men  perceiving  that 
he  spoke  of  them.  It  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  illustra- 
tion Hs  he  told  and  applied  it,  that  it  let  light,  also,  into  the 
soul  of  the  speaker,  disclosing  at  the  same  time  the  preacher 
and  his  theme.  Two  such  illustrative  narratives  have  been 
preserved  in  memory  of  a  hearer  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 
Rev.  "VV.  K.  Boyle,  and  recorded  by  his  pen.  They  have  been 
heard  from  the  lips  of  Bishop  Marvin  by  a  thousand  ears,  and 
have  animated  many  hearts.  The  record  will  be  welcomed 
on  this  page,  illustrating  both  the  preacher  and  the  preach- 
ing : 


fiOO  JilSIIOP   MARVIN. 

My  recollection  of  the  incidents  yon  refer  to  is  clear  enough,  and  I  can 
give  you  the  leading  facts,  and  will  do  so,  althougii  in  doing  so  I  shall  spoil 
in  my  own  mind  a  certain  strange  sense  of  l)eauty  and  powiT,  which  I  al- 
ways have  felt  when  recurring  to  them.  You  know  you  can  not  put  your 
impressions  nito  narrative;  and  if  you  try  it,  the  result  seems  tame  and 
spiritless.  You  will  h.nc  to  imagine  the  action,  the  glow,  the  almost 
transfigured  countenance  of  the  now  glorilied  man,  and  the  marvelous  del- 
icacy and  balance  of  the  story  when  poured  forth  from  "  the  touched  " 
lips.    The  "  scarred-hand  "  narrative  was  about  thus : 

The  clothing  of  a  young  lady  accidentally  caught  flre;  her  out-cries 
brought  her  father  promptly  to  the  spot,  and  by  dint  of  much  exertion  she 
was  by  him  saved  from  a  fearful  death,  and  even  from  distiguremcnt.  The 
father,  however,  was  fearfully  burned,  and  his  hands  when  cured  showed 
fearful  scars  and  were  deformed.  Often  when  sitting  together  the  daugh- 
ter was  noticed  in  the  act  of  caressing  these  hands,  an'd  they  seemed 
always  more  attractive  to  her  than  her  father's  face,  for  their  very  scars 
told  of  his  devotion  and  his  love.  After  some  time  he  died,  and  when  she 
came  to  look  for  the  last  time  on  the  form  of  her  almost  idolized  father, 
she  leaned  ovi'r  and  kissed,  not  the  cold  lips,  but  the  scarred  hands.  I 
;nust,  however,  leave  .von  to  till  u])  the  application  as  he  then  referred  to  a 
"sacred  scarred  hand,"  so  wounded  for  ns,  and  his  apostrophe  to  it  can 
not  be  written. 

The  story  about  the  j'oung  Texan  wife  ran  al)()ut  thus: 
Just  before  tlu'  war  a  young  girl,  inexperienced  and  untried,  graduated 
at  a  certain  Seminary  and  came  back  to  her  Texan  home,  where  she  was 
soon  wfui  and  wed  by  a  noble  young  man.  Very  soon  the  fearful  war  be- 
gan, and,  true  to  his  love  of  country,  he  told  the  bride  of  a  few  numths 
that  lie  felt  it  his  duty  to  join  the  army.  Almost  heart-broken,  she  replied  : 
'- 1  can  not  detain  you,  when  duty  calls  so  loudly."  Before  leaving  he  told 
her  what  he  wished  her  to  do  in  the  management  of  his  large  estate.  He 
was  gone  for  a  long  period,  and  Bishop  Marvin  accompanied  him  home 
and  was  a  witness  to  their  joyful  meeting.  Next  day  she  said:  "I  must 
give  an  acconul  of  my  stewardship."  A  care  which  had  given  her  many 
an  anxious  thought,  and  which  was  full  of  dilliculty  and  perplexity  to  one 
so  unused  to  business.  The  Bishoi)  watched  tlu;  scene  closely.  Tliey  sat 
at  a  table  apart,  while  she  produced  a  bundle  of  p;ipers  and  began  a  most 
minute  explanation  of  affairs.  He  <iuestioned  her  closely,  was  very  rigid 
in  his  scrutiny,  and  showed  on  his  face  no  sign  of  his  thoughts,  while  she 
watched  him  with  an  interest  Aviiirli  was  painful  to  behold.  Finally,  as 
if  hungry  for  at  least  his  approbation,  she  said  :  "  What  do  you  think  of  it 
all?"  And  looking  suddenly  in  her  face,  he  said:  "You  have  done  as 
well  as  I  could  have  done."  On  which  she  threw  her  arms  around  him, 
and  with  a  eonvul>ive  cry,  sobbed  on  liis  breast  for  joy.  Days,  weeks, 
mouths,  she  had  labored  steadily  on  for  the  reward  of  his  approbation,  and 


THE    PREACHING.  001 

■when  it  came,  pent-up  feelings  could  no  longer  be  restrained,  and  there 
■was  a  delirium  of  joy.  So  -will  it  be,  my  brethren,  to  us  when  after  our 
toil  is  over,  we  shall  hear  the.  Master  say  :  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servants." 

Both  of  these  incidents  produced  a  profound  sensation,  and  tears  and 
smiles  were  on  all  faces. 

A  seiinoii  on  "  The  Lord  is  my  Eock  "  (Ps,  xviii.  42)  has 
been  often  heard  from  his  lips.  He  preached  it  the  hist 
time,  perhaps  it  was,  at  the  Marvin  Camp-ground,  ni  St. 
Louis  County,  in  August,  187ti,  just  on  the  eve  of  his  de- 
parture for  China.  It  made  the  Pentecost  of  the  meeting. 
His  son,  Fielding,  has  sketched  the  sermon  and  its  effect : 

The  discourse  opened  with  remark  upon  the  Rock  as  a  barren  thing  in 
itself  but  a  fruitful  metaphor.  The  first  and  leadiug  thought  was  the  sta- 
bilitj'  of  the  foundation,  when  the  character  and  hopes  of  men  are  built 
upon  Christ.  No  character  rests  on  a  lirra  basis  unless  settled  on  God. 
Christ  must  be  reached  before  perfect  safety  can  be  realized.  Sin  and 
passion  and  spiritual  pride  must  be  dug  through.  The  Lord's  teaching  in 
the  parable  of  the  two  houses,  built  respectively  upon  the  sand  and  upon 
the  rock,  was  used  as  proof-text,  and  with  powerful  effect.  The  founda- 
tion will  be  tested.  Man  must  be  cleansed  from  sin  or  lost.  Man  mus'; 
abandon  sin  or  hope.  Christ's  Kingdom  will  remain  when  the  Heavens 
are  shaken.  When  the  universe  is  diasolved  those  who  have  put  their 
trust  in  Christ  will  survive  in  glory. 

The  same  general  thought  was  enlarged  and  put  in  different  and 
striking  postures  in  connection  with  the  xises  of  the  Rock  as  a  munition  of 
defense.  It  was  illustrated  by  ancient  warfare — the  protection  of  the 
mountain  fastnesses  and  the  security  of  the  munition  of  rocks.  The  air 
might  be  full  of  devils,  but  behind  the  rocks  there  was  safety. 

The  work  of  Christ  was  illustrated  by  the  Rock  as  a  source  of  supply 
of  water  in  a  desert  land.  The  smitten  rock  in  the  wilderness  was  Christ's 
pierced  hands  and  feet  and  the  rent  in  his  side.  The  perennial  fountain 
always  comes  from  the  deepest  fissure  iu  the  Rock. 

In  the  simile  of  the  Rock  as  a  shelter — "  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  In 
a  wearj^  land" — he  related  an  incident  of  his  travel  in  illustration.  He  had 
taken  refuge  from  an  impending  storm  under  the  over-hanging  rock  in  the 
side  of  a  high  cliff.  Presentl}^  he  observed  a  moth  escaping  from  the  wind 
and  entering  the  same  retreat — "a  covert  from  the  storm  and  a  hiding- 
place  from  the  tempes-t."  It  is  a  weary  land.  There  is  trouble  and  sor- 
row.    But  Christ  is  our  Rock. 

After  going  through  the  main  analysis  of  his  discourse,  he  was  appar- 
ently closing.     He  rejoiced  iu  the   security  given  by  the  rock — Christ, 


G02  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

dwelling:  on  thoiichts  like  these :  "When  the  universe  is  dissolved,  and 
worlds  are  dashing  ajjainst  each  other,  then  the  Lord,  my  liock,  keeps  me 
safe  from  harm."  He  said  to  Father  Gay :  "  And  in  the  deftris  of  ruined 
worlds  God  will  search  me  out  and  bring  me  home  if  he  has  to  leave  you  a. 
thousand  years  in  Heaven  to  And  me."  After  some  minutes  of  speaking^ 
in  this  style  he  paused,  and,  as  I  thought,  had  closed.  He  repeated  the 
lines  "  Rock  of  ages  clef  t  forme,  let  me  hide  myself  in  thee,"  which  I 
supposed  was  intended  to  bL'  sung,  but  the  very  utterance  of  the  words  in- 
spired him  with  such  fervor  and  eloquence  as  I  think  I  have  never  heard. 
He  began  to  walk  the  pulpit,  saying:    "  Yes — 

'  Rock  of  ages  cleft  for  me,  let  me  hide  myself  in  thee ;' 
When  I  look  into  my  own  heart  and  see  its  corruption — 
When  my  sins  rise  up  before  me  and  threaten  to  destroy  me — 
Tlien,  oh,  theu,  '  Rock  of  ages  cleft  for  me,  let  me  hide  myself  in  thee;* 
When  friends  and  kindred  are  taken  from  me  and  grief  overwhelms  me. 
Then  '  Rock  of  ages  cleft  for  me,  let  me  hide  myself  in  thee ;' 
And  wlien  my  own  hour  comes  and  loved  ones  weep  around  me. 
And  gazing  fondiy  on  me,  they  pass  from  my  failing  sight, 
And  when  I  know  thafc  in  five  minutes  I  must  stand  before  my  Creator — 
Tlien,  oh,  then,  'Rock  of  ages  cleft  for  me,  let  me  hide  myself  in  thee.'  " 

He  sat  down.  Dr.  Lucky,  of  California,  had  been  appointed  to  close 
with  an  exhortation.  The  Doctor  arose  and  so  stated,  but  said  he,  any- 
thing I  couia  say  would  detract  from  what  you  have  heard.     Let  us  sing — 

"  Rock  of  ages  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee." 

The  following  incident  of  "Tent-preaching"  in  the 
City  of  St.  Louis  is  contril)uted  hy  an  attached  young 
friend.  It  contanis  n  testniiony  which  may  appropriately 
close  this  chapter : 

Shortly  before  his  departure  for  his  foreign  missionary  tour  he  con- 
sented to  preach  at  the  "Tent"  on  Washington  Avenue,  Avhere  a  Mission 
had  been  established  by  some  young  men.  He  api)eared  very  weak,  and 
his  voice  was  quite  feeble  ;  but  he  preached.  His  tlieme  was  the  Conver- 
sion of  Zaccheus.  He  dwelt  with  great  pathos  upon  the  condescension  of 
Jesus.  All  hearts  were  melted.  In  the  midst  of  this  train  of  thought,  he 
raised  his  eyes  and  hands  towards  Heaven  and  i)Uad  with  the  Savior  to 
look  down  from  the  skies,  as  he  had  looked  up  from  tlie  dust  and  turmoil 
of  earth  to  Zacclieus,  and  send  peace  to  some  troubled  heart.  Never, 
never  can  I  forget  the  scene,  his  manner,  the  tones  of  his  voice.  The 
throne  of  intercession,  it  seemed,  was  open  to  his  rapt  gaze.  He  saw  the 
Infinite  pity  and  reflected  it  upon  the  souls  of  the  congregation. 

He  led  the  "  Praise  Meeting"  following  the  sermon.     During  that  ex- 


THE    PREACHING.  603 

ercise  a  gentleman  rose  and  said:  "  A  party  of  tourists  in  the  Alps 
stopped  on  the  summit  of  tlie  mountains,  and  their  guide,  taking  a  silver 
trumpet,  sounded  several  blasts  upon  it.  The  echoes  reverberated  among 
the  crags  like  distant  music.  I  have  heard  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to- 
day. ■  It  has  been  sounded  through  a  beautiful  silver  trumpet,  and  its^ 
echoes  are  still  lingering  in  my  heart." 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT 

Intervals  of  Conference  sessions— A  Bishop's  Circuit— Headquarters  in 
the  field- Extra  official  labors — A  Mason  and  Odd  Fellow — Addresses 
— Tmnperance  advocate— A  debate — Lectures — Church  dedications — 
The  Church  domiciled— Church-builder — The  House  of  Worship  at 
Sedalia — At  Mexico — At  Memphis — The  modern  Ilaggai — Protestant- 
ism and  architecture — The  Cathedral  Church  of  Southern  Methodism 
—  Dedication  at  Brownsville — An  example — At  New  3<lorence — "No 
debt" — The  collection — Nerve  force — Dedication  sermons — Money 
value — Conservatism  of  real  estate  title — Camp  meetings — Monroe 
camp-ground — "  The  Marvin  Camp  "—Red  Oak — Seashore  Encamp- 
ment— Wesley  Grove — Preaching  tour — Pleasant  Hill  to  Neosho — 
College  commencements — Books — "Hard   at  work  and  liappj- in  it." 


cfj 


N  tlie  distribution  of  Ei)iscopal  oversight  among  the  Bish- 
^  ops,  HI  the  usual  fact,  the  holding  of  sessions  of  Annual 
Conferences  occupies  each  only  about  one-fourth  of  the 
year.  As  to  the  intervening  time,  there  is  l)oth  o})portu- 
nity  and  requirement  of  labors  more  abundant. 

The  extraordinary  increase,  during  the  last  decade,  in 
the  facilities  of  travel,  has  enlarged  the  f)pportunity  with 
the  augmentnig  demand  for  Episcoi)al  lal)ors — in  the  fall 
and  wmter  the  Animal  Conference,  and  the  District  Confer- 
ence for  sprmg  and  summer  work.  Tlie  crevices  of  time 
are  filled  up  ni  one  season,  and  another,  with  Church  dedi- 
cations and  protracted  services,  with  camp  meetings  and 
Colleoe  commencements.  With  the  segment  of  a  continent 
for  a  circuit,    the  whole   round    of     the    year    is     circled 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  605 

"With  {ippointments,  official  and  of  choice.  In  -svliatcver 
fragments  of  time  there  may  be  for  a  seat  at  the  Episcopal 
bureau  at  the  Bishop's  home — "besides  all  this,  that  which 
Cometh  daily,  the  care  of  all  the  Churches,"  In  the  sum  and 
the  multiform  character  of  EiDiscopal  charge  and  service, 
the  Bishops,  among  the  Avhole  body  of  laborers  in  the  itin- 
erant ministry,  are  at  the  same  time  most  honored  and 
loved,  and  the  most  traveled,  most  homeless,  hardest 
worked.     Headquarters  is  in  the  field. 

Jn  such  lal)ors  and  cares,  Bishop  Marvin  was  ready  as 
the  most  will  in2:,  and  abreast  with  the  foremost:  recomiized 
by  his  colleagues  as  a  strong  burden-bearer  and  a  true  yoke- 
fellow ;  and  in  the  eve  of  the  Church  maouiifvins;  his  office. 
It  was  seen  and  felt,  as  he  discharged  it,  in  his  personal 
force,  in  the  authority  of  individuaV character,  and,  without 
invidiousness,  it  may  be  added,  having  larger  opportuni- 
ties, in  a  greater  measure  than  customary  performance,  it 
was  signalized  in  the  extent  of  his  travels  and  the  breadth 
of  his  labors. 

There  is  much  labor  not  distinctively  Episcopal,  in 
which  Bishops  are  a  law  unto  themselves  ;  as  of  choice  or, 
at  most,  obliged  only  by  the  law  of  usage  or  the  proprieties 
of  eminent  position.  In  amount,  the  aggregate  is  large ; 
in  variety,  the  occasions  are  endlessly  multifarious.  Besides 
for  enterprises  and  institutions  directly  and  strictly  ec- 
clesiastical, there  is  constant  and  clamorous  demand  for 
advocacy  of  measures  of  social  reform,  and  for  the  patron- 
age of  powerful  speech  in  behalf  of  institutions,  which  are 
allied  to  religion.  The  powers  and  popularity  of  Bishop 
Marvin  marked  him  out  conspicuously  as  a  servant  to  such 
occasions.  He  Avas  both  Odd  Fellow  and  Mason — here  an 
invitation  from  a  friend  and  admirer  to  attend  the  Odd 
Fellow  celebration  at  Fulton,  Mo.,  June,  1871  :  another  let- 
ter of  pressing  urgency  for  the  Masonic  address  at  Wentz- 
ville.       One  of  his  colleagues,  the  Secretary  of  the  College 


606  lilSIIOr    MARVIN. 

of  Bishops,  hi  a  tour  of  Arkansas  resolved  not  to  eat  chick- 
en in  any  of  the  places  of  his  sojourn.  At  all,  of  course, 
there  was  chicken  ;  fried,  broiled,  smothered,  but  chicken. 
Constant  and  dogged  refusal  brought  to  light  his  secret  re- 
solve. So  it  is  reported  ;  and  when,  in  addition,  it  was 
learned  that,  besides,  he  was  not  a  Mason,  the  astonishment 
was  complete  and  he  was  considered  a  most  remarkal)le 
Methodist  preacher.  Bishop  INIarvin  was  a  Mason — not 
much  at  work  in  the  Lod<re,  l)ecause  so  much  at  work  in  his 
vocation  in  life  ;  but  he  held  in  respect  the  bond  of  that 
brotherhood,  and  was  both  sought  after  and  ready  for  rep- 
resentative presence  and  speech  on  the  days  of  Masonic 
festivities. 

All  through  his  life  he  was  a  member  of  Temperance 
organizations,  in  their  various  orders — probably,  at  first, 
when  he  was  a  boy,  in  the  Temperance  Society  organized  in 
his  native  County  by  Rev.  Mr,  Allen.  He  was  a  life-long 
teetotaler,  as  disclosed  in  the  stage  ride  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  already  noted.  That  was  not  the  first  time  he 
had  refused  the  questionable  courtesy  of  the  proffered  wine 
cup.  When  a  foremost  man  of  his  Conference,  at  the  St. 
Joseph  session,  m  l(Sr)G,  and  the  guest  of  a  boarder  at  the 
hotel,  and  in  a  select  company  collected  to  meet  him,  it  is 
related  by  one  of  the  number  that  he  steadfastly  refused 
to  l^e  wined.  Ilis  advocacy  of  the  Tcinjierance  cause 
reaches  back  to  his  early  public  life,  and  has  a  record  of  both 
public  and  private  speech.  When  he  was  pastor  in  St. 
Louis  he  often  spoke  on  the  platform  of  Temperance  Halls  ; 
and  it  was  common,  m  the  whole  history  of  his  pulpit,  to 
preach  on  Temperance.  The  subject  entered  into  his  pas- 
toral administration,  based  on  the  sumptuary  law  of  the 
Discipline ;  holding  that  the  Church,  which  Mr.  Wesley 
founded,  was,  m  letter,  a  total  abstinence  society.  No  pas- 
toral rebuke  could  be  sharper  than  what,  it  is  related,  he 
said   once  to  a  parishioner:   "Shall  it  be   your  epitaph — 


IN  LABOIiS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  C07 

forty  years  a  Methodist  and  died  drunk?"  Among  the 
odds  and  ends  hiying  over  from  the  pages  of  his  early  his- 
tory is  report  of  him  as  a  prominent  and  powerful  Temper- 
ance lecturer  ;  and  of  his  having  had  a  public  debate  on  the 
subject  with  a  Eev.  Mr.  D,,  when  he  was  Presiding  Elder  of 
St.  Charles  District.     The  reporter  says  : 

I  was  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  D.  for  many  j'ears.  He  was,  and  is,  a 
man  of  good  i^rivate  character,  honored  in  his  community  as  a  gentleman 
of  integrity,  good  sound  sense  on  most  subjects  and  temperate  in  his  per- 
sonal habits.  But  he  openly  avowed  Bible  authority  for  the  manufacture 
and  use  of  alcoholic  liquors.  Notwithstanding  his  familiarity  with  Scrip- 
ture texts  on  this  liobby  of  his  discourse,  he  was  no  match  for  Marvin,  who 
handled  the  discussion  in  a  masterly  manner  and  with  complete  triumph 
in  the  argument.  An  amusuig  incident  closed  the  debate.  A  countryman, 
a  great  advocate  for  Mr.  D.'s  theory,  but  a  long  way  ahead  of  him  in  the 
free  use  of  whisky,  came  upon  the  stage,  uninvited,  and  voluntarily  pro- 
ceeded to  demonstrate  his  theory  by  a  practical  illustration  of  Marvin  s 
arguments  against  whisky.  The  language  and  action  of  the  volunteer  de- 
bater turned  the  meeting  into  a  farce,  and  wound  it  up  to  the  disgust  of 
D.'s  friends. 

There  is  a  note  of  a  platform  speech  at  a  large  temper- 
ance celebration  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  when  he  was  m 
attendance  at  the  Bishops'  meeting ;  and  of  another,  m 
1870,  on  his  Avay  to  East  Texas  Conference,  taknig  m  Ins 
route  his  old  station  at  Marshall,  where  he  preached  a  Quar- 
terly INIeeting  through,  and  held  a  Temperance  meetmg  by 
special  request  before  he  left,  as  he  had  frequently  done 
when  pastor  there. 

Church  dedications  may  now,  perhaps,  be  considered 
semi-official  Episcopal  work — at  least,  enacted  by  custom. 
Besides,  to  look  after  the  supply  of  sutiicient  and  suitable 
2)arsonages  and  Houses  of  Worship  is  an  important  part  of 
Episcopal  oversight  of  the  temporal  affairs  of  ihe  Church  — 
intimately  related,  also,  it  is  manifest,  to  its  spiritual  wel- 
fare. One  of  the  Bishops  has  given  it  great  and  deserved 
l^rominence  in  "Reflections,"  made  on  a  summer  tour  of 
District  Conferences  and  communicated  to  the  public  in  an 
admirable  series  of  papers.      As  to   Church  building,    the 


608  31SH01'  MARVIN. 

sentiment  is  strongly  expressed,  that  it  i-^  "  piety  and 
Clin>h:ui  i)()liey  coin^ined."  Tlie  consecration  of  means 
and  the  self-(h'iii;d  and  self-sacrifice  mvohed  show,  it  is 
added,  that  the  current  of  grace  is  runnmg  deep,  and  the 
practical  wisdom  is  illustrated  hy  an  incident :  "  The  spirit- 
ual fannly  must  1)e  domiciled.  The  exceptions  to  this  rule 
show  Its  wisdom.  A  doctor  of  divinity  in  the  Southeast,  after 
reading  the  stirring  History  of  Methodism  in  Kentucky,  pro- 
pounded this  question  :  '  How  IS  it,  after  that  magnificent  coun- 
try lias  been  evangelized  by  such  preachers  as  1 1  vcd  and  wrought 
111  those  days,  that  in  our  day  the  battle  has  to  be  fought 
over  auam?'  Tlie  answer  was  :  '  Thev  did  lujt  garrison  the 
country  as  they  conquered  it.'  School-house  Churches,  Court- 
bouse  Churches,  and  especially  Union  Churches,  have  been 
of  untold  disadvantage  to  our  cause  in  Kentu(d<y  " — every- 
where, to  be  said,  as  the  doctrine  of  one  of  Bishop  Marvin's 
dedication  discourses.  It  Mas,  perhaps,  the  least  grand  of 
the  sermons  he  j)reached  on  such  occasions,  but  he  has  se- 
lected it  for  publication  in  his  Volume  of  Sermons  ;  for  the 
use,  it  mav  be,  of  a  iJiomineiit  and  abiding  testimonv.  It  is 
the  first  proposition  of  the  sermon — "  The  necessity  of  pro- 
viding Houses  of  ^^'orship."  The  text  is  Ilaggai  i.  7,  8, 
and  the  first  remark  Aveiiihty — lar£>"e  suuirestion  in  the  fact: 
"  Haggai  was  a  prophet  with. a  single  function.  The  spirit 
of  prophecy  was  on  him  for  only  one  purj)ose — to  hasteiiand 
ensure  the  re-ljuilding  of  the  temple.'"  The  enlargement  of 
the  proposition  is  exhaustive  and  conclusive — the  general 
statement:  "  Evervthin<>'  that  establishes  itself  and  main- 
tains  its  footing  iii  the  w^orld  must  be  douiiciled." — "put 
between  four  walls,  and  under  a  roof;  they  must  not  lie 
around  loose" — "if  it  is  too  feel)le  to  get  itself  in  by  the 
fire,  somewhere,  nothing  can  save  it;  out  in  the  cold  and  in 
the  tempest  it  must  perish  ;  and  a  thing  so  feeble,  with  so 
little  vitality,  will  die  readily  ;  there  can  be  no  great  power 
of  resistance,  no  great  tenacity  of   life."        There  is  in  the 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  609 

argument  this  "  more  than  thut :  "  "An  organLzatioii  noti- 
fies the  worhl  of  its  own  character  in  the  architectural 
expression  it  takes  on.  If  vitality  is  full  and  large,  the 
house  Avill  show  it ;  if  it  is  infirm  and  inefficient,  the  tumble- 
down house  Avill  proclaim  the  fact."  His  observation 
reinforced  his  ari:;ument  • 

I  have  known  health}^  Churches  that  had  no  better  place  than  private 
h6uses,  or  school-houses,  to  meet  in.  They  were,  however,  in  new  re- 
gions of  country,  recently  settled,  and  were  young  Churches,  that  had  not 
gathered  resources  ;  but  I  never  did  know  a  Church  that  attempted  that 
fugitive  sort  of  existence  as  a  permanency  that  did  not  fall  into  decay.  I 
never  knew  a  Church  in  the  midst  of  a  prosperous  community,  to  thrive 
Avithout  providmg  a  permanent  and  respectable  House  of  Worshi]).  In  a  . 
house  either  too  small  or  too  shabby  to  be  respectable,  it  gives  evidence  of 
one  of  two  facts :  Either  that  it  is  feeble  in  numbers,  or  that  religion  has 
a  iiold  on  the  consciences  and  hearts  of  its  members  altogether  too  slight 
for  reproductive  power;  it  will  soon  do  better  or  become  extinct;  its  arch- 
itectural expression  is  a  sign  of  dissolution;  there  is  not  life  sufficient  to 
maintain  itself. 

In  this  department  of  labor,  his  zeal  is  not  expressed  fully 
in  the  readiness  with  which  he  responded  to  the  calls  at  ? 
Church  dedications  for  a  representative  and  profitable  pulpit 
— a  taking  one,  l)oth  in  the  sermon  to  collect  a  crowd  and 
in  the  collection  to  empty  their  pockets.  He  Avas  himself  a 
modern  IIaoi)-ai — promoting  the  buildin";,  as  Avell  as  dedi- 
eating,  Churches.  It  was  in  his  mind  and  on  his  heart,  and 
on  the  point  of  a  pungent  pen,  on  the  occasion  of  re-visiting 
one  of  his  old  pastoral  charges  in  1871,  during  the  session  of 
the  Missouri  Conference,  held  at  Palnwra  : 

The  Suncfay  of  Conference  I  spent  at  Hannibal.  The  Sunday  School 
is  improving  and  domg  well  under  the  superintendency  of  Brother  K.  F. 
Lakeuan.  Brother  L.  is  interesting  the  school  in  Church  enterprises,  es- 
pecially the  buildmg  of  a  Mission  Chapel.  The  brethren  propose  as  soon 
as  may  bo  to  prosecute  this  enterprise  Avith  vigor.  Indeed,  some  effort 
was  made  last  year,  but  for  some  cause  was  deferred.  '( 

Development  (not  in  the  Darwinian  sense)  is  the  law  of  life.  Churches 
that  do  not  grow,  die.  Especially  is  this  true  in  new  and  growing  com- 
munities In  them  the  Church  must  keep  pace  with  surrounding 
enterpi'ises  or  suffer. 


()10  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

r  must  say  Hannibal  furnishes  an  illustration  of  this.  Our  brethren 
have  already  suffered  hjss  by  failini;  to  keep  pace  with  the  prosperity  of 
their  eily.  Tliey  still  eliiiii  to  the  old  house  when  they  are  fully  able  to 
build  a  new  one  in  k;.'epin^4  with  tlie  architectural  taste  which  appears  in 
contrast  with  it  both  in  the  public  and  private  buildin'j;s  of  the  place. 
There  is  a  law,  prevalent  in  human  society  everywhere,  which  dooms  the 
Churcii  to  comparative  stagnation  while  ever  it  fails  to  provide  itself  with 
the  external  conditions  of  prosperity.  If  the  Church  in  Hannibal  had 
built  for  itself  a  house  worth  thirty  or  forty  thousand  dollars  three  or  four 
years  apco,  it  would  this  day  have  wielded  twice  the  power  in  the  commu- 
nity that  it  does.  If  it  had  done  that  the  new  spirit  of  enterprise  thus 
arisin;i  would  have  linished  the  Mission  Chapel  by  this  time.  Other 
Churches  have  outstripped  them  and  are  taking  the  very  young  people  of 
their  own  families. 

The  day  of  grace  is  not  yet  past,  but  it  is  passing.  I  trust  this  very 
year  may  be  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  in  Hannibal. 

I  have  observed  the  growth  and  decadence  of  Churclies  long  enough 
to  justify  me  in  saying  that  the  Hannibal  Church  dooms  itself  to  littleness 
so  k>ng  as  it  continues  in  this  old  house. 

I  was  in  the  bounds  of  the  Breckeuridge  Circuit.  The  Church  here  is 
in  a  growing  antl  iiealthy  condition.  The  spirit  of  Church  building  is 
abroad  Brother  Currin  inaugurated  a  new  era  of  enterprise  here.  The 
building  of  new  and  adequate  Houses  of  Worship  is  at  once  a  sign  of  pros- 
jierity  and  a  condition  of  greater  prosperity. 

Two  Church  houses,  it  is  known,  grew  out  of  protrticted 
meetings  which  he  held — in  his  view-,  a  part  of  the  work  of 
building  up  the  Church.  One  occasion  wtis  at  Sedalia,  a 
lailroad  centre,  where  he  held  for  a  week  an  extraordinary 
ineetmii,  at  the  close  of  the  winter  of  1870,  Luther  Pulliam, 
the  pastor  of  the  Circuit,  arranging  for  the  meeting  with 
services  previous  to  the  Bishop's  coming,  conducted  by  the 
Presiding  Polder  and  Dr.  C.  P.  Jones,  of  the  P>oonville  Sta- 
tion. The  occasion  is  reported  by  Rev.  Preston  Phillips, 
■who  was  at  that  time  a  merchant  in  the  town  and  zealous 
for  the  unfriended  cause  of  Southern  ]\Icthodism.  In  the 
mind  of  all,  the  meeting  was  a  crisis — the  forlorn  hope  in  a 
question  of  Church  existence.  So  it  is  set  forth  in  the 
printed  accounts — without  a  place  of  worship  ;  the  meeting 
held  m  the  Presbyteritm  Church  ;  the  society  reduced  doAvn 
to  eight  members,  having    passed   through    the    days  and 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  Gil 

trials,  it  is  said  in  the  Bishop's  notice,  known  as  the  days  qf 
*' Martyrdom  ni  Missouri,"  and  in  that  trial,  some  "fol- 
lowed afar  off"  and  many  forsaking  the  standard  and 
joining  other  Churches — added  by  the  Bishop  :  "So  it  is. 
The  Devd  is  still  in  Eden."  The  report  of  the  meeting 
closes  with  a  Church  building  worked  up  : 

The  judgment  of  many  was  conviuGecl  Some  were  deeply  moved, 
and  cried  for  mercy.  All  felt  that  Christianity  had  in  these  men  able,  pow- 
erful and  eloquent  advocates,  and  that  it  was  a  rare  privilege  to  attend 
upon  their  ministry.  But  duty  called  them  to  other  fields.  The  brethren 
present,  however,  kept  up  the  services,  and  supplied  the  pulpit  till  Bishop 
Marvin  arrived  and  took  charge  of  the  meeting.  He  was  sick  and  ex- 
hausted from  continuous  labors.  Our  situation  was  duly  realized  as  a 
crisis  in  our  history.  His  sympathy  was  fully  enlisted,  and  animated  his 
efforts  in  our  behalf.  Crowds,  unprecedentedly  large  for  this  place,  assem- 
bled to  hear  him.  His  preaching  was  in  the  spirit  and  with  power, 
abounding  in  pointed  application,  persuasive  utterance  and  impassioned 
appeal.  The  necessity  of  his  departure  from  us  was  greatly  deplored. 
Penitents  multiplied  as  the  services  progressed,  and  the  last  night  the  al- 
tar was  crowded.  There  were  several  conversions,  eighteen  additions 
back-sliders  reclaimed,  the  Church  established  and  comforted,  and  South- 
ern Methodism,  as  a  living  reality,  brought  prominently  before  the  people, 
and  established  upon  an  enduring  basis. 

It  is  most  gratifying  to  add  that  we  have  been  stimulated  to  make  a 
vigorous  effort  to  build  a  liouse  for  the  Lord. 

The  pastor  reports  that : 

Without  aid  from  any  one  I  plead  with  Bishop  Marvin  and  secured 
Ills  labors  for  one  week.  The  good  done  in  that  one  week  only  eternity 
can  fully  reveal.  I  could  write  pages  about  it  now.  One  said  the  Bishop 
preached  more  Gospel  in  that  brief  time  than  he  had  heard  in  all  his  life 
before;  another,  that  the  occasion  would  do  him  good  to  his  dying  day;  , 
and  another,  that  the  Sabbath  was  the  high  day  of  his  life.  Many  Chris- 
tian friends  of  other  Cliurches  were  lastingly  impressed  for  good.  A 
common  remark  on  the  street,  by  some  who  were  seldom  seen  in  the 
House  of  God,  was  that  tlie  preaching  was  the  best  they  ever  heard.  An 
impetus  was  then  given  to  Southern  Methodism  in  a  community  where  it 
was  previously  almost  unknown,  which  resulted  in  the  erection  of  an  ele- 
gant new  Church  edifice  as  one  mark  of  permanent  good.  This  was  my 
assured  belief,  as  I  told  the  Bishop  previous  to  his  coming. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  meetmg,  there  is  report  of 
the  purchase  of  a  lot  at  a  cost  of  $575,  and  $875  on  sub- 


612  BISHOr    MARVIN. 

scriptioii  for  tlie  house  ;  in  July  of  the  year  following  it  was 
dedicated  by  Bishop  jMarvin^ — perhaj)s,  half  the  cost  raised 
1)V  his  dedication-collection  ;  of  the  lieavy  sum  to  l)e  raised, 
a  few  of  the  ])rethren  assuming  $."^00  and  he  undertaking 
$1,415.02.  lie  estimated  the  sum  closely  and  reported  the 
collection  to  a  cent — $1,418.25. 

The  other  occasion  was  at  a  meeting  held  the  same  win- 
ter, in  the  second  month  after  his  return  from  California, 
at  Mexico  station.  Rev.  II.  A.  Bourland,  now  of  one  of  the 
Texas  Conferences,  the  pastor.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
memorable  meetings  in  his  entire  ministry,  and  one  of  the 
grandest  trium[)hs  of  his  pulpit.  On  personal  account:-,  it 
was  warmly  cherished  in  his  recollections  ;  in  a  few  lines  of 
a  letter  to  the  San  Francisco  Spectator,  saying:  "  I  have 
had  several  precious  seasons  of  grace  in  the  Church'is,  and 
participated  in  the  labors  of  one  very  remarkable  revival  of 
religion.  This  was  in  the  town  of  Mexico,  Brother  John 
M.  Ward's  old  home.  I  had  tlie  untold  pleasure  of  receiv- 
ins:  a  sister  of  his  into  the  Church,  as  also  a  son  of  my  old 
fi-icnd,  lU'other  Cauthorn,  of  Corvallis,  Oregon.  There 
were  one  hundred  and  ten  accessions  to  our  Church.  I  sup- 
I)os>e  a  greater  number  than  that  found  peace  with  God. 
Some  Avill  probably  join  other  Churches."  The  meeting 
was  held  in  the  old  Church.  On  Sunday,  May  21st,  1871, 
he  dedicated  the  new  edifice.  The  opening  paragraph  of 
one  of  his  letters  of  home  travel  records  the  history  of  its 
origin,  and  what  follows  in  his  own  aci'ount  of  the  dedica- 
tion, is  the  most  modest  report  made  of  it  : 

The  Cliurcli  in  Mexico  was  formallv  dedicated  to  God  on  Sunday,  the 
21st  day  of  May.  This  liouse  is  a  fruit  of  tlie  revival  of  winter  Ijefore 
la>t.  Tlie  Church  at  tliat  place  liatl  loujj  needed  a  house,  and  tlie  revival 
made  the  l)uilding  of  it  impt-iative.  Before  its  clo  e  measures  were 
taken  to  initiate  the  work,  wliicli  was  pushed  forward  with  a  steady  will, 
by  pa-itor  and  people,  to  its  compleiinn. 

It  is  a  brautiful  structure.  Brotlier  Bonrlmd  is  of  opinion  that  in 
this  respect  it  excels  any   other  house  in  the  Missouri  Conference.     I  am 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  (U3 

not  sure  but  that  he  is  right  about  it.  There  may  be  two  or  three  larger 
houses,  but  this  is  of  good  size. 

The  busiiu'ss  of  buihling  was  carried  forward  with  tlie  most  admira. 
ble  spirit  of  Cliristian  love.  There  were  differences  of  opinion  but  no  as- 
perities of  feeling.  Brethren  were  generous  toward  each  other's  views. 
From  first  to  la-t  there  was  never  a  jar.  Tin;  most  delightful  recollections 
of  the  time  remain,  and  will  constitute  a  bond  of  g  >od  fellowship  as  long 
as  they  woship  to  gether  in  the  house  they  have  builded. 

The  whole  cost  of  the  building  was  $14,9HJ.(;4.  This  was  very  eoo- 
nomically  expended,  so  that  the  h  mse  contains  the  full  value  of  every 
■dollar.  When  it  was  completed  it  was  under  a  debt  of  $3,548.81.  This 
amount  had  to  be  provided  for  on  the  day  of  dedication.  It  was  a  very 
serious  undertaking,  but  by  dint  of  the  most  dogged  pertinacity  iu  the 
morning,  and  then  again  at  night,  the  full  amount  was  raised.  But  it  was 
hard  work — work  that  put  one's  nerves  on  the  stretch. 

You  ought  to  have  been  on  the  street  on  Monday  morning  to  hear 
brethren  felicitating  each  other  upon  the  result.  Tlieir  faces  fairly 
g'owed,  and  the  handshaking  was  most  vigorous  and  hearty.  The  con- 
summation was  enjoyed  prodigiously  by  all  parlies. 

The  subscriptions  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Brother  Callaway  for 
collection.  How  indefatigable  he  is  in  this  duty  will  appear  from  the  fact 
that  he  had  collected  up  the  old  subscription,  much  of  it  being  in  small 
amounts,  clean,  to  wiihin  about  two  hundred  dollars. 

There  was  a  great  concourse  of  people  at  the  dedication.  Many  came 
from  a  distance.  Indeed,  all  the  surrounding  counties  were  represented. 
From  Columbia  there  was  a  heavy  delegation,  headed  by  the  pastor.  It 
was  a  time  of  happy  re-unions.  The  Baptist  and  Presbyterian  Churches 
were  placed  at  our  disposal  for  the  occasion.  In  the  morning  Brother 
Vincil  preached  in  the  Baptist  Church,  and  at  night  in  the  new  house. 
The  congregations,  morning  and  night,  were  packed  "  like  sardines  in  a 
box."     I  could  see  no  place  for  another  soul.     The  space  was  all  occupied. 

Ill  the  interval  between  the  moetinos  at  Sedalia  and 
Mexico,  he  had  been  to  Baltimore,  and  on  his  return  to  Mis- 
souri took  Memphis  in  the  route,  to  dedicate  the  new 
Church  in  the  pastoral  charg-e  of  Rev.  W.  M.  Patterson, 
now  Superintendent  of  the  Mission  in  Mexico,  then  distin- 
guished by  Bishop  Marvin  with  the  title,  "  Haggai,  the 
Temple  Builder" — since,  author  of  "Church  Architect- 
ure," Avhich  the  Bishop,  in  the  Dedication  Discourse  of  his 
Volume  of  Sermons,  recommends  buildino:  committees  to 
procure  before  they  settle  upon  a  plan.  The  recommenda- 
tion occurs  in  connection  with  the  point  made  that  auditory 


614  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

effect  is  the  main  desideratum  in  a  Protestant  Church.  It 
is  in  accordance  witli  what  distinguishes  Protestantism — 
from  Komanism  and  Kitualism — the  minister,  a  preacher  and 
not  a  priest ;  and  the  principal  tiling  to  l)e  provided  for,  the 
pulpit  for  the  witness  and  teacher,  and  not  the  altar  for 
priestly  ministration  and  scenic  effect.  He  names  four  chief 
directions  in  the  interior  arrangement:  Little  space  between 
the  preacher  and  congregation  ;  the  galleries,  if  any,  not  too 
high  ;  the  iloor  of  the  [)ulpit  not  too  elevated  ;  lastly,  "  never 
exhaust  the  stock  of  a  lumber  3^ard  in  building  the  pulpit." 
The  last  and  the  first  he  specially  warns  against :  "  Do  not 
construct  it,  as  if  the  chief  design  w^ere  to  erect  a  barricade, 
with  a  view  to  protect  the  congregation  against  the  preacher  ; 
rather  give  the  word  opportunity.  Let  it  have  way  ;  be- 
ware of  expensive  contrivances  to  lireak  the  force  of  it.  It 
seems  to  me  I  have  wasted  sufficient  nerve-force  in  over- 
coming the  distance  between  the  pulpit  and  the  pew  to  have 
awakened  a  thousand  sinners."  In  all  these  respects  he 
notes  improvement  in  recent  times  :  and  to  advance  it,  in  his 
summer  tour  of  1871,  wrote  of  it:  "  The  Churches  that  I 
have  dedicated  this  summer  speak  well  for  the  advance  of 
architectural  taste  and  good  sense  in  Church  building.  One 
mi<dit  almost  suppose  that  the  trustees  had  read  Bishop  Mc- 
Tyeire's  treatise  on  '  P>uilding  Houses  of  Worship  '  before 
thev  becran  to  build.  By  the  wav,  it  ouirht  to  be  printed  in 
convenient  form  and  kept  on  hand  for  the  use  of  trustees 
and  l)uilding  committees.  It  is  well  worth  the  pains  of 
those  who  contemplate  building  Churches  to  procure  it  and 
study  it  before  they  turn  awheel."  He  mentions  particu- 
larly the  fine  acoustic  properties  of  the  Church  at  Sedalia^ 
"  '  so  easy  to  speak  in,'  that  the  voice  seems  to  be  actually 
assisted."* 


*Tlie  dimensions  of  the  auditorium  not  given;  for  such  effect  (all  the 
Bishops  have  lal)orod  on  tlic  subject),  Bishoj)  Pierce  has  sjiven  the  follow- 
iiiff  nieasureinents  of  a  Church  lie  dedicated  in  Alabama,  like  the  Church 
in  Sedalia,  and  which  he  took  pains  to  get  and  publish:     "Length,  02  feet 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  615 

The  year  1871  is  conspicuous  in  this  history  for  Church 
dedications  ;  in  number  and  prominence  of  the  occasions.  It 
began,  as  ah-eady  noted,  with  the  dedication  of  the  elegant 
St.  John's  Church  edifice  at  Galveston,  in  February;  in 
IVIay  at  Mexico  ;  in  June  at  St.  Louis,  associated  with  Bish- 
op Keener  in  the  dedication  of  the  New  Centenary  (Church, 
which  has  been  called  the  Cathedral  Church  in  Southern 
Methodism.  Bishop  Keener  preached  the  sermon  in  the 
morning  and  Bishop  Marvin  was  on  the  programme  for  the 
sermon  at  nio;ht,  together  with  the  whole  work  of  the  col- 
lection  on  his  hands;  the  amount  to  be  raised,  $18,500. 
Bishop  Marvin  has  reported  the  sermon — on  "  The  power 
of  the  keys  :  "  "  The  Avholesale  laudation  of  preachers  is 
offensive,  both  to  piety  and  good  taste.  But  we  can  not 
forbear  to  say  that  this  sermon  was  worthy  in  every  respect 
of  the  great  occasion  on  which  it  was  delivered.  It  was 
deeply  evangelical  in  doctrine  and  spirit,  with  a  philosophi- 
cal SAveep  of  thought  which  was  every  here  and  there  irides- 
cent with  flashes  of  poetic  conception  and  feeling. 
Bishop  Keener' s  sermons  are  siii  generis.  lie  calls  no 
man  master  in  analysis,  style  or  manner.  lie  has  read 
much  and  thought  profoundly.  Among  his  friends  he 
talks  much  upon  the  great  themes  of  religion,  and  talks 
earnestly,  in  this  way  constantly  evolving  thought,  and 
gaining  deeper  insight.  He  is  a  profoundly  earnest  as  well 
as  able  minister  of  the  New  Testament."  In  the  morning 
the  collection  reached  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand  dollars. 
At  that  point  the  effort   hung ;  the  congregation  began  to 


G  inches;  width,  42  feet  6  inches;  height  from  floor  to  ceiling,  17  feet  4 
inches. 

"The  rule  of  proportion  is  obvious;  and  this  I  suppose  to  be  the  ma- 
terial point.  I  add,  however,  that  in  the  Church  at  Talladega  there  are 
five  windows  on  each  side,  9  feet  8  inches  high,  3  feet  5  inches  wide ;  two 
windows  in  the  end;  and  two  doors  in  front,  10  feet  high  and  -1  feet  wide. 

"  There  is  some  occult  law  of  acoustics  which  architects  would  do 
well  to  study." 


616  lUSHOr    MARVIN. 

disintegrate  ;  and  the  debt  not  being  provided  for,  the   ded- 
ication Avas  ])o.sti)oned  to  the   night  service.        The  jjrincipal 
contributions  had  been  obtained,  and  with  live  or  six  thous- 
and dollars  to  be  raised,   the   situation    was  critical.     The 
emergenc}^   was    met  by  Bishop  Maivin    l)y   means  of  two 
measures:  one  a  call  for  :i  meetins;  of  the  male  members  of 
the  Church  at  4  o'clock  for  consultation  ;  and  the  other,  the 
collection  to  precede  the  sermon  at  night — "the  only  sen- 
sible way,"  was  the  comment  of  Bishop  Keener,  "  of  taking 
up  the  collection."       "  It  must  be  done,"  said  Bishoj)  Mar- 
vin, "  even  if  it  should  disphu-e  the  sermon  entirely."   Still 
another  measure  Avas    adopted.        As  at  (ialveston,  the  [)as- 
tor,  Dr.    Walker,   was  put  in  the  ticld,  so  at  Centenary  he 
fought   with    a   lieutenant.       The    pastor.   Dr.    Linn,    was 
brought  to  the  front.     It  was  after  9  o'clock  when  the  con- 
summation was  reached.    The  sermon  expected  from  Bishop 
Marvin,  therefore,  was  not  attempted.     The  text,  however, 
which  had  been  in  contemplation,  was  announced.        It  was 
1  Cor.  vi.  11),  20  :   "  What  !  know  ye   not  that  your  body  is* 
the  tem})le  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which    is   in  you,   which  3-6 
have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not  3'our  own?     For  ye  are  bought 
Avith    a  })rice  :    therefore    glorify  God   in  your  body  ami  in 
your  spirit,   Avliich  are  (Jod's."       A  synopsis  of  the  nuitter 
Avas  hurriedly  given.       The  theme  Avas  the  Divine  Occupan- 
cy and  the  per[)etual  Dedication  of  the  Living  Temple. 

It  was  a  most  imposing  occasion,  in  all  respects — in 
ceremonial  and  service.  In  tiie  afternoon,  there  Avas,  Avhat 
Avas  intended  as  the  dedication  ceremonies  by  the  children 
of  the  Church.  Other  services  and  incidents  an;  noted  in 
the  closing  paragraph  of  a  notice  from  the  pen  of  Bishop 
Marvin  • 

The  occasion  closed  on  Monday  night  witli  a  love  feast.  The  Chapel 
was  full.  Many  members  of  the  other  City  churches  Avere  present.  The 
spcakiniLC  was  l)ri('f,  promj)!,  and  witli  deep  fceliiiir.  God  was  in  Ills  Holy 
Teinple.       It  was  a  love  feast  indeed.      Tlie  I'ower  has  not  depuited.     No 


IN  LABOR3  MORE  ABUNDANT.  617 

dwibt  there  was  much  quickening  of  desire  and  purpose  on  tlie  part  of 
many. 

This  dedication  was  fruitful  in  reminiscences.  Dr.  Linn,  the  present 
pastor,  was  also  the  pastor  of  this  congregation  when  the  former  edifice, 
on  the  corner  of  Fine  and  Fiftli  streets,  was  dedicated.  Only  a  few  of  the 
Church  and  congregation  of  that  day  remain.  The  four  bonnets  of  the 
primitive  Methodist  style  that  frequented  that  house  for  so  many  years 
have  passed  away.  Mother  Weaver,  Mother  Childs,  Mother  Burd,  Mother 
Oay,  their  wearers,  are  all  with  God.  Father  Burd,  it  Avas  remarked, 
when  the  old  house  was  in  course  of  building,  saw  every  briciv  and  beam 
that  went  into  it.  The  same  might  be  said  with  equal  truth  of  his  son, 
John  W.  Burd,  and  of  Gov.  Polk,  with  respect  to  the  new  house.  May 
there  never  bo  wanting  sons  to  take  the  place  of  the  fathers. 

The  glory  of  the  latter  house,  externally,  in  this  case.  Is  greater, 
much  greater,  than  that  of  the  former.  May  the  true  splendor,  the  Holy 
Presence,  the  Resurrection  Power,  abide  within  it  also,  more  abundantly. 
May  the  simplicity  of  Christ  never  depart  from  its  altars. 

Among  dedications,  later  in  the  summer,  was  the  Church 
at  Brownsville,  Mo,  It  was  an  Union  Church — two  novel 
incidents  connected  with  it ;  one,  that  the  Presbyterian  half 
liad  already  been  dedicated,  and  the  Methodist  half,  with 
$900,  its  moiety  of  the  cost,  remained  to  be  attended  to. 
The  other  incident  is  reported  by  Bishop  Marvin,  with  en- 
largement and  emphasis  : 

The  circumstances  of  the  building  of  this  liouse,  so  far  as  we  are  rep- 
resented in  it,  are  worthy  of  mention.  Tiie  brethren  of  the  Blackwater 
class,  seeing  the  importance  of  Brownsville  as  a  growing  town,  and  feel- 
ing the  necessity  of  occupying  it  for  the  Cliurch,  have  been  mainly 
instrumental  in  accomplishing  the  work.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  Church  extension 
enterprise  of  the  society  at  Bhickwater  Chapel.  Tlie  brethren,  with  an  in- 
telligent concern  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  saw  this  opening  for  the  Church, 
and  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  doing  a  good  work.  They 
built,  not  for  themselves,  but  for  the  Master.  This  is  an  example  to  be 
imitated.  Such  instances  are  much  more  rare  than  they  ought  to  be.  If 
Churches  that  God  has  blessed  and  prospered  would  resolve  upon  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  work  in  all  destitute  neighborhoods  within  a  radius  of 
ten  or  twelve  miles,  how  many  deserts  would  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose  ?    How  many  waste  places  would  be  built  up  ? 

God  is  more  honored  in  this  unselfish  work  than  when  his  people  in 
any  place  build  a  House  of  Worship  for  their  own  accommodation.  In  that 
case  they  contemplate  their  own  advantage,  M'hich  is  right.  But  in  this 
case  they  look  only  to  His  glory.     He  is,  therefore,  greatly  honored. 


618  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

A  week  or  two  previously,  on  the  fourth  Sunday  in 
July,  he  dedicated  a  Churcli  at  New  Florence,  having  in 
like  manner  a  special  feature.  He  speaks  of  it,  with  rea- 
sons ;  and  how  it  came  to  pass  : 

The  most  noticeable  fact  coiinected  willi  this  dedication  was  that 
there  was  no  debt  to  be  provided  for.  New  Florence  has  set  the  example 
of  biiildhiij:  a  Church  and  payiiii:;  for  it  by  the  lime  it  was  finished. 

1  have  lon<^  desireil  to  dedicate  a  ('luirch  without  havinj^  to  raise 
money  to  bring  up  arrears.  This  desire  has  at  last  been  gratified.  The 
occasion  will  be  accepted  as  a  sign  of  prosperity,  and  is  commended  as  an 
example.  Let  it  be  widely  emulated,  as  it  is  certainly  worthy  of  emula- 
tion. 

Church  debts  are  always  felt  as  an  inculjus,  and  often  become  the  oc- 
casion of  many  evils.  It  is  better  to  raise  the  money,  at  the  time  of  dedi- 
cation, by  a  distressing  public  effort,  than  to  allow  a  debt  to  hang  and 
accuiiiidate.  But  it  often  happens  that  many  small  subscriptions,  made  on 
a  public  occasion,  require  great  effort  afterward  to  coilect  the  money,  and 
upon  a  little  delay  it  becomes  impossible  to  collect  them  closely.  All  the 
while  the  debt  against  the  Church  is  bearing  interest.  The  consequence 
is  that,  after  all,  the  debt  is  not  paid,  and  comes  after  awhile  to  be  a  sort 
of  chronic  sore. 

The  happy  result  at  New  Florence  is  to  be  credited  mainly  to  the  energy 
and  good  management  of  a  gentleman  who  is  not  a  member  of  the  Church. 
— Dr.  Bast.  He  conducted  the  enterprise  and  superintended  the  work. 
The  utmost  economy  was  observed.  A  great  deal  of  gratuitous  work  was 
done,  and  the  Doctor  kept  an  eye  on  all  the  outlays.  "  He  loveth  our  na- 
tion and  hath  built  us  a  synagogue." 

The  house  has  cost  al)out  $2,200.  The  largest  subscription  made  at 
the  outset  was  $100.  The  deficiency  at  the  last  was  assumed  by  five  men, 
and  amounted  to  less  than  .$40  for  each  one. 

There  was,  how'cver,  in  the  case  at  New  Florence,  a  fea- 
ture not  uncommon  ;  the  preacher  on  the  Circuit  had  not 
been  jiaid  his  quarterage.  On  another  occasion  he  remon- 
strated sternly  against  the  preacher  being  made  thus, 
indirectly  but  really,  to  pay  for  the  Houses  of  Worship  of 
the  people  ;  heavily,  too  ;  such  arrearages  of  salary  amount- 
ing in  fact  sometimes  to  more  than  the  subscription  which 
heads  the  list.  At  New  Florence  he  stated  the  matter  more 
mildly,  but  unmistakably. 

A  year  ago  there  was  not  a  Churcli  building  of  any  description  in  this 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  019 

town.  Now  there  are  two  completed  and  a  third  well  advanced.  The 
place  is  impi'oviuii",  not  rapidly,  but  steadily,  and  the  community  is  a  very 
pleasant  one.  The  Church  is  being  built  up  gradually,  and  the  members 
are  hopeful.  But  the  Circuit  is  alarmingly  deficient  in  the  support  of  the 
preacher.  The  deficiency  is  attributed  partly  to  the  heavy  expenses  of  the 
year  in  Church  building.  But  the  injustice  of  making  the  preacher  suffer 
on  account  of  this  needed  enterprise  will  not,  I  trust,  be  allowed  by  the 
Circuit.  I  look  for  them  to  bring  up  the  quarterage  yet  before  the  year  is 
out. 

That  good  example  and  his  public  mention  of  it,  it  is  be- 
lieved, inaugurated  a  sentiment,  which  has  made  the  fact 
not  uncommon.  To  him,  "  no  collection  "  Avas  a  relief  for 
another  reason,  not  stated  in  loco  ;  but  frequently  alluded 
to  HI  reports  of  other  occasions — the  lifting  of  the  debt  an 
exhaustive  demand  upon  nerve  force.  That  was  a  condition 
precedent  to  the  dedication,  and  it  aroused  and  taxed  his 
sensibilities  to  the  last  tension.  His  mark  was  the  last  dol- 
lar, and  almost  invariably,  with  slight  exception,  he 
compassed  it ;  but  not  without  such  painful  effort  and  inge- 
nious expedients  as  he  has  narrated  in  various  accounts. 
One  was  what  he  told  to  his  class-mate,  Rev.  ]\Ir.  Headlee, 
in  a  walk  in  the  grove  at  the  dedication  of  the  Church  at 
Irondale,  Mo. ,  in  1871.  His  success  in  the  collection  sur- 
prised himself,  not  believing  that  he  had  any  natural  gift  or 
adaptation  in  that  line — "  I  have  resolved  my  success,"  he 
said,  "  into  face."  He  spoke  of  it  at  Brownsville,  as  "the 
dint  of  perseverance,"  adding:  "  The  fact  is  Methodists 
believe  mightily  in  perseverance,  whatever  may  be  said  to 
the  contrary." 

He  has  given  due  credit,  in  the  income  of  the  outcome 
of  the  collection  to  the  patience  of  the  pew,  as  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  a  Church  at  Colusa,  in  California,  in  the  winter  of 
1869  :  "  The  congregation  was  large,  a  good  many  of  the 
men  having  to  stand  up.  I  never  saw  men  stand  equal  to 
them.  There  was  a  baptismal  service,  a  long  sermon,  the 
subscription  and  collection,  consuming  near  three  hours, 
during  which  they  stood  like  statues." 


620  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

At  one  of  his  dedications  in  Illinois  he  resorted  to  an  ex- 
pedient— a  hroadly  humorous  anecdote — which  he  confessed 
that  afterwards  he  ft-lt  had  transcended  tlie  license  of  even 
the  freedom  of  the  platform.  It  was  done,  he  said,  m  des- 
peration, lie  needed  a  leader  ;  and  from  the  first  he  could 
get  none.  All  appeals  and  all  his  usual  resources  had  been 
exhausted  and  still  no  leader  in  the  suhscrijition  in  the  nec- 
essary amount  proposed.  He  got  one  by  the  story,  which 
those  who  have  heard  him  tell  it  will  recognize  and  will 
know  its  mirth-provoking  (juality,  by  its  title — the  flock  of 
sheep  crossing  the  Suspension  Bridge  at  Niagara,  each  in 
turn  followirg  the  leader  in  the  jump  out  of  the  opening  in 
the  side  of  the  covered  bridge  into  the  roaring  waters  above 
the  whirlpool.  It  was,  however,  apposite  and  effective — 
the  last  arrow  in  the  quiver,  and  it  snatched  victory  from  the 
jaws  of  defeat.  lie  got  a  leader  at  once,  and  all  the  congre- 
gation plunged  into  the  subscription  and  made  up  the 
required  amount. 

At  times,  the  dedication  sermon  helped  in  the  finances 
— especially,  that  on  the  Unjust  Steward,  which  was  much 
used  and  of  which  a  hearer  at  the  Helena  dedication  said  : 
"  You  could  not  call  that  exactly  a  money  sermon  ;  ])ut  it 
was  calculated  to  draw  out  of  a  man's  pocket  all  the  money 
he  had."  Another  topic  of  discourse  was  "  The  Wise  and 
Foolish  Builders" — Luke  vi.,  47,  41).  Another  Avas  the 
last  he  ever  preached — "  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein  ;  for 
the  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of 
it" — the  earthly  and  the  heavenly  sanctuary  compared  ;  the 
material  temple  needed  on  earth,  never  in  Heaven  ;  in  the 
better  country  all  consecrated  ground. 

The  last  pul)lic  service  was  the  dedication  of  Boyle 
Chapel  at  Kirkwood,  St.  Louis  County  ;  the  first  in'omi- 
nence  as  a  representative  pulpit-man,  it  has  been  noted,  a 
(Church  dedication,  in  1S4(),  on  the  I'owling  (Jreen  Circuit. 
The  larijce  record  of  such    services    in    these    i)ages  has  not 


IN  LABORS  MORE    ABUNDANT.  621 

mentioned  the  half  of  them.  All  the  facts  are  in  evidence 
to  his  interest  in  them  and  of  his  conviction  of  their  value 
to  the  Church.  The  money  value  is  not  inconsiderable — in 
the  instances  alone  known  to  the  writer,  the  amount  raised 
in  response  to  his  calls  aggregating  nearly  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  Of  more  value,  ho  considered,  was  the 
Church  increase  and  enlargement  to  the  Kingdom  of  Christ, 
which  was  common  to  his  dedication  meetings.  "Best  of 
all,"  he  said  of  one  occasion,  at  the  hour  of  consecration  of 
the  new  Altar,  "  two  men  joined  the  Church,  who  I  trust 
will  glorify  God  and  be  glorified  by  Ilim  in  Heaven." 
Wisely  and  justly  he  regarded  this  work,  in  its  value  as  a 
permanent  benefaction,  surviving  the  agents  in  it  and  reach- 
ing to  future  years  and  a  late  posterit3\  A  Presiding  Elder 
reporting  the  memorials  of  a  preacher's  work,  instanced  his 
Church  buddinij — "  an  abidinij;  monument  of  brick  and 
mortar."  He  estimated  its  value  in  the  following:  senti- 
ment : 

Tliere  is  something  powerfully  conservative  in  a  real  estate  title.  An- 
chor a  Church  in  the  soil  and  you  acid  greatly  to  its  tixity  and  tenacity ;  it 
will  bear  a  much  heavier  strain  than  it  could  otherwise  do.  I  have  known  a 
few  instances  of  Churches  falling  into  decline  that  would  certainly  have  been 
fatal,  but  for  the  ownership  of  a  house :  if  they  had  l)een  renters  they 
would  have  given  up  in  despair;  bat  the  few  faithful  survivors  had  their 
house;  and  tliat  held  tliem,  and,  hohling  on  to  existence  through  the  dark 
period,  the  time  of  revival  and  rejuvenesence  has  come  to  them;  they  have 
had  a  U3W  lease  of  life  and  a  new  career  ox  prosperity  aad  usefulness. 

About  the  year  1870,  there  was  in  the  bounds  of  the 
Southern  Church  a  revival  of  the  Camp  Meeting  spirit. 
Bishop  Marvin  Avas  m  hearty  sympathy  with  it  and  joined 
earnestly  in  the  movement  to  restore  that  old  appendage  of 
Methodism.  He  has  preached  at  all  the  principal  camp- 
grounds in  the  Connection,  and  widely,  fi-om  the  more 
primitive,  and  to  him  not  less  atti"active,  gathering  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  up  in  Oregon,  to  the  Seashore  Encampment 
with  the  waters   of  the   Gulf  in  view  of  the  pulpit  and  the 


622  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

dash  of  its  waves  on  the  shore  mingling  in  the  swell  of  the 
great  Creator's  praise.  In  Missouri,  particularly,  the  chief 
Encampments  of  tiie  throe  Conferences  were  places  of  fre- 
quent visitation  and  large  and  effective  labors — one  of  them, 
the  Monroe-Canip-ground,  near  Wright  City.  His  appear- 
ance there  on  one  occasion,  in  1S71,  has  been  already  noted 
— in  company  with  the  venerable  patriarch  of  Missouri 
jNIethodism,  whose  name  it  bore  ;  the  meeting  thronged  with 
people  from  all  the  region  round  about ;  among  them  the 
companions  of  his  youth  and  their  children  ;  the  Gospel 
triumphant;  Zion  in  full  tide  of  Ilosanna  ;  many  added  to 
the  Lord  ;  at  the  close  retiring  to  the  "  Old  Place  "  near  by, 
and  sitting  down  in  the  room,  where  he  used  to  sit  in  his 
mother's  lap.  The  Camp-ground  of  the  St.  Louis  District 
— the  chief  one  of  the  Conference — bears  his  own  name. 
Its  first  location  was  at  the  Bonfils  Station,  on  the  line  of 
the  North  Missouri  Railway,  on  the  premises  of  Mr.  L.  II. 
Baker.  He  was  present  at  the  inauguration  meeting,  com- 
mencing September  1,  and  lasting  over  the  second  Sabbath. 
The  arrangements  were  complete — especially,  the  religious 
preparation ;  preceded  by  successful  revival  meetings  at 
several  points  on  the  District  and  protracted  prayer  meet- 
ings in  the  City  Churches.  Dr.  Boyle  was  Presiding  Elder 
— his  voice  potent  and  interpreting  the  occasion,  thus: 
"  Let  not  members  of  the  Church  go  up  to  this  holy  convo- 
cation in  the  s[)irit  of  carelessness,  or  merely  to  hear 
eloquent  preachers,  enjoy  a  season  of  social  intercourse,  or 
to  make  an  ostentatious  di^i)lay,  else  we  shall  be  like  the 
Israelites  upon  the  hill  tops  of  Amelek — we  shall  be  smitten 
and  discomfited.  Let  the  members,  all  the  memhers,  say  to 
their  ministers,  as  the  Jews  on  a  certain  occasion  said  to 
their  priest,  Ezra,  *  ive  will  he  with  thee.'  From  pulpits 
and  altars  prayer  was  enjoined  for  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  to  fill  the  tabernacles  :  Let  us  say,  '  For  Zion's  sake 
will  I  not  hold  my  peace,  and  for  Jerusalem's  sake  wdl  I  not 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT.  623 

Test  until  the  ri2:bteousness  thereof  2,0  forth  as  briirhtness, 
and  the  salvation  thereof  as  a  lamp  that  burneth.'  "  The 
day  was  filled  up  with  religious  services,  commencing  with 
sunrise  prayer  meeting  and  the  three  sermons  a  day,  having 
interludes  of  private  devotions  and  tent  meetings  and  social 
worship  at  the  altar.  Bishop  McTyeire  took  in  the  n:ieeting 
on  the  way  mi  his  first  visitation  to  the  Conferences  in  Mis- 
souri. At  the  first  service  three  persons  came  to  the  altar, 
one  seventy-five  years  of  age.  Three  hundred  penitents 
followed  in  their  steps  during  the  meeting.  "  Of  that  num- 
ber," it  is  reported,  "  we  have  the  names  of  ov(!r  two 
hundred  who  professed  conversion  and  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  who  joined  tlie  Church.  These  figures  include 
seventeen  children  and  thirty-five  colored  people,  "We  have 
reason  to  believe  that  many  more  have  found  peace  with 
God  than  the  number  stated  above,  for  at  every  meeting 
nearly  every  penitent  was  blessed — fully  ninety  per  cent,  of 
those  who  presented  themselves  at  the  altar  ;  but  many  after 
being  blessed  went  back  in  the  congregation  to  make  room 
for  other  mourners,  and  their  names  were  not  obtained."  It 
is  added  :  "  But  the  new  wine  was  reserved  to  the  last  night 
(Thursday),  when  Bishop  Marvin  gave  the  '  last  warning,' 
from  '  The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  I  am 
not  saved.' 

"There  is  but  one  opinion  about  this  night's  meeting.  All 
agree  that  never  was  such  a  sight  seen — really  a  Pentecost. 
The  altar  was  filled  and  emptied  three  or  four  times,  until 
at  last  a  good  brother  tried  in  vain  to  find  a  person  in  the 
congregation  who  was  not  rejoicing  in  the  love  of  God." 

The  next  season  Bishops  Kavanaugh  and  Marvin  and  Dr. 
McFerrin  were  in  attendance.  There  were  forty  conver- 
sions, and,  if  possible,  a  still  greater  quickening  and  com- 
fort of  Zion.  At  the  first  meeting  it  was  resolved  to  make 
the  Camp-jNIeeting  a  permnnent  institution  of  the  District 
work,  and  "  Camp  Marvin  "   was  made  a  Chartered  Organ- 


624  BISHOP    MARVIX. 

ization,  and  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,  in  the  purchase  of  fifty 
acres  of  woodland.  It  Avas  located  near  liridgcton,  where 
ho  attended  Redman's  Quarterly  ISIeeting-  in  1844,  and  Avas 
jTuest  "vvilh  him  :;t  the  liouso  of  Lle\vell(Mi  Drown,  Avhcre  he 
first  met  his  Avifc.  At  the  new  location,  whenever  it  might 
he,  lie  Avas  annual  A'isitor  and  chief  preacher.  His  last  visit 
to  the  Camp,  in  1S7(!,  as  ali-cadv  reported,  Avas  a  repetition 
of  tlu;  ]\Mitccost  Avhich  signalized  the  first  Encampment  at 
BonHls  Station. 

He  h:i(l  come  to  the  inauguration  meeting  of  the  "Mar- 
vin Cain[)  "  from  a  preaching  tour,  for  August,  in  Central 
and  Southwest  JSIissouri.  It  commenced  with  a  Church  ded- 
ication at  Pleasant  Hill  and  a  Afonday  night  sermon  at  Ilar- 
risonville,  and  closed  at  Ked  Oak  Cam[)-ground,  near  Neo- 
sho— the  travel  of  tlni  day,  as  n-<ual,  ending  Avith  a  sermon 
at  night ;  on  this  trip,  at  Lamar,  Nevada  and  Papinsvllle. 
The  church  hnildinii-  Avas  a  u-reat  achievement  bv  the  pastor, 
G.  Vr.  Horn — the  Bishop's  only  oI)jection,  the  low  ground 
on  Avhich  it  stood  :  "  I  like  to  see  a  church  on  a  command- 
ing site."  At  its  dedication  the  congregation  could  not  get 
into  the  house,  and  many  who  came  Avere  compelled  to  go 
awa\'.  The  collection,  in  like  manner,  abounded — $700 
called  for,  and  the  response  $810.  Of  the  building  of  the 
tabernacle  at  Ked  Oak  and  the  large  congregation,  Avhich 
had  all  out-of-doors  for  an  auditorium,  he  reports,  Avhatthe 
Avriter,  on  the  ground  the  second  Sabbath  of  the  meeting, 
knows  is  a  modest  account  of  a  most  remarkable  occasion 
and  triumi)li  of  his  pul[)it : 

A  s'.iort  day's  drive  on  Friday  brouslit  us  to  tlio  camp-ground  at  Red 
Oak.  Here  avc  found  a  good  area  of  comfortable  seats,  a  bru.sli  arbor  over 
them,  a  very  tasteful  pulpit  (built  by  outsiders),  and  rather  a  poor  excuse 
for  II  preacher's  tent.  (Tliis  was  built  by  insiders.)  The  camp-meeting 
Avas  a  season  of  grace.  There  were  a  good  wv.iuy  conversions.  The 
congregation  on  the  lirst  Sunday  Avas,  I  think,  the  large  t  1  ever  saw 
collected  at  a  camp-meeting.  The  latter  part  of  tlic  meeting  Avas  very 
mucli  embarrassed  by  rain'=?.  But  on  the  last  Sunday  not  less  than  four  or 
live  hundred  persons  collected  in  a  drizzling  rain.     There  hud  been  a  heavy 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT. 


625 


rain  the  iii^ht  before.  The  sironnd  was  saturated,  the  seats  were  wet,  the 
straw  Ava^  literally  soaked,  and  the  brush  arbor  dripping.  Yet  this  large 
oougre-iation  assembled  under  the  arbor,  sat  on  the  wet  seats  and  remained 
for  two  sermons. 

Of  his  attendance  at  the  Seashore  Encampment,  Kev. 
Dr.  W  V.  Tudor,  who  was  present,  writes  :  "  At  Seashore 
Camp-Meeting  for  New  Orleans,  Dr.  Parker,  P.  E.,  Bishop 
Marvin  was  present  and  preached  every,  day  for  a  ^veek,  at 
one  or  the  other  of  the  stated  hours,  morning,  afternoon 
and  night.  No  very  marked  results,  however,  accompanied 
his  sermons  at  any  time  :  and  this  seemed  to  distress  him." 
Full  account  of  his  labors  at  the  Wesley  Grove  Camp-Meet- 
ing for  Baltimore  jNIethodism,  has  already  been  given. 
Rev.  W.  K.  Boyle  has  added  the  following  note  of  his  clos- 
ing sermon  on  that  occasion  : 

He  was  unusually  happy  in  the  use  of  illustrations.  His  story  of  the 
"  scarred  hand,"  of  the  Texas  wife  on  rendering  her  account  to  her  re- 
turned husband,  etc.,  etc.,  were  so  told  as  to  carry  us  away  completely,  and 
I  never  remember  being  so  overcome  as  during  their  recital.  Particularly 
was  this  the  case  during  the  last  sermon  on,  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death," 
etc.  He  tohl  of  an  illustration  he  once  used,  in  which  he  compared  some 
Christians  to  an  ear  of  corn,  which,  when  stripped  of  its  husk,  showed  uot 
one  single  perfect  grain,  tho'  its  outward  look  was  so  promising,  and  said, 
"  such  bring  no  fruit  to  perfection."  Dining  with  a  farmer  after  said  ser- 
mon, his  host  said :  "  Bishop,  I  fear  I  am  like  one  of  those  ears  of  corn  of 
which  you  spoke;  but  don't  you  think  I  may  be  saved?"  The  reply  to 
which  was,  "  Would  you  crib  such  corn  as  t'.iat?  "  Just  as  he  fniished  this 
recital,  an  old  Methodist  farmer,  sitting  in  the  tent  near  Avhere  he  stood, 
struck  his  forehead  with  both  open  hands,  and  was  well  nigh  thrown  from 
his  seat,  beiug  almost  dazed  by.  such  a  searching  application  of  a  simple 
truth. 

To  the  variety  as  well  as  abundance  of  labors,  there  must 
be  added  his  service  at  College  Commencements,  which  has 
had  sufficient  mention,  except  in  the  general  statement,  that 
it  has  been  rendered  at  most  of  the  principal  seats  of  learn- 
ino-  throuohout  the  Connection.  One  of  the  most  notable 
of  such  services  was  at  Emory  College,  Oxford,  Ga.,  which 
conferred  upon  him' the  degree  L.L.  D.  His  pen,  also, 
was  busy  in  the  production  of  books  ;  and  more  largely,  in 
voluminous  contributions   to    the    periodical    press    of    the 


626  BISHOP  MAllVIX. 

Church.  The  history  of  his  authorship  is  remarkahle,  and 
Avill  have  record  in  another  conneelion  ;  only  to  be  said  in 
this,  that  his  literary  hihors  were  jx'rfornicd  at  odd  hours, 
Jind  in  snatches  of  time,  'i'lie  part  he  took  in  the  educational 
Avork  and  the  })ublishing  interests  of  the  Cliuich  remains, 
also,  to  be  mentioned. 

The  review,  in  this  chapter,  of  his  labors,  under  the  vari- 
ous classifications  of  M'ork,  it  will  be  observed  from  the  date 
of  special  occasions,  embraces  only  the  hr>t  Acars  of  his 
second  Episcoj)al  quadrennium — entering  u[)on  the  second 
in  the  spirit  and  on  the  lines  of  devotedness,  Avitli  which  he 
prosecuted  the  first.  In  justification  and  for  due  apprecia- 
tion of  the  title  of  this  chapter — an  apostolic  boast  and  dis- 
tinction— the  reader  iiiust  take  into  survey  the  sweep  of 
travel  and  lal)or  from  1SG6  to  187(5,  which  it  has  required 
many  chapters  to  review.  In  that  review,  there  has  not 
appeared  a  tithe  of  his  labors  in  Missouri.  In  Texas,  "  toil 
■worn,  but  clastic,"  their  yl'ii'ocrt^e  reported  him;  in  Cal- 
ifornia, in  the  midst  of  oft  infirmities,  "faint,  yet  pursu- 
iii2',*"  it  was  said  of  him.  Of  the  labors  there,  after  savinir 
he  had  traveled  fifteen  hundred  miles,  and  preached  over 
Oregon  in  six  weeks,  he  said,  he  had  not  traveled  and 
preached  in  the  measure  of  his  labors  in  jMissouri,  in  1867 
and  the  first  half  of  the  3'ear  1868.  At  every  point  he  is 
seen  with  his  eve  on  "  regions  l^ej'ond,"  and  his  feet  in 
paths  stretching:  bevond  the  line  of  his  own  or  anv  other 
man's  i)revious  labors  :  with  the  Mississippi  as  a  dividing 
line,  during  the  first  quadrennium  having  occupied  the  West ; 
his  field  for  the  second,  the  East,  its  circumference  and 
centre. 

In  hibors  more  abundant,  the  crown  of  his  laliors  was  the 
spirit  of  them  :  not  in  vanity  or  for  i)arade  ;  but  on  pi'inci- 
ple,  and  not  of  constraint,  but  willingly,  doing  it  for  man  and 
as  unto  the  Lord.  The  only  petulance,  it  has  been  said, 
which  an  Episcopal  colleague  had  known  him  to  exhibit,  was 


IN  LABORS  MORE  ABUNDANT. 


627 


in  a  friendly  chiding  of  his  over-work — as  if  ho  was  not  un- 
derstood, or  in  impatience  of  any  curb  to  be  put  upon  his 
spirit.  It  was  the  spirit  ot  BeAvley,  who  shook  off  the  hand 
of  Redman  from  his  shoulder,  when  it  would  arrest  his  longer 
preaching  in  the  pulpit  after  his  lungs  poured  forth  blood 
with  speech — "  Let  me  alone  ;  I  would  rather  die  defending 
the  divinity  of  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  than  in  any  other 
way.''  lie  had,  too,  what  a  modern  writer  has  called  a 
*'  vicarious  conscience,"  which  identitied  him,  in  all  that  he 
could  do  and  suffer,  with  the  salvation  of  the  -world.  It 
was  the  conscience,  it  is  added,  that  Avas  in  Paul,  of  whom  it 
is  said  :  "  The  Christian  conscience  in  him  would  have  made 
him  an  enthusiast  as  the  Pharisaic  conscience  made  him  a 
fanatic,  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  saving  ijood  sense." 

Whatever  Avas  seltish  in  the  prompting  of  his  labors  was 
the  love  of  them  and  the  joy  of  benevolence.  The  great 
phdanthropist  of  the  century  lias  prescribed  as  cure  for  a 
heavy  heart — "  set  about  doing  good  to  somebody."  His 
own  and  the  sayings,  on  work,  of  some  of  his  Episcopal 
colleagues  have  been  reported  :  Bishop  Pierce's — "  Plenty 
of  Avork  is  a  panacea  for  nearly  all  the  ills  that  ministerial 
flesh  is  heir  to  ;"  Bishop  Kavanaugh's — "  I  find  the  harder 
T  work  and  the  more  Itra\'el,  thefatter  I  get."  It  was  Bishop 
Marvin's  saying — "  Hard  at  ivork,  and  happy  in  it."  The 
saying  has  in  it  both  the  philosophy  and  the  poetry  of  the 
well  known  lines  : 

"An  angel's  wings  would  droop  if  long  at  rest, 
And  God  himself,  inactive,  were  no  longer  blest." 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


PASTOR  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

"Traveling  at  large  among  the  people" — Wayfarer  and  sojonmer — Wel- 
come guest — Christian  fellowship — The  Gospel  of  the  Fireside — Par- 
lor-preacliing — Visiting  from  house  to  liouse — The  Cliurch-Fireside — 
The  Nuptial — Bisliop  Bascom's  sentiment — The  first  marriage  cere- 
m(my — The  Baptismal  Font — Ministry  to  Children — Tlie  Child-spirit 
in  him — Preacliing  to  Children — Namesakes — At  tlie  sick  couch — The 
Bier  and  tlie  Grave. 

j.-HE  General  Conference  in  186G  legislated,  in  terras, 
'^  for  an  Episcopal  pastorate  for  the  people,  as  "svell  as 
for  the  preachers — "  traveling  at  large  among  the  people." 
Bishop  Marvin  undertook  to  realize  this  policy.  It  was  a  point 
in  his  theory  of  Ei)iscopacy,  that  its  primacy  among  the  El- 
ders is  a  s[)ecial  provision  of  the  Chui'ch,  in  which  it  may 
exist — of  the  ^Methodist  Bishop,  saying:  "  His  status  is  de- 
termined bv  the  leo'islation  and  usao'es  of  his  particular 
Church."  A  just  understanding  of  Bishop  ^Marvin's  whole 
histoiy  must  view  him  in  the  light  of  the  ^Methodist  Discip- 
line. On  a  former  page  he  was  tried  by  the  rules  of  a 
l)reacher  and  the  formula  of  his  ordination  ;  not  less,  his 
P'piscopal  history  to  br  in  like  manner  interpi-eted  by  the 
mind  and  >\"ill  of  the  Church,  as  expressed  in  preceptive  di- 
rections, and  formulated  in  the  conseci'alion  to  ofhce — in 
the  entire  ceremonial,  Epistli^  and  (ios[)el,  tliC!  })rayer,  and 
von*  and  eliaige  of  ordination.  In  these  he  found  Paul 
teaching  "  jiuMidy  and  from  bouse  to  bouse,"'  and  Peter 
comuiissioned  and  commanded  to  feed  the  sheep  and  the 


PASTOR  OF  THE    PEOPLE.  629 

lambs  ;  a  pastoral  oversight  described,  as  himself  an  under- 
shepherd,  and  to  be  an  overseer  of  the  flock  as  well  as  of 
the  shepherds.  In  this,  as  well  as  in  all  forms  of  his  minis- 
try, the  performance  was  full  and  faithful — "  at  large  "  in 
travel  and  intercourse  and  ministration  among  the  i)eople. 

A  close  calculation  would  disclose,  perhaps,  that  during 
the  twelve  years  of  his  Episcopal  life,  not  one-sixth  of  the 
time  was  spent  at  his  own  home  ;  and  the  rest,  as  sojourner 
in  the  homes  of  the  })eople.  His  Episcopal  visitations  were 
marked  by  months,  from  two  to  fifteen  at  a  time  ;  his  stay 
at  home,  by  days — after  his  first  visit  to  Montana  only 
three  days  ;  and  then,  off  to  Conferences  and  to  occasions 
Avhich  occupied  every  Sabbath,  and  wintering  in  Florida. 
Such  incidents  the  reader  may  trace  in  the  dates  of  the  fore- 
going histor3%  and  know  that  his  family  life  was  scarcely 
more  than  mere  calls  at  his  own  fireside. 

Of  necessity  a  wayfarer  and  sojourner,  hospitality 
abounded  towards  him  ;  all  the  homes  of  the  Church  wide 
open  to  him.  What  the  welcome  of  the  visitor  and  the 
manner  of  the  visit  have  abundant  illustration.  So  far  from 
lack  of  social  attentions,  he  is  perplexed  with  their  multiplic- 
ity, as  in  his  sojourn  at  Houston,  in  Texas  ;  witii  one  fam- 
ily as  headquarters,  and  "  staying  around  among  the  breth- 
ren." Even  this  itinerancy  of  stopping  places  not  sufficing ; 
but,  wherever  his  abode,  his  presence  sought  and  his  home 
thronged  with  company.  One  of  the  first  incidents  noted 
for  this  paragraph  is  a  complaint  in  his  California  diary : 
"  One  of  the  burdens  of  my  position  is  the  necessity  of  be- 
ing nearly  the  whole  time  in  company.  I  have  very  little 
retu-ement."  Another  entry  at  a  different  date  is  :  "  Met 
company.  O  !  if  I  could  meet  just  with  quiet  Christian 
families,  and  enjoy  some  little  repose."  In  Oregon,  he  is 
in  the  sick  room,  and  everybody  makes  him  their  care,  fill- 
ing the  room  with  fruits  and  flowers,  and  of  the  family,  he 
said:   "I  part  with  Bro.  Dempsey's  family  with  regret.     I 


(330  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

have  never  enjoA'cd  a  more  hoarty  Christian  hospitality.'* 
In  a  private  letter  he  siiriKilizes  the  attentions  of  another 
faniily  during  his  f«irst  visit  and  Conference  iu  that  State  : 

The  Conference  Avhicli  met  last  week  Avas  held  on  a  canip-ccronnd  at  a 
camp-meetinji.  I  took  cold  and  ^vas  laid  up  two  days  with  a  swollen  face. 
It  ix'aily  made  mc;  sick,  but  I  went  to  the  house  of  a  Brother  Moffat,  and 
■was  very  comfortably  provided  for.  All  the  trouble  I  had  Avas  from  the 
fact  that  I  could  not  make  trouble  enonuii  to  satisfy  the  family.  I  tliink  if 
I  could  liave  found  about  forty  things  an  hour  for  them  to  do  they  -would 
have  enjoyed  it.  But  I  wanted  nothini;,  and  they  were  distressed  about 
it.  I  had  to  submit  to  have  a  i^ood  many  things  done  just  because  I  could 
not  hold  out  from  morning  till  uight  saying  No. 

Of  other  davs  he  wrote  :   "  Entertained  and  entertainlnir 
visitors;  mighty  poor  resting."      "O!  for  perfect  quiet." 
Of  the  same  sort,  an  incident  of  the  sick  room  at  Bro.  Demp- 
sev's— "  Every  one  charo-es  me  not  to  talk  much,  and  yet 
every  one  seems  bent  on  havino-A/s  talk  witii  me.     Mv  sfood 
Bro.  S.  is  very  much  afraid  I  ^vill  talk  myself  to  death,  l)ut 
never  thinks  that  he  can  ttilk  me  enough.     "Well  !  M'ell  !  they 
are  tdl  dear  good  people,  and  no  one  realizes  the  case."  There 
is  only  one  exc<?ption   on   record  from  his  pen  of   want  of 
courteous  tmd  hospitable  attention — :it  a  College  Commence- 
ment.    He  has  arrived  at  niijht,  and  is  not  met ;  he  iroes  to 
the  hotel    tuid  it  is  crowded,  and  no  place  for   him — that 
night,  after  hunting  up  a  lodgiug-place,  he  said  to  himself: 
"  I  have  rarely  been  invited  to  participate  in  a  Commence- 
ment occasion  "when  adequtite  courtesy  was  observed."    An- 
other incident  is   an  exception,  Avhich  })roves  the  rule,  how 
welcome  and  prized  a  guest  he  Avas.    It  is  related  by  Key.  J. 
C.  "Williams,  of   the   St.    Louis    Conference.       When    the 
Bishop  held  for  him  the  District  Conference  of  the  Potosi 
District,  in  providing  for  a  home  for  him,  he  had  mtidc  the 
entire  round  of  the  families  ;it  Ii-ond;de,  :dl  of  whom  were 
nervously  afraid  to  undertake  the  entertainment  of  ;i  BishojD, 
and  h;id  asked  to  be  excused.     He  beijan  the  second  round 
at   the   place   of   beginning,   insisting   and  per^isting.     At 


PASTOR    OF    THE    PEOPLE.  (531 

length,  the  good  hidy  ngreed  to  take  the  Bishop,  provided 
the  Presiding  Ekler  would  be  his  fellow-guest,  and  entertain 
him — that  the  only  fear  and  trouble  in  the  case.  After  his 
arrival,  ho  is  met  in  the  parlor  by  the  hostess  ;  and  after  an 
half  hour  interview,  passing  out  to  attend  to  domestic  af- 
fairs, she  met  the  Presiding  Elder  in  the  hall  and  said  : 
"You  can  go  where  you  please  ;  I  have  no  trouble  about 
entertaining  the  Bishop.     He  entertains  me." 

The  religious  communion  and  Christian  fellowship  in  his 
intercourse  Avith  preachers  and  people  is  a  marked  history  of 
his  house  of  sojourn  at  the  Annual  Conferences,  and  especi- 
ally of  his  associations  at  the  District  Conference — the 
smaller  body,  with  freer  and  closer  intercourse.  Of  its  so- 
cial features,  Bishop  Keener  has  spoken  incisively  in  a  caveat 
against  its  taking  on  the  expression  and  form  of  proceeding 
of  the  Annual  Conference  : 

But  t'.icrc  is  a  field  and  a  vast  and  most  precious  part  of  our  Method- 
ism that  needs  conserving  and  a  protection  which  these  District  Confer- 
ences can  secure.  I  refer  to  tlie  social  parts  of  our  system.  Our  Church 
is  not  merely  a  corporation  with  a  charter  from  Heaven,  or  a  convocatioa 
made  up  of  many  orderly  persons,  who,  at  set  times,  listen  to  God's  Word, 
and  then  disperse  to  nurse  and  develop  the  truth  in  their  own  life  and  bo- 
som; but  it  is  a  family  with  ties  and  sympathies  sucli  as  can  only  be  nur- 
tured and  expressed  by  mutual  acquamtance  and  much  personal  inter- 
course. There  must  be  talking  and  shaking  of  hands,  as  well  as  listening. 
We  must  eat  togetlier  as  well  as  pi'ay. 

Into  these  social  festivities  Bishop  Marvin  entered  heart- 
ily, and,  it  is  to  be  added,  carried  into  them  the  leaven  of 
Christian  grace.  Even  in  the  free  talk  of  the  dinner  table, 
his  conversation  was  seasoned  with  grace,  and  more  especi- 
ally was  its  savor  diffused  in  the  communion  at  the  eveninir 
fireside,  and  at  its  close,  in  the  worship  of  the  family  altar. 
The  dining  at  Emmaus  was  sanctification  by  the  example  of 
the  Risen  Lord  of  the  intercourse  of  the  table,  and  the  Gos- 
pel of  the  Fireside  was  ordained  at  the  house  of  Bethany.  In 
the  Old  Dispensation  the  family  was  God's  first  Church — 
not  different  in  the  economy  of  the  New,    "  the  Church  m 


632  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

the  house  :  "  at  tlu^  house  of  Ziiccheus,  the  Iloine-ultur,  the 
birth-})hice  of  iisoul,  aiul  in  all  lime,  the  preachei',  wlww  he 
comes,  as  it  has  hceii  well  ^vritten,  "  a  \isitiim- hrot  her  to 
occupy  the  Pulpit  of  the  Household,  and  eoudiict  ils  devo- 
tions." In  a  letter  from  Virginia,  in  1870,  he  wrote  of  such 
a  scene  and  service  :  "  Here,  at  the  house  of  Brother  A\'au2'h, 
the  Presidino;  Elder  of  the  District,  I  found  Bro,  Gardnci', 
of  IIarrisonl)ur<>',  "vvaitini^:  to  take  me  home  Avith  him.  At 
his  house  I  felt  that  I  "was  amonu*  the  servants  of  (iod.  AW; 
had  sweet  coinnnniiou  an<l  ])raver.  The  ascended  liord 
manifested  himself  to  us  as  he  does  not  to  the  Avorld.  These 
sanctified  hospitalities  are  most  precious."  Jn  his  Texas 
itinerancy,  in  the  fall  of  the  same  3'ear,  on  Smiday  inornin<>- 
having"  preached  at  8ul[)hur  Springs,  of  the  further  worship) 
of  the  day  lu;  writes  : 

At  niirlit  we  had  an  appointment  ten  miles  from  town.  Thron^h  the 
rain  avc  went,  but  at  nisht-fall  the  descent  of  the  waters  was  too  fOj)ions 
to  achiiit  of  attendance  at  Church,  especially  in  the  country,  anil  on  a  moon- 
less niiiht.  But  we  had  Christian  entertainment,  and  God  manifested  him- 
self at  the  family  altar.  Faith  gazed  upon  the  Invisible.  The  light  of  the 
unseen  Avorld  shincd  upon  us,  and  our  hearts  flowed  together,  so  that 
though  strangers,  we  felt  that  we  were  all  Ijrolhers  indeed. 

"  Aiul  if  our  fellowship  below 
In  Jesus  be  so  sAveet, 
What  height  of  rapture  shall  we  know 
When  'round  his  throne  we  meet." 

Tt  seems  to  me  as  I  grow  older  the  fellowship  of  saints  becomes  more 
and  more  precious. 

\)v.  'Watts  has  said,  that  the  man  who  is  gifted  with  the 
talent  id'  ])arlor-preaching  can  do  more  good  than  the  minis- 
ter by  i)id)lii:  harangues  and  learned  dis(]uisitions.  The  sen- 
timent may  be  too  strongly  stated  ;  but  it  is  in  evidence, 
how  nmcli  good  Avas  accomplished  by  Bishop  iSIarvin  in  that 
ministry.  In  public  labors  the  body  of  the  Church  was  ed- 
iiied  ;  in  ministrations  from  house  to  house,  Christians  were 
e()ntirme(l,  and  his  sojourn  in  the  homes  of  thepeo])]c  dated 
the  nativity  of    souls.     An  Arkansas    planter    says:    "Oh, 


PASTOR  or  THE  PEOPLE.  033 

what  a  blessing  he  was  to  our  family  I  "  It  is  an  utterance 
for  a  thousand  homes  and  from  a  thousand  hearts.  Some 
Avere  the  families  of  former  parishioners  from  his  first  Cir- 
cuit to  his  last  pastoral  charge  at  Centenary.  Of  the  num- 
ber, some  were  converts  of  his  ministry,  as  at  Harrison- 
ville,  Mo.  : 

At  this  place  I  found  an  old  friend.  During  my  first  term  at  Cente- 
nary he  Avas  a  clerk  in  a  Main  Street  house.  At  a  meeting  in  which  Bro. 
Watts  assisted  me,  he  was  awakened,  and  after  a  few  days,  joined  the 
Church.  From  the  first  he  was  a  faithful  member.  The  incidents  of  his 
awakening  and  conversion  were  such  as  to  endear  him  to  me  very  greatly. 
I  found  him  on  this  visit  in  a  comfortable  home,  doing  a  profitable  busi- 
ness, at  the  head  of  a  lovely  family — an  active  and  decided  Christian.  My 
lieart  was  full  of  gratitude  on  his  account.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  Wil- 
liam 11.  Allen.  We  parted  in  tears.  Such  friendship,  I  make  no  doubt, 
will  be  renewed  and  perpetuated  in  the  world  to  come. 

Such  history  belongs  to  his  practice  during  all  his  Epis- 
copal life  and  in  all  places  of  his  sojourn,  of  visiting  from 
house  to  house.  At  the  first  Conference  he  ever  held  such 
visitation  was  a  special  topic  of  address  from  the  Chair  to 
the  preachers.  He  stressed  it  constantly  in  his  administra- 
tion and  enforced  it  by  his  example.  It  was  not  omitted 
in  the  intervals  of  the  three  Sabbath  services  at  the  Church 
in  Lexington,  Ya.  ;  nor  Avhen  he  was  sick  and  suffering: 
from  an  inflamed  eve  in  Orooou  ;  nor  in  the  midst  of  Call- 
fornia  labors — then,  this  entry  in  his  journal:  "Visited 
Father  Duncan,  a  venerable  Methodist  from  Missouri.  I 
am  so  tired  to-day  that  my  limbs  fairly  ache.  I  am  striv- 
ing to  do  my  whole  dut}^  and  feel  that  it  is  a  great  privilege 
to  lal)or  and  suffer  for  Him,  who  died  for  me."'  In  this 
work  it  was  both  for  Christ's  sake  and,  Avithout  respect  of 
persons,  for  Christ's  sheep,  and  especially  towards  the 
I^ord's  poor.  On  return  from  the  Natural  Bridge,  he  stops 
on  the  roadside  to  see  an  old  widows  on  her  sick  bed.  In 
Montana,  there  is  this  record  furnished  by  Rev.  Mr.  Stan- 
lev  : 


634  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

His  name  is  a  household  word  throughout  this  territory.  Coming 
when  he  did,  and  traveling  so  extensively  and  preaching  with  such  power, 
he  was  loved  by  all.  lie  was  sought  after  by  the  rich  and  refined,  yet  he 
did  not  neglect  those  in  the  humble  walks  of  life,  and  all  alike  felt  at  home 
in  his  company,  and  honored  by  his  visits.  I  remember  a  little  Incident 
that  occurred  when  he  was  visiting  with  me  in  a  little  mining  camp  in  ray 
cliarge  in  1871.  I  lold  him  that  there  were  two  places  where  we  would  be 
welcome  to  dine.  One  was  at  the  house  of  a  very  wealthy,  thouirh  a  clever 
gentleman,  where  we  would  be  entertained  in  princely  style.  The  other 
was  at  the  house  of  a  widow  lady  who,  though  poor,  was  a  good  Cliristian — 
a  Methodist— and  would  be  proud  to  entertain  him  under  her  humble  roof. 
Without  hesitating,  he  remarked:  "  We  will  dine  witii  the  widow  lady, 
but  will  call  at  the  other  place."  It  was  just  like  him,  and  it  is  needless 
to  say  that  all  enjoyed  the  visit. 

In  the  admirable  paper  of  Bishop  Keener,  quoted  from 
on  a  former  page,  he  adds,  concerning  the  District  Confer- 
ence :  "  They  are  of  just  the  size,  and  have  just  the  amount 
of  familiar  and  occasional  acquaintance,  and  of  new  faces  in 
them,  to  kindle  a  love-feast  to  the  glowing  point,  and  to 
start  a  fire  "which  can  be  carried  in  l)ran(ls  all  over  the  Dis- 
trict." The  same,  in  a  good  degree,  is  true. of  the  Camp- 
meeting  and  of  prominent  protracted  and  Quarterly  meet- 
in"-s.  What  is  thus  called  the  familv-reliuion  of  the  Col- 
lectivc  Church,  ho  approved  and  advocated,  promoted  and 
enioved — often  kindlino;  the  blaze  and  w:irniin!j:  himself  at 
the  fire.  From  the  love-feast  of  the  Annual  Conference  up 
to  that  at  the  General  Conference,  and  down  to  that  of  the 
smaller  body  of  the  Conferences,  and  at  the  .single  pastoral 
charirc,  he  souuht  and  sat  at  this  Church-fireside.  A  lav- 
man,  not  a  delegate,  but  visitor  at  the  Memphis  General 
Conference,  has  l)rought  back  to  the  place  of  this  writing 
the  memory  of  his  love-feast  talk,  its  sentiment  and  sjiirit — 
a  scattered  brand  ;  and  after  so  manv  vears,  still  aulow  in' 
his  heart,  and  never,  he  says,  Avill  it  die  out. 

Bishop  INIarvin,  in  the  homes  of  the  i)eople,  connects  his 
memory  with  the  most  tender  and  most  sacred  scenes  of 
domestic  life — sometimes  in  the  same  family  i)erforming  all 
the  special  offices  of   the  C'hurch,  the  Nuptial,  the   Baptism 


PASTOR  OF  THE  PEOrLE.  635 

and  the  Burial.  In  the  family  life  of  Mv.  P.  P.  Ellis,  who 
was  at  one  time  a  parishioner  at  Centenary  Church  and  was 
his  room-mate  at  the  old  parsonage,  there  is  this  incident  of 
his  wife  from  her  pastor's  pen  :  "  Within  a  period  of  less 
than  four  years  I  married  her,  received  her  into  the  Church, 
and  buried  her.  In  the  midst  of  her  old  neighl)ors,  whose 
presence  and  tears  attested  their  lo\e,  Ave  laid  her  away  to 
her  long  repose,  ' 

Bishop  B'lscom,  at  whose  first  and  only  Conference 
the  writer  joined  the  traveling  connection,  and  had  the 
privilege  of  an  interview  at  St.  Louis,  on  his  return 
to  his  Kentucky  home,  said  among  other  remarks  about  the 
offices  of  the  ministry,  "  that  he  was  sustained  in  the  pulpit 
by  the  gravity  and  the  demands  of  the  occasion  ;  but  in  the 
marriage  ceremony,  there  was  nothing  to  hold  on  to."  He 
added  that  it  was,  therefore,  irksome  and  awkward  to  him 
to  officiate  at  that  rite  of  the  Church.  Bishop  Marvin  had 
a  zest  in  it.  He  officiated  at  the  Nuptial  Altar  often  and 
out  of  hearty  choice,  as  Avell  as  official  respect  and  duty. 
By  the  parties,  it  appears  in  written  requests  still  extant,  he 
was  a  first  and  earl}^  preference  ;  often  sent  for  from  a  dis- 
tance, sometimes  the  Nuptial  day  fixed  by  the  register  of 
his  appointments,  securing  hini  on  the  way  of  travel,  or 
awaitino;  his  return  home.  Sometimes  he  was  connected 
with  the  history  of  courtship  as  well  as  marriage.  He  was 
too  judicious  to  1)6  officious,  and  too  wise  to  intermeddle, 
but  he  was  honored  and  trusted  as  confidant  and  counselor  ; 
and  on  occasions  justifying  the  interference,  helpful  to  a 
good  wife,  as  a  prominent  California  preacher  iiv^w,  and  m 
those  days  a  colleague,  will  testify.  Runaway  couples  and 
minors  found  him  stubbornly  impractical)le.  The  consent 
of  parents  during  minority  was  a  civil  and  sacred  preroga- 
tive which  he  did  not  violate.  At  any  age  to  disregard  the 
honor  secured  to  father  and  mother  by  the  divine  law,  he 
interpreted  as  a  beginning  of  domestic  life  ominous  of  a  bad 


63G  BISHOP    -MAliNlN. 

endiiiu- :  and  lu;  was  disinclined  to  any  connection  with  such 
cases,  and,  so  far  as  llic  writer  knows,  had  none.  He  en- 
tered into  the  spirit  of  tlie  great  festivity  of  tiie  househoUl 
and  tlie  joy  of  the  Nuptial,  l)ul  lie  carried  th(>  spirit  of  the 
Pastor  into  the  office — not  iiitcrnieddiing  in  llie  courtsliip, 
l)ut  not  uiicoiiicriicd.  He  scrutinized  the  choice  ni  Chris- 
tian views,  and  viewed  the  marriage  in  its  sober  lights,  as  a 
solemnization — an  union  in  which,  as  equally  or  unefjuall}' 
3'oked  together,  not  only  temporal  fortunes  l)ut  eternal  des- 
tmies  may  be  linked  ;  comiected  witli  the  believer's  life  and 
the  Christian's  death.  Appended  to  a  diary-record  of  a  mar- 
riage ceremony  is  this  note  :  "  So  far  as  this  world  is  con- 
cerned, her  prospects  are  good  ;  but  I  feel  api)rehensive  that 
her  spiritual  life  may  not  be  improved."  His  friendly  wishes 
and  the  conventional  congratulations  have  a  naive  exin-ession 
in  what  he  said  m  his  diary  appended  to  the  note  of  the  mar- 
riage of  a  California  preacher  :  "  I  trust  his  wife  will  prove 
all  he  hopes."  Among  the  ideasantries  he  indulges  in  re- 
ference to  such  occasions — in  a  letter  from  the  Pacific  coast, 
there  is  this  bon-niot :  "At  the  same  meeting  I  saw  ]\Ir. 
Harbin,  whose  daughter  was  the  first  woman  I  ever  married. 
The  husband  was  ]\Ir.  Jesse — so  the  first  woman  I  ever  mar- 
ried 1  gave  her  Jesse."' 

His  ministi-y  toward  children  and  his  Episcopal  adminis- 
tration and  pastorate  in  their  behalf  aI)ounded  and  were  ex- 
ceedingly effective.  He  was  accustomed,  at  the  District 
Conference  and  in  his  sojourn  at  the  homes  of  the  Church, 
to  in(|uire,  and  stress  the  in(|uiry  in  regard  to  family  relig- 
ion and  firesid(i  worshii),  of  which  the  late  Dr.  Bond  has 
said  "  the  family  of  believers  is  the  Children's  Church." 
He  added  :  "'I'he  Snnday  school,  valuable  as  it  is,  is  a  i)oor 
substitute  for  the  school  of  the  family.  The  Church  cannot 
do  the  parent's  work.  1'he  niothci-  and  the  father  are  the 
ordained  ministers  to  the  little  children."  Not  substitute, 
the  Sunday  school,  nevertheless,  is  an  aid  to  all  and  the  sup- 


PASTOR  OF  THE  PEOPLE  65? 

plv  of  a  fainilj'  of  believers  to  a  nuiUitude,  'whom  Dr.  Bond 
calls  "orphans  in  the  spintual  workl."  To  the  Church 
of  the  family  the  House  of  God,  also,  in  puipit  and  altar, 
is,  in  di\  ine  appointment  and  requirement,  supplemental. 
It  has  been  seen,  how  punctual  and  diligent  Bishop  Marvni, 
as  pastor  of  a  charge,  was  in  the  Sunday  School  work  ;  not 
less  as  Bishop.  It  is,  perhaps,  to  be  said  of  all  his  visita- 
tions of  the  Churches,  literally,  he  never  overlooked  or  neg- 
lected the  nursery  of  the  Church,  It  was  often  a  third  ap- 
pointment for  the  day,  and  not  omitted  when  it  jn-eceded 
the  worship  of  the  u[)per  room — then,  when  the  adult  con- 
gregation was  to  be  served,  and  it  might  be  supposed  a  su- 
perior claim  was  established  ujion  an  undnuled  concern  and 
the  whole  of  preparatory  time.  It  was  when  Christ  Avas 
engaged  in  discussion  with  Scribes  on  the  law  of  divorce, 
that  the  Apostles  forhatlc  1  !ic  r.ioihcrs  \vh()  would  claim  for 
their  children  the  notice  and  blessing  of  the  Master.  He 
must  not  be  interrupted  m  the  hiirh  debate,  thev  thouo-ht. 
He  thought  otherwise.  His  rebuke  cured  them,  and  was  a 
lesson  to  the  Church  for  all  the  ages.  The  instruction  was 
repeated  in  the  Temple  scene — the  hosannas  of  children  an 
offense  to  Pharisees:  "  Hearest  thou  what  these  say?" 
How  signiticant  the  emphatic  "Yes," — I  hear  and  am 
pleased  with  it :  I  eiijov  it ;  praise  perfected,  and  the  per- 
fection of  praise.  In  the  translation  of  the  Hel)rew  scrip- 
tures, it  is  :  "  Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklino-s  God 
has  ordained  strength."  The  Psalm  from  Avhuh  the  quo- 
tation is  made  is  entitled,  "  Gittite  ;  "  and  the  illustrative 
reference  is  to  the  duel  between  little  David  and  Goliath,  the 
giant — a  perpetual  reminder  to  the  Church,  that  in  the  o-reat 
campaign  for  the  conquest  of  the  Avorld  to  Christ  the 
tirst  battle  and  the  best  victory  is  in  the  heart  of  childhood  ; 
that  victory,  the  forerunner  of  universal  conquest.  The 
lesson  was  not  lost  on  the  Apostolic  Church.  It  is  remark- 
able that  the  oldest  Christian  hvinn  is   in   evidence  of  the 


638  BISHOP    MAUN  IN. 

estaMislied  lights  and  fiaiichises  of  childhood  in  the  House 
of  God.  It  ai)j)cars  ui  the  -works  of  Clement,  of  Alexun- 
'.lii.i  (one  hundred  and  lifty  veiirs  after  the  Apostles)  ;  and 
it  !»•  asserted  that  it  had  a  much  earlier  oriuiu  than  that  date. 
It >  first  stanza  reco2;nizcs  the  hosaiinas  of  clnldren  in  the 
Temple  : 

"  Shepherd  of  tender  5'outh, 
CJuicliuii  in  love  and  truth, 

Tlirou^li  devious  way-, 
Christ,  our  triumphant  King! 
We  come  Tliy  nanie  to  siiiir, 
And  here  our  cliildrcn  bring, 

To  slioul  Tliy  j)raise." 

The  entry  of  Christ  into  Jerusalem,  t^'pical  of  a  trium- 
phant Church,  as  warrant  and  proplu^cy  of  it,  incorporated, 
in  the  })ageaiitry  of  triumph  the  common  people  and  little 
children.  It  is  an  established  sentiment,  and  it  was  often 
on  the  lips  of  Bishop  Marvin  :  The  true  Church  of  Christ 
and  the  (,'hurch  of  the  future  is  that  -which  is  most  in  sym- 
pathy-with  the  masses,  and  cares  most  for  the  young.  In 
this  yiew,  as  respects  children,  it  need  not  he  stated,  what 
has  already  been  showji  by  ciuotation  from  his  writings, 
what  he  considered  to  be  the  just  design  of  the  notice  and 
quality  of  the  care — their  actual  conversion,  it  is  whatAvas 
expressed  by  Dr.  Jol)S()n,  from  the  Presidential  Chair  of 
the  British  Conference,  in  an  api)eal  to  the  baptized  children 
of  the  Church,  marked  as  of  the  flock  and  yet  outside  of  the 
fold,  and  not  of  the  Lord's  sheep  :  "  But  do  not  mistake  : 
Me  do  not  want  you  that  your  name  may  swell  the  number 
of  our  partisans,  but  that  you  may  become  vital  members  of 
the  livino;  Church,  brothers  in  the  confederacy  of  i)ardoii, 
happy,  holy  souls."  Otherwise,  the  Church  would  break 
down  under  the  weight  of  an  unregenerate  membership — 
"  in  two  generations,"'  Dr.  Bond  expresses  it,  "like  the 
Lutheran  Church,  the  Church  of  England  and  the  Quakers, 
Methodism  will  be  an  Ecclesiastical  Corporation,  not  a  liv- 


PASTOR  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  03^ 

ing  Church.'"  On  the  one  hand,  by  a  perverted  theory  or 
practical  neglect,  any  separation  between  the  children  and 
the  institutions  of  the  Church  Mill  prove,  in  the  huiguage  of 
Jobson,  "  the  broken  end  of  a  brido-e  throuoh  which  thev 
will  drop  into  the  flood"  :  on  the  other  hand,  if  not  renewed 
l)y  the  Spirit  on  the  Avay,  the  bridge  will  become  a  hiijhway 
tor  the  ingress  of  the  natural  world  into  the  Church,  the 
Spnitual  Kingdom  at  once  enervated  and  at  last  sul)verted. 
Hence,  on  these  vital  grounds,  Bishop  Marvin  taught,  ex- 
horted, admonished,  warned  in  reference  to  the  duty  of  the 
Church  to  children. 

It  is  well  known,  how  Bishop  Andrew,  in  his  last  years 
and  m  da^'s  of  fe^^bleness,  aspired  to  be  the  Methodist  Apos- 
tle of  the  Children's  Church.  Except  the  request  sent  to 
Bishop  Pierce  to  preach  his  funeral,  after  he  had  concluded 
mc'^saiies  to  his  colleagues,  to  the  Conference,  and  to  the 
general  Church,  he  made  it  his  last  charije :  "Tell  the 
preachei's  not  to  neijlect  the  Sundav  schools.  They  ure  an 
important  })art  of  the  Church.  The  ^Master  said  '  Feed  my 
laml)s.'  "  After  ins  death,  perhaps.  Bishop  Marvin  was  of 
all  Bishops,  and  it  may  be,  of  all  preachers,  the  most  zeal- 
ous guardian  aud  servitor  in  the  nursery  of  the  Church,  and 
nio^t  noted  Evangelist  to  children.  In  the  Sunday  School 
Avoik.  hcside^  his  individual  labors  and  the  incitement  of  his 
example,  he  sought  to  organize  the  resources  and  secure  a 
confederacy  of  the  forces  of  the  Church  at  .that  point.  He 
look  much  interest  in  the  irreat  Sunday  School  Convention 
for  the  Southern  INlethodist  Connection,  at  Nashville,  in 
1870  :  aiul  subsequently  issued  a  pastoral  letter  advising  the 
organization  of  a  Sunday  School  Convention  for  each  Con- 
foience  to  be  held  annually.  The  work  of  the  Sunday 
School  was  defined  by  him  in  an  article  communicated  to  a 
monthly  magazine,  Tlie  American  Sunday  /School  Work- 
er, reiterating  sentiments  already  appearing  on  a  former 
page.    It  is  entitled  "  The  Ideal  S.  S.  Teacher" — below,  its 


640  BISIlOl"    MAUMN. 

first  point    :iii(l  its  second  point,  like  milo  the  firsl  :  and  tlie 
whole  tonor  of  the  coniniunication  to  enforce  l)oth  : 

1.  The  ideal  Sunday  School  teacher  is  a  true  (Christian.  He  has  the  love 
of  God  slied  abroad  in  his  lieart.  Jle  is  an  earnest  follower  of  Christ.  Hi.s 
practical  life  is  consistent  with  his  profession.  He  is  an  every  day  Chris- 
tian. 

2.  He  loves  the  souls  of  men,  and  realizes  their  danger.  He  is  in  con- 
scious sympathy  with  the  mission  of  tlie  Son  of  God,  who  came  into  the 
world  "  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  Tiiis  is  tlie  ui..tive  that 
inspires  his  labors  in  the  school. 

The  openinp:  statement  of  several  othei's  of  thc^  ten  points, 
is:    "  He  will  mltivatc  a  ])ers()nal  concern  for  the  salvation 
of  each  scholar  in  his  class.      He  will  pray  for  each  hy  name, 
dailv.      He  will    he  carefnl  to  instrnct  them  in  IIk;  duties  of 
the  Chi-istian  life,  as  well  as  in  the  doctrines  of  salvation — 
Ijuardinu-  them   solemnly  a^-ainst   a  mere   formal  service  of 
(Jod,  a  mere  affectation  of  the  Christian  life.      At  the  same 
time  he  will    he  careful  to   let  them  know  that  it    is   Christ 
alone  who  can   save  from    sin."      He  closes  with  the  state- 
ment :    "  A  school  having  such  teachers  will  he  the  means  of 
savim:-  many  souls.      But,  alas,   for  the  connnunity,  wdien 
Sunday  School  lahorers    are    })rayerless,   irregidar,    flippant 
and  sloveidy  in  their  work." 

The  pastor's  work  is  enjoined  strenuously.  In  all  his 
sojourns  throuirhout  the  land,  he  performed  it  himself  with 
painstaking  and  with  heart  and  hoi)c.  "  T  often,"  says  Dr. 
Doddridirc,  "make  it  my  humhle  prayer  that  God  would 
teach  nie  to  si)eak  to  children  m  such  a  nuinner  as  may 
make  early  impressions  of  religion  on  their  hearts."  liishoi) 
Marvin  was  thus  sedulous,  and  was  naturally  gifted  and  gra- 
ciouslv  endowed  for  such  service.  There  are  many  inter- 
esting; incidents  of  this  ministry.  The  place  of  the  lamhs 
is  in  the  hosom  of  the  shepherd.  He  carried  them  thus. 
There  is  in  childhood  an  mtuitive  recognition  of  goodness. 
In  the  child-heart  there  is    an  instinctive  apprehension  of 


PASTOR    OF    THE    PEOPLE.    ■  641 

love  for  children,  whieli  was  natural  to  him.  The  child- 
spirit  in  him  attracted  theirs.  An  incident  has  been  fur- 
nished for  this  history,  how  a  child  shrunk  from  another 
and  was  drawn  to  him,  though  both  alike  were  strangers. 
Soon  its  head  nestled  lovingly  on  his  bosom.  "  Am  known 
of  mine,"  was  true  remarkably  of  him.  He  knew  them 
personally — called  them  by  name,  and  intimately,  remem- 
berinij  them  after  hjns; years,  as  it  is  related  of  him  :  "  There 
was  a  fannly  livmg  in  Savannah  at  the  time  of  his  District 
Conference  held  there,  whom  he  had  known  in  Louisiana, 
Mo.,  some  fifteen  years  previous.  lie  had  not  seen  them 
durmix  that  time.  There  were  two  little  cirls,  four  or  five 
years  old  when  he  knew  them  in  Louisiana.  lie  saw  in  the 
conii'ieo'ation  these  girls,  irrown  to  be  women.  He  knew 
them — remembered  their  names  and  faces." 

In  the  last  interview  and  final  parting  with  the  writer, 
he  mentioned  an  a[)pointment  for  the  afternoon  to  baptize  a 
o-rand-child  of  the  late  Senator  Trusten  Polk — the  last  ad- 
ministration  of  that  rite  and  of  an  (;:di'iance  of  Christ.  In 
the  House  of  Worship,  he  often  passed  down  from  the  pul- 
pit to  the  l)a[)tismal  font.  In  the  teacher's  desk,  as  need 
might  be,  he  defended  and  vindicated  the  disputed  inherit- 
ance of  the  children  in  the  promise  which  is  unto  us  and 
unto  them  ;  and  remonstrated  against  any  neglect  of  the  or- 
dinance. In  his  ministry,  however,  the  baptismal  font  did 
not  stand  alone,  else  in  a  generation  it  would  fill  the  Church 
with  formalists.  It  stood  under  the  pulpit  and  in  the  altar- 
place — at  the  place  of  prayer,  and  where  he  assembled  peni- 
tents, and  seekers  found  a  Savior.  It  was  his  opinion  that 
at  the  age  from  eight  to  eleven  years,  children  were  capable 
of  intelligent  religious  experience.  He  sought  their  con- 
version. It  was  a  necessity — born  in  sin  and  needing  to  be 
born  again.  It  was  the  hopeful  time — then,  thie  soft  mold', 
rather  than  the  hardened  clay.  It  was  highly  expedient — 
the  home-altar,  the  ordinances  of  the  Sanctuary,  the  forms 


642  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

of  the  Sabbath  School,  the  ))ii'th-[)lacc'  and  the  training- 
grouiuls  of  the  future  Chureli.  lie  understood  his  commis- 
sion :  "  Feed  my  hinihs  '' — its  autliority  and  its  appeal.  At 
tlie  very  lir>t,  a  word  of  entreaty — "  Suffer  ther.i  :  "  at  the 
last,  the  same  word  intensified,  making  the  h)ving  care  of 
children  a  test  of  love  to  Himself.  lie  fed  them.  In  his 
Presiding  Elder's  pulpit,  there  was  a  sermon  for  them  at 
Danville  ;  in  his  E[)i.Neopal  pul[)it,  another,  at  the  dedication 
jservices  at  Keale's  Chapel  in  Missouri  :  "On  Monday  morn- 
ing I  preached  to  the  children.  Quite;  a  nu:nl)er  of  them 
attended,  and  I  must  say  that  I  never  saw  more  uniform 
'Sfood  order  in  a  conirreuation,  and  th;;t,  down  to  the  little 
hoys  and  girls  not  more  than  iive  or  six  ^ears  old,  they  all 
ofave  the  most  undivided  and  interested  attention  to  the  ser- 
mon  for  a  full  hour.  I  Icnow  not  when  I  have  witnessed  a 
more  interesting  scene." 

In  private  discourse,  there  was  pleasant  manner  and 
words  ;  hut  in  them,  in  some  form,  the  bread  of  life.  An 
instance  occurred  at  his  visit  to  Pilot  Knob,  during  the,  ses- 
sion of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  in  1872,  at  Arcadia.  He 
took  with  him  the  little  daughter  of  a  friend,  live  or  six 
years  old.  lie  helped  her  climb  the  steep  sides  of  the 
mountain,  and  standing  together  upon  the  rocky  peak  which 
crowns  the  summit,  he  sung — 

"  Eock  of  ages  cleft  for  me." 

The  doctrine  and  the  cadence  of  the  song  have  not  died  out 
in  her  heart.  Many  lambs  in  all  the  pastoral  tields  of  the 
Church  Avere  folded  by  his  hand.  He  taught  them  the  ho- 
«anna,  as  a  word  of  prayer — "  Save  now,  I  beseech  Thee  !  " 
It  became  awn)rd  of  praise — "  He  saves  now  !  " 

Many  interestiu":  baptismal  services  are  at  hand  for  this 
chapter — some  recorded  on  former  pages.  All  testify  to 
the  impressive  ceremony — one  from  Albany,  Oregon,  in  the 
family  of  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  AVillamette    District: 


PASTOR  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  643 

♦'  Ho  iKiptized  our  babe — Mary  Louise  Fuller — at  the  Altar 
jii  our  Church  (St.  Paul's),  September  24,  1877,  with  such 
solemnity  as  to  impress  everyone."  He  made  a  special 
appointment  to  preach  at  the  Old  Mother  Church  in  St. 
Louis,  and  to  baptize  the  grandchild  of  the  Pastor  ;  the 
<»Teat  o-randmother  beinu;  present,  and  the  babe  in  the  third 
o-eneration  of  descendants,  all  of  whom  had  been  baptized 
ut  the  Altars  of  the  Old  Church.  He  has  noted  with  special 
interest  a  baptismal  service  at  Lexington,  jNIo.,  with  the 
presence  of  a  grandmother,  who  was  the  widow  of  one  of  the 
chief  ])ioncers  of  Methodism  in  the  State  :  "  On  Sunday,  in 
the  pul)lic  congregation,  the  youngest  child  of  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  School,  and  the  three  grandchildren 
of  Eev.  Jesse  Greene  were  baptized.  When  the  second  one 
was  presented,  and  the  name  announced,  Jesse  Greene, 
many  eyes  swam  in  tears."  Another  occasion,  narrated  by 
himself,  was  marked  by  an  incident  of  the  value  of  tract 
distribution,  which  had  a  parallel  history  to  his  own  change 
of  view  on  the  subject  of  baptism.  It  occurred  in  the  Texas 
itinerancy  of  1870  : 

So  soon  as  we  had  made  the  crossing  we  left  the  main  road  in  order  to 
spend  the  night  with  Bro.  Hind,  the  preacher  in  charge  of  tlie  Chatfiekl 
Circuit,  at  whose  house  we  arrived  at  darlv,  only  to  And  neitlier  him  nor  his 
family  at  liome.  Half  a  mile  further  on  we  stopped  at  a  Brother  Andrews, 
a  most  excellent  family,  where  we  received  a  genuine  Georgia  Methodist 
welcome.  Before  leaving  I  baptized  the  last  born  of  the  house,  a  little 
"boy  six  Aveeks  old,  named  Warren  Tierce.  This  second  name  was  given 
from  a  double  motive.  Bisliop  Pierce  had  been  known,  honored  and  loved 
by  the  parents  iu  Georgia,  even  before  he  was  a  Bishop.  In  this  fact  you 
may  find  one  of  the  motives.  Then,  strange  to  say,  this  was  the  first  one 
of  the  family  that  had  been  baptized  iu  infancy.  The  father  had  not  been 
in  the  Cliurch  until  recently,  and  the  mother,  a  life-long  Methodist,  had 
never  believed  in  infant  baptism  until,  quite  lately,  a  sermon  of  Dr.  Lovick 
Pierce,  which  had  been  published,  fell  into  her  hands,  and  she  was  con- 
vinced. So  this  "little  child"  was  baptized  and  from  a  double  motive 
honored  by  the  name  of  Pierce.     May  he  also  honor  the  name. 

"  His  own  namesakes,"  said  a  colleague,  "  were  almost 
as  numerous  as  George  Washington's  " — continental  m  their 


64-4  BISHOl'  MAU\  IN. 

places  of  abode  and  the  name,  in  honor  of  a  ("liurch  Chief- 
tain and  in  token  of  reverence  and  affection  ;  perhaps,  in 
jiarental  thouulit,  in  hope  of  the  inspiration  of  a  great  name. 
A  modern  satirist  has  sujrgested  caution  at  this  point ;  how, 
in  an  ()l)scure  or  unwoitliy  history,  the  great  name  makes 
conspicuous  the  infamy  or  insignificance  of  the  career — 
Jnlius  Caisar,  a  boot-black,  and  George  Washington,  a  pea- 
nut peddler,  and  John  AVesley,  a  jail-l)ird.  Soberly,  the 
jNIarvin  name  on  earth  is  as  precious  ointment  poured  forth, 
and  has  reiristrv  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life.  There  is  sum- 
mons  to  all  who  bear  the  name  to  lofty  achievements  in  work 
and  duty,  and  to  the  skies — not  a  name  to  be  taken  into  pro- 
fane places  on  earth,  and  not  down  to  hell.  Some  name- 
sakes were  so  named  by  tlie  word  of  his  own  li[)s — his  ben- 
ediction on  their  heads  and  the  Ijaptismal  prayer  lodged  at 
the  jSIercy  Seat ;  the  answermg  peace  longed  for  from  out  the 
heavens,  and  the  answered  prayer  awaited  in  the  day  of  God. 
Ada  ^Marvin  Edwards — the  l):iplized  child  in  his  war  itine- 
i-jincv — is  dead  ;  a  bi-ight  Christian  death.  Another  died  in 
infant  years — saved.  How  his  })rayerful  solicitudes  hovered 
over  his  namesakes  appears  in  the  following  story  of  the  ep- 
isodes of  the  ba[)tismai  font — tohl  l)y  Mr.  L.  D.  Palmer,  of 
the  Willsou  College,  Wilmington,  Cal.  : 

One  circumstance  in  connection  with  our  Marvin-Memorial  meeting 
may  Ije  interesting  to  your  readers.  A  lew  years  agoBisliop  Marvin  spent 
a  fi-w  (lays  in  an  Eastern  town,  and  during  his  visit  preached  two  sermons 
of  wonderful  spiritual  power  and  pathos.  Sometime  alterward  two  chil- 
dren born  in  that  neighborhood  near  tlie  same  date,  and,  without  concert, 
were  each  named  Marvin .  At  their  baptism  special  prayer  was  made  that 
God  would  endow  them  with  a  large  measure  of  his  Spirit,  and  wIku  they 
grew  up  call  them  to  preach  II.s  Gospel.  By  a  sngular  coincidence  the 
parents  of  these  chddreu  soon  ai'tel-wards  came  to  California,  and  were 
present  at  our  memorial  service.  They  responded  to  the  prayer,  airain  re- 
peated by  Bro.  (irove  that  tliese  children  mr^ht  early  know  tlie  Lord  and 
be  accepted  a«  chosen  vessels  to  bear  his  name  before  the  Gentiles.  Last 
year  at  the  Conference  at  Santa  Anna,  I  mentioned  to  the  Bi-hop  their  birth 
and  name  and  baptism.  He  remembered  his  visit  and  the  parents,  and 
seemed  touched  by  the  mark  of  high  respect  in  giving  them  his  name,  and 


PASTOR  OF  THE  TEOPLE.  645 

said  he  would  also  joia  in  the  prayer  that  they  might  become  preachers  of 
the  Gospel.  And  in  the  same  connection,  he  related  to  me  the  following 
interesting  incident :  A  pair«f  twin  boys  were  born  to  an  esteemed  Meth- 
odist woman  in  Missouri,  during  the  life-time  of  liis  intimate  friend  and 
co-laborer,  the  late  Rev  Win.  G.  Caples.  The  mother  determined  to  name 
the  boys  respectively  Caples  and  Marvin,  and  requested  the  Bisliop  and 
the  now  sainted  Caples  to  visit  liur  home  together.  They  went,  and  my 
recollection  is,  united  in  the  service  of  baptismal  consecration.  They 
agreed  together  to  make  these  boys  special  objects  of  prayer,  and  to  visit 
them  from  time  to  time,  and  if  necessary,  give  practical  assistance  in  their 
rearing  and  education.  But  by  a  strange  providence,  a  few  months  after- 
wards, the  elder  Caples  was  hurled  into  eternity,  and  the  infant,  Marvin, 
was  calhd  to  join  the  lambs  of  the  upper  fold  at  very  nearly  the  same  date. 
God  may  have  called  the  younger  Caples  with  the  elder  Marvin.  But  it  is 
more  probable  thnt  he  still  lives  somewhere  in  the  broad  West.  Let  every 
Christian  who  reads  this  incident  pause  a  moment  and  whi-per  a  praj'er, 
thatadoubie  portion,  of  God's  Spirit  may  rest  upon  him,  and  that  the  little 
namesakes  of  our  beloved  Bishop  all  over  our  connection  may  grow  up  as 
spotless  in  character  and  as  devoted  to  Christ.  Viewed  as  a  man  or  as  a 
Christian,  or  as  a  minister  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  his  life  is  a  grand  model, 
and  when  tukeu  all  together,  seems  li^e  an  inspiration. 

The  follo"\ving  are  entries  in  his  diary  or  notes  in  ];is 
itinerarv-letters.  The  occurrences  are  located  on  the 
coasts  of  both  oceans  and  in  the  interior  of  the  continent. 
They  exhil)it  him  in  scenes  which  he  sought  and  in  which  he 
won  hearts  by  the  wealthy  sympathies  of  his  own  : 

Tuesday,  March  11,  IS  GO.— Y\fi\tec\  Mother  Bradfield,  who  is  nigh 
unto  draih.    This  is  a  sliock  of  ripe  corn. 

Sunday,  March  14,  IS 69. — Good  prayer-meeting  in  the  afternoon. 
Visited  Sister  Centers;  sick;  a  dear,  good  woman. 

.June,  1S70. — A  Mother  in  Israel,  sick  at  her  home  on  the  road-side, 
is  vi-ited.  We  converse  with  her,  sing  and  pray  ;  and  resuming  our  seats 
in  the  carriage,  we  reach  Lexington  (Va.)  just  after  sunset. 

June,  1S71  .—On  Monday  I  visited  Richmond,  (Mo.)  and  preached  at 
night.  Here  I  found  my  old-time  friend,  David  Qnesenbury,  with  his  wife 
and  daughter.  Twenty-eight  years  ago  I  was  with  them  in  a  time  of  bit- 
ter trial,  since  which  I  have  ever  felt  an  affection  for  them  uniisually  ten- 
der. They  have  had  sore  bereavements  and  trials  of  late  years,  but  their 
hope  is  still  in  God.  Brother Newland  I  found  laid  aside  for  the  present, 
from  a  sprained  ankle. 

These  are  a  sample  of  a  multitude  of  incidents  of  sym- 
pathy in  suffering  and  ministry  to  sorrow.     Some  accounts 


646  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

reacliiiig  these  pages,  are  from  the  homes  of  the  j^reachers 
— there,  us  one  of  the  family  connection,  and  touched,  like 
a  near  relative.  One  is  an  instance  of  faith  and  of  power 
in  player,  which  is  sometimes  quickened  into  prevailing  plea 
in  throes  of  svmiiathizing  ffrief.  It  is  a  scene  at  the  home 
of  Kev,  George  M.  Winton,  of  the  Southwest  Missouri  Con- 
ference : 

A  few  years  airo  Bishop  Marvin  -was  on  olliciul  business  in  the  place 
where  I  lived,  and  spent  two  nights  at  nij-  houj^e.  My  youngest  little 
dauirliter,  a  vhrilty  child,  nine  years  old,  was  in  the  last  stage  of  typhoid 
fever.  Kind  physicians  were  d-ing  their  best  to  save  her.  Myself  and 
family  woro  very  niiu-li  concerned.  Hur  pulse  had  almost  gone,  and  the 
cold  perspiration  was  on  her  little  body  and  face  for  hours,  lie  came,  and, 
in  our  family  devo:ions,  he  prayed  for  her  recovery  most  devoutly,  that  she 
mi::ht  be  spared  to  tlie  family  and  the  Church,  of  which  she  was  Uien  a 
member.  In  a  few  hours  reaction  came  on,  and  she  recovered  without 
any  back-set.  1  believe  ihe  Lord  heard  and  answered  his  prayers.  That 
visit  and  prayer  will  never  be  forgotten  by  us. 

Another  incident  is  an  abiding  memory  in  the  house  of 
Rev.  C  I.  Vandeventer,  of  the  IMissouri  Conference  : 

In  the  summer  of  1872,  Bishop  Marvin  attended  ^  District  Conference, 
I  think,  at  Kirksville,  Adair  county,  Mo.,  and  preached  in  the  week  on  his 
return,  at  Mncon  City,  a  sermon,  on  the  parable  of  the  "  Wise  and  Foolish 
Virgins."  The  discourse  powerfully  influenced  for  good  some  who  heard 
it;  and  it  was  made  a  piesent  and  lasting  profit  to  our  dear  daughter 
who  then  re>ided  tliere.  to  which  a  few  months  later,  when  on  her  bid  of 
death,  she  referred  wilh  expressions  of  gratitude  and  joy.  In  August, 
1S7G,  when  the  Bi>hop  started  upon  his  great  t  lur  around  the  world,  hav- 
ing three  or  four  Annual  Conferences  in  his  plan  before  finally  leaving  San 
Francisco.  Arriving  at  Denver,  he  immediately  looked  up  my  wife  and 
our  darling  invalid  son,  wlio,  only  a  few  days  before,  had  reached  that  land 
of  (hospitable)  strangers;  and  commending  them  to  God  in  prayer,  he 
hurried  off  to  his  Conference  at  the  Colorado  Springs:  and  again  on  his 
return,  found  time  to  visit  and  pray  with  and  for  them.  I  may  be  pardoned 
for  these  personal  allusions.  I  was  honored  and  blessed  with  h's  personal 
friendship,  and  Bishop  Marvin  was  the  friend  of  my  family,  as  he  was,  no 
doubt,  of  thousands  of  others.  These  things  furnish  pleasant  recollections 
and  have  not  been  without  their  influence  to  increase  our  affection  lor  one 
whom  we  had  long  delighted  to  love. 

Such  sympathies  deepened   in   the  greater  grief  of  the 


PASTOR  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  047 

household — in  the  offices  for  the  dead   at   the  burial.      How 
bright  his  presence    amitlst  the  shadows  of   bereavement ! 
How  tender  and   touching  his  ministry  !     It  is  known  to  a 
thousand  widowed  hearts  and  at  a  thousand  desolated  hearth- 
stones ;  known  to  the  Avriter,  bending  over  a  coffined  com- 
panion in  life.    The  tirst  word  turns  the  eye  of  the  mourner 
from  the  coffin  to  the  comforter,   "the  blow  has  fallen  so 
near  me,  that  I  feel  the  chill  air  of  the  descendins:  stroke." 
Ten  3'ears  after,  in  the  editorial  columns  of   the  tSf.  Loxds 
CJiristian  Advocate,  Bishop  INIarvin  wrote  :      "A  large  part 
of  the  matter  of   the  Advocate  of  this  week  has    been  fur- 
nished in  the  absence  of   the  editor.     The  friend  mIio  had 
the  exiirencv  to  meet,  received  from  him  on  Friday  mornin<>- 
a  note,  aslving  him  to  take  charge  of  the  Advocate^  and  con- 
taining this  sad  statement:     '  It  is  now,  I  think,  about  cer- 
tain that  my  son,  Tommie,  will  die  from  this  illness.'     The 
foreboding  was  realized  in  the  evening  of  the  same  da}*.    Of 
coui'se  Bro.  Finney  has  not   been  in  the  office  since.     Be- 
tween Bro.  F.  and  the  writer  of  these   paragraphs   there  is 
the  tenderness  that  is    born  of  sorrow.     When  his  father 
died,  I  was  Avith  him,     I  l)uried  his  former  M'ife.     We  min- 
gled our  prayers  at  the  bed-side  of   his  uncle,  who  was  to 
him  a  father,  in  his  last  illness.     This  history  of  sorrow  has 
now  another  page,  written  in  tears."     In  the  midst  of  the 
editorial  pages,  between  lines  of  mourning,  there  appeared 
a  sweet  picture  of  mother  and  child  : 

Yesterday  (Sunday)  we  buried  little  Tommie  Finney,  from  St.  John's 
Church,  at  2  o'clock  P.  M.  Just  one  week  before  he  had  been  present  In 
the  Sunday  School  of  that  Church.  So  stealthy  was  the  approach  of  death 
and  so  sudden  his  spiiiig. 

One  of  the  saintliest  mothers  that  ever  lived  upon  the  earth  committecl 
him  to  God  wheu  he  was  born.  He  was  her  Beuoni.  She  died  in  sivinjr 
him  existence.  In  her  last  hours,  her  physician,  Dr.  Bland,  asked  her  if 
she  would  not  prefer  to  live.  She  thought  of  her  children.  Towards  them 
there  was  the  glow  and  warmth  of  a  mother's  heart.  She  thought  of  her 
husband,  trusted  and  honorel  wiih  all  of  a  woman's  faith,  and  cared  for 
with  all  of  a  wife's  tenderness.     He  had  been  for  some  time  disabled,  and 


648  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

at  the  time  was  some  distance  from  her,  witli  a  brol<en  aii]<l(>.  The  hal)it 
of  her  life  for  years  had  been  that  of  leverent  submission  to  (ind  and 
sweet,  undonbting  faith  in  liim.  This  habit  culminated  now  in  the  dying 
hour.  If  her  heart  vibrated  to  the  pure  attractions  of  husband  and  chil- 
dren on  the  earthward  side,  still  its  response  to  tiie  voice  of  God,  so  long 
supreme  over  it,  was  iustant,  unfaltering  and  full.  Iler  answer  to  the 
Doctor  was  :  "  If  God  should  refer  it  to  me,  to  Uva  or  die,  I  would  refer  it 
back  to  Him."     What  submission  !     What  trust! 

Committed  by  such  a  mother  to  God  when  he  drew  his  first  breath, 
and  when  she  ascended  to  meet  her  Lord,  who  can  doubt  that  even  his 
early  death  belorgs  to  a  system  of  mercifid  dealings  toward  the  child  of 
prayer?  Was  not  his  clnldish  wonls,  "  I  know  that  Jesus  died  for  every- 
body, because  He  died  for  me.     I  love  Him  " — an  eclio  of  her  faiih? 

From  what  evil  to  come  the  Good  Shepherd  has  sheltered  the  lamb, 
none  can  tell.  He  has  gone,jI  make  no  question,  to  join  the  song  of  the 
blood-washed.  One  Sunday  his  voice  mingled  wi  h  the  voices  of  two  hun- 
dred children  on  earth  singing  the  songs  of  Zion  ;  the  next,  it  was  heard 
in  the  upper  sanctuary,  in  the  midst  of  Angels  and  "  Spiiits  uf  just  men 
made  perfect." 

May  the  choicest  consolations  of  peace  be  realilzed  by  Brother  and  Sis- 
ter Finney  in  their  bereavement.  May  they  and  all  their  children  appear 
at  last  in  the  innumerable  company  and  Church  of  the  first  born. 

' No  wanderer  lost; 

A  family  in  Heaven." 

With  fittino;  and  touching  words  he  wrote  of  the  veteran 
as  of  the  child  : 

I  had  yet  another  very  solemn  service  in  Galveston — the  funeral  of 
Father  John,  the  father  of  Rev.  I.  G.  John,  the  editor  of  the  Texas  Chris- 
tian Advocate.  He  had  been  for  fifty  years  a  consistent  member  of  the 
Church,  and  for  thirty  years  of  this  Church  in  Galveston.  Now,  f  n-  a  long 
time  he  had  been  at  <leath's  door.  For  many  weeks  he  had  been  helpless 
as  a  child.  His  mind  had  failed,  so  that  he  seemed  to  have  lost  almost 
all  knowledge,  except  on  the  subject  of  religion.  Ou  this  subject  his  mind 
was  as  clear  as  a  sunbeam,  and  the  name  of  Jesus  "  refreshed  his  soul  in 
death." 

IIow  grand  his  funeral  oration — as  at  the  interment  of 
Gov.  Allen,  at  Jefferson,  Texas  ;  and  in  the  ]\Ieniori:d  Ser- 
vice of  Judge  Byrd,  at  Selnia,  Ala.,  brought  from  INIissouri 
for  that  eminent  occasion.  The  reader  of  his  Volume  of 
Sermons  will  judge  and  know  of  the  discourse — how  noble, 
as  portrayed  in  it,  the  servant  ;ind  the  service  of  the  Lord, 


PASTOK  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  649 

and  hoAV  grand' the  perspective,  it  opens,  of  the  glory  of  re- 
ward. How  eminently  appropriate  the  theme  and  the  inci- 
dents of  its  delivery,  Avill  appear  in  the  following  narration 
by  a  fellow-citizen  of  Judge  Byrd  and  a  brother  on  the 
Bench,  Hon.  John  Haralson: 

The  size  of  the  congregation  was  limited  only  by  the  capacities  of  the 
spaciouf!  Methodist  Church  in  this  city.  Every  available  sitting  place  was 
occupied,  and,  if  tiie  room  had  been  twice  the  size,  it  would  have  been 
crowded.  '  The  Presbyterian  and  Baptist  ministers  propositi  to  Dr.  An- 
drews, t<ie  Methodist  pastor,  to  have  no  services  in  their  respective- 
Cluu"(!4ies;  l)iit  in  conference  amongst  thems' Ives,  it  was  determined  to  be 
best  not  to  forego  si-rvices  in  the  other  churches,  as  but  a  small  portion  of 
those  who  desired  to  attend  tlie  Memorial  services  could  find  seats  at  the 
Methodist  Church.  Still  scires  were  turned  away  who  sought  by  their 
presence  to  honor  the  illustrious  dead  man,  and  to  hear  the  matchless  ora- 
tor and  preacher. 

The  leading  men  of  the  city,  of  all  denominations  and  beliefs,  were 
there.  The  Bar  and  Medical  Association  attended  in  bodies.  As  a  pro- 
fessional man.  Judge  Byrd  was  a  bright  examplar,  distinguished  alike  for 
his  learning,  his  zeal  and  uprightness.  As  a  lawyer,  he  had  been  faitiif ul 
to  the  thousands  whose  rights  he  had  vindicated,  preserving  tlu'oughout  a 
long,  and  successful  and  distinguished  career  inliis  profession,  an  unsul- 
lied Christian  reputation.  As  a  Judge,  he  had  given  renown  to  our  judi- 
cial annals.  It  was  not  singular,  then,  that  professional  men  souglit  to 
honor  the  occasion.  In  social  life,  the  Judge  was  cultivated  and  attractive. 
His  varied  learning,  his  uniform  good  humor,  and  sparliliug  wit,  his  sim- 
ple and  dignified,  and  yet  courtly  manner,  made  all  classes,  who  admired 
such  rare  gifts,  seek  his  society  and  companionship.  These  were  attracted 
to  his  memorial  services. 

The  poor  of  the  community,  and  especially  of  his  own  Church,  who 
had.  shared  his  benevolent  sympathies  and  benefactions,  flocked  to  the 
Church  that  morning.  It  was  a  mournful,  yet  grateful  occasion  to  all  iu 
our  community.  Our  honored  citizen  and  friend,  in  a  moment,  and  bj^the 
most  appalling  accident,  had  been  called  from  the  scenes  of  his  usefulness 
to  the  higher  walks  and  destinies  of  the  eternal  life.  That  a  great  preacher, 
whose  fame  as  a  pulpit  orator  was  national,  whose  life  had  been  rendered 
not  less  honored  and  illustrious  by  his  spotless  Christian  purity,  his  untir- 
hig  energies  in  the  service  of  his  Master,  than  by  his  peerless  oratory,  was 
coming  to  preach  the  Memorial  Sermon  of  so  distinguished  and  upright  a 
citizen,  called  away  under  such  grievous  and  affecting  circumstances,  fur- 
nished an  occasion  for  the  gathering  of  the  good  and  pure  of  an  entire 
community,  who  would  drop  the  tears  of  friendship  and  sorrow,  and  lay 
their  wreaths  of  honor  upon  his  tornb.     It  was  a  great  occasion,  too,  for 


050  RISHOP  MARVIN. 

Bishop  Marvin.  No  one  outside  Judare  BjTd's  immediate  family  experi- 
enced a  greater  personal  grief  at  his  untimely  demise  than  lie.  Long  years 
of  brotherly  intimacy  and  co-labor  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  had  knit  the 
hearts  of  the  two  great  men  in  indissoluble  affection.  In  spirit,  they  were 
brothers  indeed. 

The  manner  and  spirit  of  the  preacher  was  much  modified  by  these  cir- 
cumstances, lie  was  so  bereaved  as  to  have  been  ciuite  overcome,  and  he 
did  not  seem  to  experience  that  unfettered  freedom  that  characterized 
some  of  his  loftier  efforts,  and  that  rendered  hhn  so  peerless.  His  great 
soul  was  stricken  and  bleeding,  and  his  manner  was  correspondingly  sub- 
dued and  less  declamatory  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been ;  yet  the  spir- 
itual effect  of  the  sermon  was  good,  and  the  occasion  will  long  be  remem- 
bered by  our  people,  on  account  of  its  connection  willi  our  distinguished 
and  lamented  citizen,  and  as  the  last  sermon  ever  preached  by  the  great 
Bishop  in  our  midst.  He  had  preached  here  a  number  of  times  the  year 
before  this,  and  made  a  reputation  in  the  few  sermons  delivered  in  the 
course  of  a  week,  perhaps  une(iualled— certainly  never  surpassed— l)v  any 
other  pulpit  orator  who  had  ever  visited  the  city. 

How  grateful  and  happy  the  thought,  that  these  two  friends,  so  dis- 
tinguished and  honored  hi  life,  are  now  together  in  Heaven,  and  are  each,  by 
so  much  as  the'heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  fuKiHing  grander  careers 
of  usefulness  and  honor  than  was  ever  allowed  to  them  here. 

The  followino-  letter  of  condolence  is  a  part  of  the  his- 
tory  of  the  sermon — that  m  testimony  to  the  distinguished 
preacher;    this  diisclosmg   his    heart  as   a    friend  and  as  a 

pastor :  \ 

2719  Lucas  Avenue,  St.  Lons, 

September  28,  1874 
Mrs.  Judge  Byrd: 

Mij  Dear  Friend  and  Sister— I  received  a  dispatch  three  days  ago,  in- 
forming me  of  the  dreadful  calamity  which  has  fallen  upon  you.  I  have 
delayed  to  answer  (except  by  telegraph),  I  can  scarcely  tell  why,  only  that 
I  have  had  a  bewildered  feeling  w'.ienever  I  have  thought  of  it.  I  feel  like 
being  "  dumb  with  silence."  This  grief  is  too  great  for  speech;  and  I  feel 
that  even  now,  it  is  almost  like  sacrilege  to  break  the  silence.  I  have  no 
words  to  offer  you  that  can  measure  with  the  magnitude  of  your  loss  and 
sorrow,  except  the  words  of  God  Himself.  And  I  have  an  intuitive  sense 
of  the  fact  that  these  words  will  be  better  spoken  to  you  out  of  the  Holy 
Bible  and  in  the  solemn  communion  and  submission  of  prayer  than  from 
my  pen.  Your  own  lieart  will  suggest  to  you  many  passages,  particularly 
the  fourteenth  chapter  of  St.  John,  the  fifteenth  of  First  Corinthians,  the 
twelfth  of  Hebrews  and  the  two  last  chapters  of  Revelation.  1  add,  also, 
1  Thessalonians,  iv.  13-18,  which  is  to  me  one  of  the  richest  utterances  of 
God's  voice  to  man  in  all  the  Book  which  He  nas  given. 


PASTOR    OF    THE    PEOPLE.  651 

Your  husband  is  Avitli  the  innumerable  company  and  Church  of  the 
lirst-born  upon  Mount  Zion.  His  robes  are  •'^vashedand  made  white  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  Tlie  place  has  been  prepared  for  him  in  the  house 
■where-there  are  many  mansions.  I  think  of  him  with  joy,  though  I  shall 
see  hhn  no  more,  until  I,  too,  shall  enter  the  company  of  the  immortals. 
It  is  only  when  I  think  of  you  and  your  fatherless  children,  that  I  grieve. 
How  bright  and  happy  was  that  home  wlieu  I  was  honored  with  its  hospi 
talities.  How  it  seems  darkened  now!  Even  the  sunshine  falling  through 
the  window  seems  to  add  to  the  gloom.  There  is  a  sombre  aspect  upon 
the  house,  and  upon  the  shrubljery,  and  upon  the  garden.  But  a  new^ 
light  will  arise  out  of  this  darkness — the  ligai  of  Faith,  A  clearer  vision 
of  the  things  of  God  will  arise  amid  the  clouds  anu  shadows,  unui  heavenly 
realities  will  almost  seem  as  near  as  earthly,  and  celesliai  meiodiea  wiu 
mingle  with  all  commor>  voices  around  you. 

May  the  Infinite  J-atner  support  the  young  ladies.  How  my  heari 
aches  for  them!  May  the  Peace  ol  Goo  hii  their  iiearts  now  •  Your  son — 
what  a  great  anguish  must  he  feel!  JSor  can  .  torget  Mrs.  Price.  I  have 
the  whole  circie  of  grier  before  me  in  imagination  Only  oae  word  can  1 
say  to  each  ;  '•  The  aiguc  wiU  soon  ,)as.>,  uno  cue  aay  wui  oe  eternal." 

Youl'  sincere  irienci, 

E.  M    MAEA'IN. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


THE    PRESS    AND    THE    SCHOOL. 

*'  He  being  dead,  jet  speaketh  "— Heb.  xi.  4 

'Wisdom  and  knowledjre  shaii  be  the  stability  of  thy  times  and 
streijgtli  o£  salvation.' — Isa.  xxxiii.  G. 

jnifHE,  puljJiL,  the  press  and  the  school — each  characterized 
ij^s  'T  -pt^t^iiil  endowments  and  capabilities,  they  are  the 
counterpjut  of  each  other,  and  constitute  together  a  trniity 
of  moral  aaencies,  a  tnumvirate  of  power  hi  the  domain  of 
Christian  culture  and  civilization.  The  eye  and  hand  of 
Bishop  Marvin  were  on  all  these  weapons  of  aggressive 
Christiamtv 

He  held  m  high  value  the  religious  press,  as  having  chief 
place  among  the  subordinate  instrumentalities  of  the  Gos- 
pel— both  auxilliary  and  supplemental  to  the  pulpit;  in 
much  performing  the  same  functions,  and  speaking  when 
the  pulpit  is  silent,  and  where  the  pulpit  has  not  access.  Its 
history  contains  the  providential  commission  it  has,  as  an 
ally  and  advocate  of  religion.  The  first  writing  of  which 
we  have  an  authentic  account  was  the  Decalogue,  and  the 
first  book  printed  Avith  moveable  ty[)es  was  the  Bible  :  as, 
also,  the  first  stereotype  plate  ever  made  Avas  a  cast  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  In  America,  the  first  printed  page  was 
the  collection  of  Psalms  in  New  England  ;  and  in  Mexico,  a 
work  entitled  ".El  doctrina  Christiana."  In  the  Old  and 
New  World,  and  in  both  dispensations  of  religion,  printing 


THE  TRESS  AND  THE  SCHOOL.  653 

— the  chisel  on  stone,  the  stylus  on  parchment,  the  types 
of  John  Faust — made  its  first  appearance  as  the  servant  of 
Christianity.  Bishop  JNIarvin  put  it  to  service  and  worked 
it  hard.  At  the  very  beginning  of  one  of  the  lines  of  his 
ancestral  descent.  Cotton  Mather  was  noted  as  the  most  vol- 
uminous and  most  famous  writer  of  his  day.  Than  his  re- 
mote descendant,  none  in  his  times  has  employed  a  more 
prolific  and  pure,  and  few,  if  any,  have  wielded  a  more  pun- 
gent and  powerful  pen. 

In  his  particular  Church,  at  its  origin,  among  its  peculi- 
arities, it  Avas  a  great  Publishing  Institution — the  Founder 
of  Methodism,  an  Author,  a  Publisher  and  a  book  and  tract 
distributor.  The  institution  was  brouijht  across  the  waters, 
and  set  up  and  set  in  operation  upon  a  wider,  a  more  needy 
and  more  fruitful  field  ;  the  Apostle  of  American  Method- 
ism, likewise,  its  patron  and  its  servitor.  It  is  among  the 
traditions  of  the  continental  travels  of  Francis  Asbury,  that, 
when  he  was  too  infirm  to  preach  much,  he  used  to  travel, 
leading  a  i)a('k-horse  laden  with  reliaious  books  for  distribu- 
tion,  and  in  this  employment,  said  :  "  Kow  I  know  I  am 
doing  good."  When  Bishop  Marvin  was  circuit-preacher, 
his  name  was  on  the  order-book  of  the  Publishing  House  at 
Louisville  and  Nashville — a  book-peddler,  in  the  sense  of  the 
rule  of  the  Discipline:  "Circulate  the  books."  When 
Bishop,  in  the  succession  of  the  Asbury  Episcopacy,  he  was 
seen  once,  by  the  writer,  at  Potosi  District  Conference,  held 
at  Irondale,  after  adjournment,  selling  books  to  the  people 
from  a  box  at  the  door  of  the  Conference  room,  as  they 
passed  out.  The  companion  of  his  travels  around  the  world 
has  reported  the  American  Bishop  as  a  colporteur  along  the 
canals  and  in  the  village  streets  in  China. 

He  was  in  California  when  the  Old  Depository  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  establishment  of  a  Publishinor  House,  at  St. 
Louis.  A  letter  in  the  possession  of  the  writer  expresses 
his  great  joy  over  the  consummation  of  that  enterprise.    He 


654  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

hutl  favored  and  helped  the  effort  at  its  orighi,  and  has  ren- 
dered large  and  valuable  aid  in  its  operations.  Among  the 
disadvantages  of  the  work  on  the  California  coast,  incident 
to  its  isolation  at  the  time,  was  the  lack  of  Church  pul)lica- 
tions  and  religious  literature.  His  plea  in  that  behalf  se- 
cured for  the  Coast  a  Depository  at  San  Francisco  the  next 
fall  after  his  reti:rn  home.  In  I'cxas,  on  his  second  visita- 
tion, he  was  present  and  encouraged  and  aided  in  a  large 
movement  for  the  establishment  at  Galveston  of  a  Publish- 
in"-  Company  similar  to  that  at  St.  Louis. 

Both  of  those  enterprises  he  especially  valued  as  prom- 
isin*»-  a  safe  and  permanent  basis  for  their  religious  weeklies. 
The  Advocates  of  the  Church  he  rated  as  invaluable  and  in- 
dispensable— pleading  for  the  Texas  paper  from  the  text: 
"No  organization,  no  party,  no  enterprise  expects  to  hold 
its  own  or  make  any  headway  in  the  world,  unless  it  has  a 
newspaper  to  speak  for  it."       In  the    colunnis  of   the  Sf. 
Louis  Chnstian  Advocate,  in  the  tiles  for  the  last  month  of 
the  year  ]8()9,  may  be  found  a  summary  of  the  points  made 
for  its  claims  at  the  St.  Louis  District  Conference,  reported 
by  him  as  Chairman,  with  an  earnest  plea  for  its  wide-spread 
circulation,     hi  the  Chair  of  a  Conference  session,  where  he 
presided,  publishers  and   editors  had  a  fair  field  opened  to 
them,  and  often  a  word  of  advocacy  added  to  their  own. 
In  it  sometimes,  there  was  a  word  of  testimony  from  the 
experience  of  his  own  life  ;  how  Silas  Comfort  put  a  Meth- 
odist Discipline  in  his  hand  as  soon  as  he  joined  the  Church, 
and  how  Peter  Doub's  tract  on  Baptism  had    made  him  a 
poedobaptist  and  not  an  exchisivo  immersionist.    He  has  left 
in  print  the  following  statement,  taken,  he  wrote,  from  his 
large   observation:    "When  our  people  generally  become 
readers  of  the  Advocates,  we  shall  reach  a  new  era  in  Meth- 
odism.    A  large  minded  interest  will  obtain  hi  all  tlie  lal)ors 
and  enterprises  of  the  Church.   Willing  workers  will  appear 
on  all  sides.     A  deeper  piety  will  prevail.      The  ministry 


THE  TRESS  AND  THE  SCHOOL.      '  655 

will  be  better  supported.     Young  men  will  rise  up  to  preach 
the  Gospel." 

The  contribution  of  his  pen  to  the  columns  of  the  Church 
paper  began  with  the  effusion  of  the  boy-preacher  in  the  old 
Western  Ohristian  Advocate,  andcontmued^all  his  life  ;  every 
periodical  of  the  Church,  with  little  exception,  soliciting 
and  receiving  his  correspondence.  The  first  three  discourses 
in  his  Volume  of  Sermons  appeared  first  in  the  columns  of 
the  /St.  Louis  Advocate.  To  that  paper  he  was  a  contribu- 
tor from  its  establishment  in  1850  till  the  year  1873 — some 
of  his  serial  articles  since  appearing  in  book  form.  All  this 
service  was  gratuitous,  except  during  about  two  years,  when 
it  was  the  policy  of  the  last  named  p:iper  to  employ  paid 
correspondents.  The  writer  remembers  how  instantly  he 
declined  the  arrangement  when  first  proposed.  He  would- 
write  frequently  during  his  Episcopal  itinerancies,  he  said, 
but  only  as  a  matter  of  duty  and  pleasure.  It  was  replied 
that  a  fund  for  that  purpose  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  editor  with  a  view  of  securino;  select  and  reaular  corres- 
pondcnce,  and  gratuitous  service  would  not  be  accepted  from 
him,  whilst  the  service  of  others,  less  valuable,  was  paid 
for.  Personal  appeal  was  added,  but  notwithstanding  all, 
he  reluctantly  assented  to  the  proposal.  Never  was  an  in- 
vestment more  remunerative  to  publishers  ;  his  letters  from 
Texas  and  Montana  and  the  Atlantic  Seaboard,  contributing 
largely  to  the -success  of  the  special  policy  of  the  paper  at 
that  time  to  secure  a  connectional  circulation.  In  this  corps 
■of  contributors  were  the  venerable  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  and 
]>esides  the  London  correspondent.  Rev.  Dr.  Deems  and 
Rev.  Geo.  J.  Smith.  A  paper  may  well  afford  to  pay  two 
■classes  of  writers — one  not  to  wnte  at  all  ;  the  other  for 
such  pens  as  Marvin's,  the  expenditure  coming  back  over 
and  over  again  in  the  subscription  list.  Never  was  there  a 
pen  more  unselfish  and  less  mercenary.  The  orphan  chil- 
dren of  his  friend  were  made  the  beneficiaries  of  the  "  Life 


65 ()  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

of  Caples  ;"  .-ukI  nt  one  of  the  last  Conferences  he  held,  he 
subscribed  to  the  fund  for  the  relief  of  the  Publisiiinir  House 
at  Nashville  profits  on  sale  of  an  edition  of  his  A'olume  of 
Sermons,  amountinir,  it  is  understood,  to  seven  hundred 
(lollnis.  "\Vhatc\'er  profit  there  might  be  in  the  publication 
in  hook  form  of  his  lectures  on  the  "  Errors  of  the  Papacy," 
it  has  been  understood,  were  for  the  use  of  the  old  St.  Louis 
Book  Depository. 

In  all  respects,  the  pi«*itv  of  his  pen  has  been  signalized 
— in  its  motives,  conspicuoush'.  The  preface  of  evei-y  l)o()k, 
on  the  authority  of  his  own  statement,  which  none  u  ill  ques- 
tion, sends  every  volume  foi-th  as  a  defender  of  the  faith 
and  on  the  mission  of  an  Evangelist.  His  first  i)reface  has 
been  already  para[)hrased  on  a  former  page.  Jn  the  last 
preface,  quoted  by  the  preaclicr  of  his  funeral  sermon  as  an 
instance  of  self-scrutiny,  there  is  not  only  watch  l)ut  protest 
against  unworthy  motives  ;  even  denying  to  himself  any  sat- 
isfaction of  an  artificer  in  the  fin'ish  of  his  work,  and  hning 
it,  "  as  a  lamb  without  S[)ot,"  on  the  altar  in  offering  to  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  men. 

•  It  is  needless  for  me  to  profess  a  good  moiirc  iu  preparing  these 
discourses  for  the  press,  for  every  Ciiristian  man  is  supposed  to  act  upon 
good  motives;  yet,  tiuth  to  ttdl,  I  have  never  been  quite  as  uell  satisfied 
Willi  my  own  motives  us  I  would  like  to  be;  for  wlule  I  trust  that  the 
*' love  of  Christ  constraiueth  me,"  still,  upon  an}' deep  intiuspection,  I 
have  occasion  to  suspect  the  presence  of  a  subtle  selfishness  and  vanity, 
from  which  I  find  no  resort  but  in  atoning  mercy.  .1  can  only  pray  God 
that  if  there  be  the  taint  of  any  such  thing  iu  the  publication  of  this  volume 
the  all-.-avimi'  B1o(k1  ma}'  put  it  away,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  mahe 
my  poor  work  the  nistrununt  of  salvation  to  some  who  are  iu  sin,  ana  ji 
edification  to  those  w  ho  are  already  in  Christ. 

His  last  volume,  instead  of  preface,  has  appendix,  in 
which  an  Episcopal  colleague  characterizes  the  Work  and  tes- 
tifies to  the  good  to  be  acccomplished  by  it:  "  Going  out 
throuah  the  gates  of  the  "West,  he  returned  throuoh  the 
gates  of  the  East — having  made  :i  tour  round  the  world. 
His  letters  penned  on  junk  and   shi})l)oard,  or  at  the  end  of 


THE    PKESS    AND    THE    SCHOOL.  657 

a  day's  ride,  in  his  tent,  have  made  an  epoch  in  the  Mission- 
ary spirit  of  the  Church.  Doubtless  his  thoughtful  and  well 
detailed  outline  of  plan,  and  scheme,  and  occupation  of 
heathen  outposts  will  guide  the  operations  of  our  Board  for 
years  to  come."  His  sanctified  pen  was  prevalent.  It  comes 
from  Montana,  concernino'  a  single  article — "  Science  ver- 
sus  Faith" — the  saying  of  a  cultivated  gentleman;  "If  I 
had  been  ever  so  much  inclined  to  skepticism,  after  reading 
that  article,  I  could  never  ho  an  infidel."  In  o-eneral,  bv 
the  productions  of  his  pen,  as  of  his  pulpit,  the  truth  of  (iod 
w'as  stated  and  glorified,  the  conscience  of  the  Church  was 
enlightened  and  quickened,  and  its  zeal  animated  and  di- 
rected. 

jMuch  of  his  writing  had  its  origin  and  scope  in  a  i)artic- 
ular  view  of  the  condition  of  his  times — one  characteristic 
•specified  by  him,  as  a  time  of  extraordinary  mental  activity  : 
'•'  'i'he  mental  tension  of  our  day  brings  along  much  good 
with  it.  It  ])rino;s,  also,  some  evil.  Thought,  over-stimu- 
latcd,  cannot  always  Avork  safely.  There  will  be  lesion  oc- 
casionally. There  will  be  misdirection."  The  acti\ityof  a 
perverted  and  venal  press  is  noted  as  an  accompanying  fact, 
giving  stimulus  and  opportunity  to  this  evil.  It  is  further 
agirravated  :  "  to  make  matters  "worse,"  lie  says,  "  eveiy 
half  educated  man  believes  in  himself.  He  esteems  himself 
a  very  capable  thinker,  ]*t  is  miraculous  how  many  small 
men,  \A\o  get  everythiuL'  ut  second-hand,  and  yet  believe 
themselves  great  thinkers.  This  self-reliant  littleness  abounds 
in  the  land  and  is  very  responsive  to  new  and  startling  theo- 
ries." This  tendency  he  had  noticed  showing  itself  in  the 
thinkinnp  of  some  of  the  voung  preachers.  A  strange  thing 
had  transpired — new  in  the  observation  of  his  entire  minis- 
terial life — a  case  of  arrest  at  Conference  on  a-  charge  of 
unsound  doctrine.  It  had  been  preached  in  the  pulpit  and 
advocated  in  the  press.  These  <rircumstances  gave  rise  to  a 
series  of   papers   published  in   the  Church  organ,  entitled 


658  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

*' Doctriii.'il  Integrity  of  Methodism."  It  "svas  iiitevivied  to 
gii:ii-d  it  iigtiiiist  the  tendency,  S[)()ken  of  in  the  wridng  it- 
self, "  toward  extreme  theories  and  adventurous  specaitition, 
fro  wide-.s[)read  and  infectious  as,  perhaps,  to  threatetv  even 
the  integrity  of  Doctrine  in  the  Church."  Those  papers 
have  since  been  reprinted  in  Ixxjk  forin^  and  have  received 
favorable  notice  for  their  great  practical  value  as  well  a»,lit- 
erary  excellence. 

In  a  similar  direction,  but  in  a  higher  rano-e  and  reiwh:  of 
philosophic  thought  "was  his  "  AVork  of  Christ."  In  part,,  it 
carries  Theology  into  the  domain  of  Metaphysics.  In  »ther 
parts,  with  a  footing  in  some  hints  in  the  Scriptures  cor?cern_. 
.ing  the  conditions  of  the  invisible  world  and  the  horo«>cope 
of  the  Church  in  the  future  state,  he  indulges  at  lanije-  in 
discussion  upon  the  presumable  effects  of  the  Atonement  on 
other  worlds,  and,  accordingly,  magnifies  the  grandousr  of 
tlie  destiny  of  the  Church,  bouirht  with  His  Blood.  The 
speculative  character  of  this  portion  of  the  volume  fe;  con- 
i^eded,  and  more  ^  it  is  announced  as  such,  with  frc^tiency 
imd  emphasis,  as  only  a  glimpse  opened  by  the  Scriptures, 
into  "the  hidden  things  which  belong  to  God,"  a  ud  enun- 
ciated with  reverent  submission,  becoming  in  all  speculation; 
D?  reason,  to  an  historical  faith  in  the  Wordof  God..  Tht* 
book  ^u-as  composed  at  a  time,  when  Bledsoe's  "  Theodicy'''' 
was  a  comparatively  recent  issue  from  the  press,,  and  had 
Commanded  a  large  attention  ;  and  from  himself,  high  ad- 
miration and  approval.  That  production,  it  is  pro])a])Ie,,  led 
Marvin  to  adventure  in  the  same  fields  of  speculative  and 
philosophic  thinking.  It  has  been  associated,  in  frequent  crit- 
icism and  in  ht)norable  companionship,  with  the  pen  of  Bled- 
soe, who  lias  achieved,  and  against  all  comers  has  main- 
tained, the  reputation  of  a  Master  in  Philosophy,  and  a 
Defender  of  the  Christian  Faith  at  the  bar  of  reason,  and  in 
the  arena  of  Metaphysics.  The  history  of  its  composition 
is   remarkable — in  the  camp-life  of  his  Southern  itinerancy 


THE  riiESS  AND  THH  SCHOOL.  659 

durini'  the  war.  Besides  authentic  testiiiionv  of  intimate 
associates  in  the  army  to  that  fact,  there  is  other  direct  and 
conclusive  evidence  in  the  pos^session  of  the  writer.  He 
met  Bishop  Marvin  in  St.  Louis,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Mon- 
roe Collins,  on  the  first  day  of  his  arrival,  in  return,  a  Bish- 
op, to  his  old  home  and  State,  after  nearly  four  years'  ab- 
sence and  separation.  In  that  interview,  "  since  I  have  been 
gone,''  he  remarked  pleasantly,  "I  have  turned  author." 
He  went  to  his  truidv  and  brouu'ht  from  it  a  leather-back 
blank  book,  of  octavo  si/o,  with  about  300  pages.  "  Let 
me  read  to  you,"  he  added,  "  a  chapter  or  two,  and  see 
what  3'ou  think  of  it,  as  I  have  a  mind  to  publish  it."  By 
request  he  continued  the  reading,  embracing  nearly  the 
whole.  As  biographer,  the  same  blank  book  has  come  again 
into  view — now  lying  on  the  table  as  this  page  is  penned. 
The  manuscript  occupies  the  first  pages,  followed  by  the  di- 
ary entries  of  his  army  life,  appearing  in  a  former  chapter. 
It  is  written  in  pencil.  It  is  not  known  certainly  that  it  is 
a  first  draft,  but,  if  so,  it  is  in  evidence  of  the  facility  and 
precision  of  a  ready  writer — without  change  in  the  structure 
of  sentences,  or  scarcely  an  erasure  or  substitution  or 
interlineation  of  a  Avord.  It  was  certaiidy  written, 
not  in  the  study,  but  in  the  camp,  or  at  farm  houses 
— away  from  libraries  ;  never  having  read  Sir  William 
Hamilton  ;  without  any  consultation  with  authors  ;  evolved 
out  of  his  own  thinking,  and  aided  only  by  what,  as 
another  says  it,  he  had  funded  in  reading  and  re- 
tained in  the  capacious  store-house  of  his  retentive 
memory  ;  or,  what  is  well  known  of  his  mental  habit,  what 
he  had  reduced  to  possession  by  the  assimilation  of  a  thor- 
ouo-h  dio-estion  of  what  he  may  have  read.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Summers  notes  a  similar  fact  in  his  authorship  :  "  I  requested 
him  to  furnish  me  a  letter  every  week  during  his  tour,  and 
he  did  so.  All  his  letters  came  safely  to  hand,  so  that  they 
appeared  in  successive  numbers  of  the  CUristian  Advocate 


GGO  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Thcj' were  Avrittcu  on  ship-board,  in  tents,  and  in  khans — 
current e  calamo — sometimes  on  coar.se  paper  with  a  pencil ; 
and  yet  they  required  but  comparatively  little  revision." 

Of  the  literarv  character  and  value  of  those  letters, 
among  other  remarks,  Dr.  Summers  says:  <'  It  may  be 
safely  said  that  few  such  letters  from  the  Orient  were  ever 
AA'rittcn,  and  few  men  could  write  any  like  them.  Bishop 
Marvin  could  not  have  produced  a  "Work  like  this,  if  he  had 
not  possessed  a  mind  of  unusually  clear  perception,  a  sound 
judgment,  poetic  and  imaginative  powei'S  of  a  high  order, 
indomita1)le  energy  and,  unquenchable  j^eal  in  the  cause  of 
Christ."  He  adds  another  remark  :  "  The  magnetic  power 
which  ho  had  in  personal  intercourse  Avith  men  is  carried 
into  his  letters."  In  general,  it  was  a  peculiarity  of  his  writ- 
ing, as  it  was  characteristic  of  his  preaching,  what  is  said  of 
Dickens'  readings  by  Thomas  Carlvle  :  "Mr.  Dickens  in  some 
characters  costumes  his  mind  witli  a  completeness  that  is  ab- 
solutely perfect."  It  is  the  same  thins:  written  of  his  Book 
of  Travel,  in  the  columns  of  a  leading  American  journal — 
"the  author  writes  like  himself."  Dr.  Sunnners  may  re- 
member an  incident  in  illustration,  as  he  conducted  Bishop 
Marvin's  Volume  of  Sermons  through  th.e  press  at  the  Nash- 
ville Publishing  House.  The  writer  was  in  the  Bishop's 
room  at  his  home  in  St.  Louis,  wlicn  a  proof  slip  came  to 
to  him  for  revision.  It  had  a,  pencil-mark  drawn  throuirh  a 
Avord,  which  was  a  broad  "Western  provincialism,  and  substi- 
tutinu:  a  word  of  classical  Enirlish.     A  note  on  the  margin 

o  c  c 

asked  indulixence  towards  the  liberty  tiiken,  andbea-o-ed  the 
adoption  of  the  change.  "No,"  said  the  Bishop;  "I'll 
stick  to  xny  word  ;  it  is  just  like  tne.''  Among  the  idiosyn- 
cracics  of  his  vocabulary,  there  was,  besides  occasional  gro- 
tesqucness,  the  frecdoni  of  bold  originality — the  master  and 
not  the  slave  of  words,  and  putting  them  to  service  to  h.is 
ideas,  however  novel  their  attitude.  An  example  of  this 
class  of   phraseolog}'-,  is  noted    l)y  the  editor  of   the   Texas 


THE  PRESS  AND  THE  SCHOOL.  6G1 

Christian  Advocate :  "  "We  are  inclcl)tcd  to  one  of  Bishop 
Marvin's  week-night  seruioiis  for  a  novel  expression.  With 
two  words  he  i)ortrayed  a  eharaeter  witli  wlioni  every  prcaeh- 
er  is  acquainted.  A  gentleman  once  said  to  tlio  Bishop, 
when  the  chiinis  of  jiersonal  salvation  were  urged  upon  him, 
'  I  design  to  be  a  Christian,  but  I  do  not  purpose  to  nialvc  a 
fuss  about  it.  I  shall  not  go  to  the  altar  for  prayer,  unite 
with  the  Church,  nor  make  any  public  profession  whatever. 
jNIy  religion  shall  bo  a  matter  between  myself  and  my  God.' 
This,  the  Bishop  said,  Avas  <  in\'ertcd  hj'pocris}'.'  Profess- 
edly the  man  would  belong  to  the  world,  but  in  reality  to 
Christ.  Outwardly  a  sinner — inwardly  a  saint."  The  Texas 
editor  has  paraphrased  the  idea  intended,  sharply  :  *'  Th<^ 
hvpocrite  tries  to  impose  on  the  Church.  This  man  seeks 
to  cheat  the  Devil." 

The  Book  Editor,  Dr.  Summers,  has  said,  in  criticism, 
further:  "There  is  wonderful  fascination  in  his  style. 
No  one  ever  V\'e;iries  with  it.  The  learned  and  unlearned 
alike  are  entertained  by  it."  His  i)roduction — "What  is 
Man?" — servinsr  at  one  time  and  another,  for  sermon  and 
literary  address,  enthuses  the  Montana  miner  and  the 
auditor  at  Emory  College,  at  Oxford.  *' His  faculty,"  it 
is  added  by  the  same  critic,  "  of  description  and  delineation 
was  wonderful."  His  serial  correspondence  with  the  peri- 
odical which  that  eminent  critic  edited  furnished  abundant 
evidence.  Other  Advocates^  at  various  times,  were  in  like 
manner  favored — his  several  serials  of  notes  of  travel  con- 
taining some  of  the  most  charming  pen-pictures.  Among 
them  has  been  mentioned  heretofore  his  great  description  of 
the  Natural  Bridge — referred  to  here,  as  having  in  the  midst 
a  specimen  of  the  naivete,  Avhicli  enlivens  and  adorns  that 
species  of  writing.  It  is  the  more  interesting  as  the  biogn;- 
phv  of  his  gold  pen:  "The  good  gold  pen  with  which  I 
wn-ite  was  given  me  as  a  Christmas  present  by  my  friend, 
Bernard   Bryan,  Esq.,  December   25,  1857.     It  has  been  a 


Gi)2  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

faithful  i)on.  All  the  letters,  newspaper  correspondence, 
pamphlets,  speeches  and  books  that  bear  my  name,  it  has 
written.  I  must  speak  well  of  it.  But  the  delineation  of 
this  bridge  staggers  it.  It  pleads  ri  disposition  to  fall  into  a 
dumb  reverie  of  admiration.  This  pen  has  made  free  with 
thunder  and  lightning,  and  gossi[)[)ed  quite  at  its  ease  about 
]\Iount  Shasta,  and  now,  under  the  friendly  span  that  bears 
the  travel  of  the  neighborhood  across  Cedar  creek,  it  insists 
on  falling  into  respectful  silence.  But  I  insist  on  a  Mord 
from  it.  Come,  pen,  tell  us  wherein  is  the  charm  of  this 
place." 

The  rhetorical  passages  of  his  writings  are  remarkable 
chietiy  for  the  lofty  creations  of  imagination  ;  yet  the  deli- 
cate touches  of  fancy  have  been  scarcely  less  admired — as 
in  the  sermon  on  "  The  Church,  the  Bride  of  Christ,"  the 
whole  picture  of  the  wedding  festivity  and  its  antitype  in 
the  return  of  the  Bridcirrooni  to  the  Father's  House  in  the 
heavens.  One  poetic  conception  in  it,  growing  out  of  an  ad- 
miring notice  in  one  of  the  Church  periodicals,  has  received. 
consideral)]o  attention  and  excited  some  critical  discussion — 
"  Angels  Avill  sweep  the  in\isible  dust  of  the  gold  pavement 
\vith  their  "wings,  before  his  white  shod  feet  pass.".  It  may 
bo  interesting  to  note  a  similar  conception  concerning  the 
function  of  "  wings"  (tlie  point  raised  in  the  discussion), 
which  occurs  in  lines  by  an  unknown  poet,  and  so  beautiful 
that  fifty  guineas  were  offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  au- 
thor. The  lines  were  found  Avritten  on  the  skull  of  a  skele- 
ton in  the  ]\ruseum  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  Lon- 
don— 

"These  feet  with  aiiirols'  wings  shall  vie, 
And  tread  tlie  palace  of  the  sky." 

"  His  style,"  says  an  Episcopal  colleague,  whose  own 
pen  is  well  known,  and  makes  marks  that  are  seen  and  felt, 
"both  in  speaking  and  writing,  was  exceptionally  fluent  and 
perspicuous,  often  rising  into  elegjjnce  and  eloquence.     One 


THE  PRESS  AND  THE  SCHOOL.  6G3 

is  tempted  to  say,  as  Jeffrey  did  to  Macaular,,  when  ac- 
kuowledging  tlie  receipt  of  the  manuscript  of  his  first  Essay 
for  the  Edinhurg  Review,  '  The  more  I  think,  the  less  I  can 
conceive  ^vhcre  you  picked  up  that  style.'  "  The  pen  of 
Dr.  Deems,  which  has  reviewed  as  many  books,  perhaps,  as 
any  other — the  pen  of  the  author  of  "Weights  and  Wings  '' 
— has  written  of  both  matter  and  manner:  "Last  night  I 
finished  reading  Bishop  jNIarvin's  great  little  bov)k  on  '  The 
Work  of  Christ.'  Tlie  man  that  wrote  it  is  a  poet  and  logi- 
cian, and  this  is  the  finest  combination."  His  literary  at- 
tainments and  work  have  had  an  unique,  but  forcible  and 
just  expression  in  the  editorial  columns  of  the  Richmond 
CJirif<(ian  jldvocote : 

He  thought  outside  of  books  much.  Without  the  gymnasium  and 
training  of  schools,  lie  became  an  athlete  by  home-Avork. 

He  picked  out,  ginned,  compressed  and  carried  with  him  the  stapileof 
books.  He  -winnowed  cverj  thing.  Rations  and  weapons — the  necessities, 
of  the  campaign — he  had  ready;  he  was  careless  of  epaulets  and  orna- 
ments. Yet  he  Avas  a  poet.  Flowers  he  hud,  but  not  for  bouquets;  hti 
used  only  the  attar  of  the  roses,  and  to  perfume  the  gospel,  withal. 

Ho  was  a  great  expounder  of  doctrine,  ready  in  debate,  and  a  graceful 
writtT.  In  new  places  he  saw  widely  and  also  in  inches.  He  could  show 
the  cloth,  and  then  the  unwove  strands. 

Few  writers  have  had  more  readers.  Ko  author  has 
written  with  a  higher  aim  or  a  holier  purpose,  and  none  has 
more  signally  reached  his  mark.  In  the  function  of  the 
press,  as  a  means  of  rapid  and  wide  dissemination  of  thought, 
like  a  burnished  reflector,  to  which  it  has  been  likened,  that 
scatters  the  light  beyond  the  circle  of  its  ordinary  shining, 
his  usefulness  has  been  widened  immeasurably.  The  adap- 
tation and  efiiciency  of  the  printed  page  to  give  to  truth  im- 
mortality as  well  as  universality  prolong  his  useful  minis- 
try. He  still  sits  in  the  chair  of  the  teacher  and  stands  in 
the  desk  of  the  preacher,  according  to  the  truth  of  the  Latin 
saying,  rendered  into  English  :  "  The  spoken  word  perishes  : 
the  written  word  remains.'' 

There  is  a  laro-e  record  of  the  sentiments  and  labors  of 


(364:  BISHOP  MAIIVIX. 

Bishop  Marvin  in  behalf  of  llio  oducational  interests  of  tlie 
Church — tliis  work  in  his  hands,  likowisc.  an  ally  lo  the 
})uli)it  and  a  snl)sidy  tf)  Ciirislianity. 

Ever  since  the  cultured  Felix  trembled  before  Paul,  "  as 
lie  reasoned,"  and  the  preacher,  who  was  a  pupil  of  (Jama- 
lie],  (pioted  theGreck  poets  in  the  audienceof  pliilosoi)hers 
on  ^Nlars  Hill,  the  Church,  in  its  purity  and  vigor,  has  ap- 
peared as  patron  of  learning-  and  learning  the  hand-maid  of  re- 
ligion. The  original  fact  reappears  in  every  great  reformation 
of  Christianity.  This  ancient  alliance  is  well  justified  in  its 
philosophy  and  in  its  fruits.  Oxford  College,  founded  by 
the  Druids,  carries  with  its  very  name  the  natural  sympathy 
subsistintr  between  culture  and  reliiiion — the  founders  of 
this  oldest  University  in  the  A\'orl(l,  being  the  i)riests  of  re- 
ligion ;  in  associate  time  and  place,  setting  up  the  altar  of 
sacrifice  and  the  seat  of  science,  under  the  oaks  of  Ox-ford. 
The  ]\Iethodism,  which  was  born  in  Lincoln  College,  Oxford, 
wdien  John  Wesley  formed  the  "  Godly  Club,"'  inherited  the 
o-enius  of  the  place  of  its  uativitv  —  the  concord  and 
confederacy  of  faith  and  science.  The  first  Methodist  Con- 
ference and  the  foundation  of  its  first  Institution  of  Learn- 
ing are  synchronous.  The  Amerieau  ]\Iethodisni  has  a  sim- 
ilar history.  Wesley,  at  the  first  Conference  Avith  his 
preachers,  in  1739,  projected  Kingswood  School.  Tiieyear 
1784  is  alike  the  date  of  the  fiist  organization  of  the  Trans- 
Atlantic  Church  and  Cokesbury  Coljcge,  its  first  school. 
Cradled  at  a  litei-ai-y  institution,  in  all  its  years  and  in  all  its 
dispersions,  ;Methodisni  has  been  a  patron  of  learning  and  a 
friend  of  education.  This  character  is  inwrought  in  its  life, 
as  the  heredidiry  temper  of  its  s[)irit.  The  spirit  and  wis- 
dom of  the  Apostolic  fathers  of  the  Church  have  survived 
in  their  sons.  A  distinguished  student  of  INlethodism  testi- 
fies that  it  "  has  given  origin  to  a  system  of  educational 
])rovisi()ns  as  extensive  as  belongs  to  any  other  English  or 
American  Protestant  body,  except  the  Anglican  and  Scotch 


THE    PRESS    AND    THE    SCHOOL.  G65 

establisliineiits."  The  testimony  is  sustained  by  its  educa- 
tional statistics  of  ten  years  ago,  on  both  sides  of  tiic  ocean  : 
there,  tive  hundred  sclioolsand  sixty  tliousand  pupils  ;  here, 
two  hundred  chartered  institutions  of  learning  and  forty 
thousand  students. 

In  American  Methodism,  the  Church  has  ffiven  her 
stron<rest  men  to  the  College — Olin  and  Fisk  and  Smith. 
From  {U)llege  chairs  and  the  desk  of  editors,  it  has  taken 
men  for  the  Ei)iscopacy — Paine,  Bascom,  Pierce,  Wight- 
man,  Doggett,  McTyeire  ;  some  not  college-bred,  but  all 
cultured  and  the  friends  of  culture.  Before  the  close  of  the 
last  century  Asbury  recommended  "that  all  the  Annual 
Conferences  should  establish  Seminaries  within  their 
bounds."  McKendree,  a  bachelor,  left  his  property  as  the 
foundation  of  a  College  in  the  West,  which  bears  his  name. 
Every  Episcoj)al  address  from  the  beginning,  has  reviewed 
the  educational  work  of  the  Church,  and  its  supervision  has 
become  the  settled  traditional  work  and  common  law  duty 
of  Episcopal  administration.  At  the  present  day,  for  spe- 
cial oversight,  most  of  the  Colles-es  of  Southern  INIethodism 
have  each  a  Patron-Bishop — Doggett,  for  Randolph-jMa- 
con  ;  Wightman,  for  Wofford  ;  Pierce,  for  Emory;  Paine, 
for  Oxford  ;  Keener,  for  Centenary  ;  Kavanaugh,  at  the 
Wesleyan  University,  and  jMcTyeire  at  the  Yanderbilt ;  Cen- 
tral Colleire,  the  Connectional  Institution  for  the  three  Con- 
ferences  in  Missouri,  having  had  for  its  special  patron  Bishop 
Marvin. 

The  prostration  of  the  Male  Colleges  of  the  South  was  an 
instant  and  disastrous  result  of  the  late  civil  war.  Dr.  AVm. 
A.  Smith,  it  is  known,  was  sought  by  the  Board  of  Curators 
of  Central  College  at  its  first  opening,  and  particularly  so- 
licited by  his  cherished  personal  friend,  the  President  of  the 
Board,  the  late  Capt.  W.  D.  Swinney,  for  the  Presidency  of 
the  Institution.  Then  he  could  not  l>e  detached  from  his 
loved   Eandolph-Macon,   of  which  he   was  President,  and 


666  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

^vhicll  had  been  built  up  hy  his  herculean  labors  and  by  his 
all-powerful  inliuence.  Taking  St.  Louis  in  the  route  on 
his  returu  home  from  New  Orleans,  in  186<),  on  invitation 
from  old  Virginia  friends,  he  was  again  importuned  to  re- 
move to  Missouri,  and  undertake  the  resuscitation  of  Cen- 
tral Colleije  ;  then  in  ruins,  its  buildinirs  dismantled,  havinar 
been  occupied  as  soldiers'  barracks,  and  its  endowment,  con- 
sisting; larirelv  of  outstanding  bonds,  scattered  to  the  four 
winds.  Some  wi|l  remember  the  mournful  tone  of  his  spirit 
and  s[)eech,  in  his  reply:  "  I  have  stood  amidst  the  wreck 
of  the  endowment  of  Kandolph-Macon,  which  cost  me  the 
strongest  Libors  of  many  years  in  the  days  of  my  l)cst  prime. 
I  am  too  old  now  to  ur.dertake  a  similar  hibor  for  that  Col- 
leire,  and  cannot  for  vours."  That  visit  led  to  his  transfer 
to  the  St.  Louis  Conference  in  LS67,  and  his  i)astors]iij>  at 
Centenary  Church,  which  he  served  with  distinguished  abil- 
ity. A  third  time,  after  his  settlen)ent  in  ^lissom-i,  the 
Presidency  f)f  th(>  College  Avas  tendei'ed  and  declined.  He 
was,  however,  within  reach,  and  in  the  atmos[)liere  of  a  spirit 
of  fidelity  and  of  hope  in  regard  to  the  educational  work 
and  prospects  of  the  Church  in  Missouri,  which  survived  in 
tht!  breast  of  some,  among  them  Bishop  Mar\in,  It  will 
ap[)ear  on  a  following  page  how  Dr.  Smith  was  moved  and 
secured  for  the  College  by  his  influence,  and  how,  in  associ- 
ate labors,  these  grand  men,  more  than  any  others,  contrib- 
uted, not  only  to  retrieve  a  Avrecked  College,  hut  to  ])lace  it 
on  a  higher  })la(foi-m  and  on  a  surer  basis  than  it  had  ever 
before  occu[)icd.  The  details  of  that  achievement  would 
make  a  large  history,  too  voluminous  for  these  pages,  but 
not  for  a  due  meed  of  praise  to  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  a 
grand  President  and  a  grand  Bishop — par  nohile  fratrum. 

On  his  return  to  iMissouri,  after  his  election  to  the  Epis- 
copacy, he  found  St.  Chai'les  College  in  the  hands  of  usurp- 
ers of  its  charter  and  aliens  to  its  <l(Mioniinali(,)nal  tics — its 
Board  of  Curators  turned  out  l)y  the  test-oath,  which  they 


THE  PRESS  AND  THE   SCHOOL.  067 

would  not  take,  and  its  President  and  Visiting  Committee 
appointees  of  the  Northern  Methodist  Conference  in  Mis- 
souri. It  was  not  till  in  1870  that  the  College  property  was 
restored  to  its  rightful  ownership  and  management.  I\eV. 
Dr.  W.  M.  Lcftwich,  the  author  of  "  Martyrdom  in  Tilis- 
souri,"'  acceded  to  the  Presidency  as  successor  to  aNorthern 
brother.  The  seizure  and  the  manner  of  recovery  are  noted 
by  r>ish<)[)  ?vlarv;u  i;i  the  reference  n})pearing  on  a  subse- 
quent p  ;ge. 

In  the  meantime,  the  whole  histor}^  of  the  resurrection- 
life  of  Central  College  had  ti'nnspired.  Bishop  Marvin  was 
connected  actively  and  influentially  Avith  tliat  history  from 
the  beginning.  At  his  first  sessions  of  the  Conferences  in 
Missouri,  in  18rr7,  he  met  the  report  of  a  joint  committee 
of  the  two  patronizing  Conferences,  which  had  ))een  apjjoint- 
ed  at  tlie  previous  session  to  visit  the  seat  of  the  College  at 
Fayette,  and  ascertain  the  condition  of  its  property  and  en- 
dowment fund,  and  report,  with  r^'commendations.  Only 
two  of  this  committee,  it  seems,  thought  it  worth  while  to 
assemble  at  Fayette — Rev.  W.  M.  Prottsman,  one  of  them. 
They  were  agreed  as  to  the  completeness  of  the  ruin  :  ])ut 
differed  as  to  the  recommendation  to  the  Conferences  to  be- 
gin the  work  of  restoration.  The  dissentinir  view  was  waived 
and  the  reconnnendation  was  made.  At  the  St.  Louis  Con- 
ference, the  Committee  on  Education,  to  which  it  was  re- 
ferred, were  in  like  manner  divided,  the  majority,  with  dif- 
ficulty, induced  to  entertain  the  proposal  for  a  moment. 
Amidst  the  general  wreck  of  the  Conference  work  and  the 
impoverishment  of  the  people,  the  proposition  was  consid- 
ered preposterous.  It  was,  however,  advocated,  and  ])re- 
vailed.  In  lixiug  the  sum  to  be  proposed  as  the  mininmm 
amount  for  endowment,  one  hundred  thf)usand  dollars  was 
the  sum  named — so  large,  it  was  the  sentiment  of  most, 
that  it  would  be  utterly  impossi!)le  to  raise  it,  and  to  j)ro- 
pose  it  was  to  doom  the  act  in  its  birth.     The  Chairman  of 


C}C)S  BISHOP    MAUVIK. 

the  ConimittoG,  the  Lite  Gov,  Polk,  was  a  gnuluato  of  Yale, 
lie  knew  the  value  ami  what  the  organization  (^f  a  College, 
and  interposed  from  the  Chair,  seconding  in  a  torso  speech 
the  pica  and  the  original  })r()p()s:il — "  Missouri  Methodism 
must  have  a  College;  and  the  sum  proposed  is  tlio  least, 
and  indeed,  not  enougk  to  maintain  its  grade  and  do  its 
-work."  •  The  sum  of  Hfty  thousand  dollars,  which  had  been 
proposed  as  a  substitute,  was  withdrawn.  The  reconKuend- 
ation,  at  length  unanimously  adopted  in  the  Committee,  v/as 
ado[)ted  by  the  Conference.  It  was  done,  however,  with  no 
enthusiasm,  and  scarcelv  to  he  s:iid,  with  any  hope. 

Bishop  ]\Iarvi!i,  it  is  well  known,  took  great  interest  in 
that  transaction  of  tlie  Conference.  The  project  vras  before 
tlie  Church,  as  one  of  the  necessary  and  vital  things  to  be 
done  in  the  work  of  restoration  after  the  war.  At  the  time, 
and  in  the  intervening  time  before  Iiis  de[)arture  for  the 
Pacilic  coast,  in  which  he  luid  visited  every  point  in  the 
State,  he  advocated  the  measure  among  the  i)reachcrs  and 
the  people,  as  in  due  time  to  be  accomplished.  His  own 
hand  Avas  employed  at  once  in  clearing  away  the  rul)bish. 
lie  opened  the  way  to  the  coming  to  jMissouri  of  Prof.  F. 
X.  Forster,  at  i)resent  of  the  College  Faculty,  and  M'ho  con- 
ducted a  prosperous  High  School  in  the  building,  which  had 
been  i-ei)aired  by  the  citizens  of  Fayette. 

When  the  Bishop  returned  from  California,  he  found  an 
advance*!  sentiment  in  the  Conferent'c,  which  had  expression 
in  th(;  order  for  an  Educational  Convention,  to  meet  at  Fay- 
ette, and  which  was  h>dd  June,  ISGO.  Bishop  ^Marvin  pre- 
sided. The  attendaaice  was  large,  and  iho  representation  of 
the  Church  throughout  the  State  wasgenei'al  and  influential. 
The  resolution  of  the  Convention  was  pronounced  in  favor 
of  the  enterprise,  and  the  spirit  of  the  body  was  earnest  and 
positive,  and  even  enthusiastic.  The  depths  had  heen  moved  ; 
the  current  was  strong  ;  it  needed  oidy  that  a  leader  might 
l)e  found  to  )n()unt  the  crest-wave.      It  nmst   Ije   a  man  of 


THE  TRESS  AND  THE  SCHOOL.  GG9 

power,  and  in  the  person  of  the  future  President.  Other- 
wise the  spirit  which  was  up  would  be  evanescent.  These 
were  the  conclusions  of  two  friends  in  a  prolonged  conver- 
sation before  retiring  to  bed  oil  the  last  day  but  one  of  the 
session,  after  all  the  business  had  l)een  transacted,  and  an 
adjournraent  over  till  the  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock,  for  a 
farcv.-cll  meeting.  Bishop  jNIarvin  narrates  the  sequel,  ex- 
cept  that  he  does  not  mention  himself  as  one  of  the  two 
friends  : 

The  Coiwention  was  addressed  in  the  most  impressive  manner  by  Dr. 
W.A.  Sir.Uh  lion.  TrusteuPolk  also  delivered  an  address,  impromptu, 
■\vl.i;-h  contrlbnt.  d  much  to  the  deep  sense  of  the  importance  of  tlie  hour. 
It  was  i  lb  by  all  to  be  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  Cenlr:'.!  College;  and,  as 
such,  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  Missouri.  The  voice  of  the  Methodist 
public  was  unanimous  as  to  the  magnitude  of  the  interest.  The  doubt  was 
not  as  to  the  end  to  be  pursuid,  but  as  to  the  means. 

The  desideratum  w^is  a  vian  to  tal:e  charge  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Col- 
lege, whose  name  would  give  confidence  and  be  at  once  a  pledge  and  au- 
gury of  success.  There  was  a  man  present,  a  member  of  tlie  Convention, 
whose  power  to  accomplish  the  object  no  one  doubted,  and  yet  of  whom 
no  one  seemed  to  think  in  connection  with  it.  He  was  not  thought  of  for 
the  sole  i-eason  that  no  one  supposed  he  would  undertake  the  task  Twenty 
of  the  best  years  of  his  life  had  been  devoted  to  the  building  up  of  one 
College.  The  war  had  disorganized  and  scattered  the  fruits  of  all  this  la- 
bor. He  had  looked  around  him  hopelessly  upon  the  wreck,  and,  feeling 
that  he  was  too  old  to  beginthe  work  anew,  he  yielded  to  a  call  for  aid  iu  the 
pastoral  work  of  the  West.  Leaving  twenty  years  of  himself  in  the  wreck  of 
Randolph-Macon  College  he  came  to  St.  Louis,  and  was  appointed  pastor 
of  Ceutrnary  Church.  His  reasons  for  leaving  Eandolph-Macon  were 
known  in  Missouri. 

But  in  the  crisis  at  Fayette,  as  if  by  inspiration,  he  was  thought  of . 
Two  of  his  friends,  after  full  consultation  with  each  other,  called  ou  htm, 
and  i^roposed  to  him  to  take  the  Presidency  of  Central  College,  with  the 
understanding  that  his  first  work  would  be  to  raise  an  endowment  of  One 
Hundred  Thousand  Dollars,  the  Conference  having  already  agreed  upon 
this  as  the  minimum  of  endowment  upon  which  the  College  should  be 
organized. 

He  was  taken  wholly  by  .^irprise.  His  view  of  the  labor  involved  was 
clear.  He  grasped  the  condilons  of  the  undertaking  fully.  The  m.igni- 
tude  and  the  difficulty  of  tiie  undertaking  were  fully  present  to  his  mind, 
xle  thought  of  his  own  advanced  age.  He  thought,  also,  of  tlie  grandeur 
of  the  result,  if  it  could  only  be  achieved.     After  a  pause  so  solemn  that  it 


(570  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

wnsfelt,  he  said,  in  su])sl:uice,  to  the  two  friends  who  h;ul  made  Ihe  pro- 
posal, "  You  know  Missouri ;  I  do  nut.  You  know  the  extent  of  my  inllu- 
ence  in  Missouri;  1  do  not.  You  ave  my  friends ;  you  will  not  trifle  with  me. 
I  am  too  old  to  be  wasting  time.  If  I  can  accomplish  this  ol)jfct,  it  will  be 
the  ijreatcst  Hiimj  I  can  do.  It  will  be  the  crowning  work  of  my  life.  But  I 
cannot  devote  the  last  years  of  my  life  to  a  work  tliat  must  fail.  If  you, 
my  personal  friends,  knowing  Missouri  as  you  do,  and  knowing  me,  believe 
I  can  raise  this  endowment  in  ten  years,  I  will  undertake  it.  I  am  lame;  I 
am  sreltinix  old  ;  traveling  is  a  great  labor  to  me.  But  if  you  think  I  can  do 
this  work  in  ten  years,  I  will  undertake  it."  They  told  hiiu  it  was  their 
conviction  that  he  would  accomplish  the  whole  work  in  tAon  years.  After 
further  most  earnest  conversation,  he  gave  his  consent  lor  tliem  to  offer  his 
name  to  the  Convention. 

Bishoi)  Marvin's  recollection  is  not  quite  accurate  in  the 
statement  that  he  was  elected  by  the  Convention  ;  it  was 
done  by  the  Botird  of  Curators,  in  session  from  S  to  10 
o'clock,  preceding;  the  hour  of  the  lintil  meeting  of  the  Con- 
vention. Within  those  hours  the  interview  with  Dr.  Smith 
transpired,  his  consent  obtained,  and  his  election  by  the 
Board.  At  their  head,  arm  in  arm  with  Bishop  Marvin,  he 
entered  the  Convention  room.  The  iiimouncement  that  Dr. 
Smith  had  been  elected  and  had  accepted,  produced  the  sen- 
sation which  Bishop  Marvin  reports.  It  is  true,  as  he  says, 
"  all  was  doubt  and  anxiety  in  most  minds  ;  there  had  been 
much  talking,  much  thinking,  much  prayer."  The  an- 
nouncement was  tin  end  of  doubts  ;ind  the  herald-voice  of 
salvation  to  the  College.     Bishop  Mtirvin  adds  : 

I  shall  never  forget  that  hour.  The  subdued  tone  and  well-chosen 
vvoi'ds  in  wliich  Dr.  Smith  acknowledged  the  honor  and  accepted  tlie  labor 
conferred  and  imposed,  are  still  fresh  in  many  minds.  The  congi'atula- 
tions  which  a  hundred  men  looked  and  spoke  and  felt,  the  deep  sense  of 
relief,  the  new-born  sense  of  confidence,  the  linsh  of  a  great  hope,  constitu- 
ted one  of  those  occasions  that  lift  life  out  of  its  common-placeness — an 
occasion  to  be  held  in  memory  forever  after. 

Who  can  doubt  that  God  raised  up  the  man,  and  in  His  providence 
brouiiht  him  to  the  work  just  at  the  juncture  when  success  or  failure 
hinged  upon  the  action  of  an  hour?  But,  alas!  the  aged  man  did  two  or 
three  years'  work  in  one,  and  the  over-taxed  nervous  system  broke  down. 
He  is  dead,  and  the  cause  of  Christian  education  in  Missouri  bears  the 
consecration  of  his  last  labor.  That  great  life  culminates  in  Central  Col- 
lege. 


THE  TRESS  AND  THE  SCHOOL.  CTl 

All  episode  followed  Dr.  Smith's  reinarks  in  acknowled^- 
iiigthe  demoiistrutiou  of  feeling  in  the  Convention.    Not  by 
premeditation,  but  on  .spontaneous  impulse,  it  was  proposed 
that  the  best  reply  to  the  speech  and  the  best  announcement 
of  the  transaction  would  be  the  subscription  begun.     It  was 
added,  if  the  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  shall  be  raised, 
the  leading  figure  must  be  not  less  thaa  five  thousand — "  Is 
there  one  here  who  will  give  it?"       "  1  will,"  was  the  in- 
stant answer  from  the  lips  of  Adam  Hendrix.      "If    I  am 
not  mistaken,  tht^re  will  ])o  another."     Gov.  Polk  knew  he 
was  alluded  to,  and  replied  :   "  I  will  not  say  positively,  but  • 
it  is  proba])le."     There    was  no  question  about   it    at    the 
time,  and  it  was  done  afterwards  in  the  St.  liouis  subscrip- 
tion, which  contributed  more  than  half  the  required  amount. 
In  the  effort  of  the  President-Agent,  Bishop  Marvin  was  a 
chosen  counselor  and  an  active  canvasser   with  him.     Rev. 
H.  A.  Bourland  was  the  traveling  companion  and  colleague 
of  Dr.  Smith,  and  rendered  useful  service.     Wlien  within  a 
little  more  than  ten   thousand  from  the  consunnnation,  the 
health  of  Dr.  Smith  broke  down,  and  the  effort  was  taken 
up  by  Rev.  W.  ]M.  Rnsh.     In   the   last  month   of  the  3-ear 
IbTO,  the  Board  of   Curators  announced  the   proposed  en- 
dowment raised. 

In  the  Chapel  of  the  (>)llcge,  these  four  names — Smith 
and  Marvin,  Polk  and  Hendrix — have  memorial  record  ;  its 
great  j^atrons  and  greatest  benefactors.  In  associate  mem- 
ory with  theirs  is  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Wills.  He 
came  from  the  Southern  University  to  the  Headsliip  of  the 
College  at  its  opening,  and  did  not  forsake  the  place,  Avith 
its  meagre  salary  and  its  douljle  work,  when  the  chair  of 
mathematics,  and  three  thousand  a  year  and  a  Professor's 
house  was  offered  him  at  the  Vanderbilt.  He  was  a  man 
after  Marvin's  own  heart ;  and  between  them  there  existed 
the  most  affectionate  personal  attachment  and  mutual  vene- 
ration.     It  belonired    to   Dr.  Wills  to  organize  the  Colleoe 


672  BISHOP    MARVITf. 

and  realize  m  its  development  the  oririiial  plan  of  a  Univer- 
sity— for  tliis,  the  endowment  raised  only  the  minimum. 
Its  neeessary  inerease  he  looked  to  l!islio[)  Marvin  to  ae- 
complisli,  and  to  ^vlli(■ll  lie  was  plcdL^ed  l)v  a  self-imposed 
])romise.  Tlie  last  meeting  of  the  Board  over  whieh  Dr. 
"Wills  presided,  in  its  action  on  the  report  of  the  Prcsiilent, 
formallv  requested  that  service  at  the  hand  of  the  Bishop. 
In  his  last  sessions  of  the  Conferences  in  ^^dissouri,  he  :in- 
nouneed  his  purpose  to  undertake  it.  His  last  travel  was 
on.  this  errand — a  journey  to  Northwest  Missouri,  on  a  visit 
to  a  friend  of  the  College,  and  ohtaining  valuable  aid  se- 
cured hy  a  testanientarv  devise.  It  was  in  his  mind  and 
hope  to  endow  a  Smith  Professorship  dui-ing  the  year. 
That  work  fell  from  his  dying  ha.nd.  The  i)resent  President 
— in  Yonlh,  in  health,  with  large  mind  and  liberal  spirit — is 
a  S(!n  of  Adam  Ilendrix,  and  was  the  trav(>ling  companion 
of  Bishop  Marvin  in  the  tour  arouinl  tl;e  Avorld.  There 
comes  upon  him,  out  of  the  whole  history  of  the  (^)llege, 
the  connnand  of  inspiiing  exami)l(>s  of  great  fVdlh  and  nn- 
sellisli  dcvotedness  ;  and  Ijcforc;  him  is  the  unfinished  struc- 
ture upon  Avhich  the  hands  of  men  of  might  have  labored. 
His  Companion-Book  of  Travel,  in  .its  profits,  has  i)een  laid 
at  the  foundation  of  a  Marvin  Chair  of  I»il)lic;d  Literature. 
Some  offerings  liave  already  been  added  for  the  erection  of 
that  proposed  memorial.  It  is  more  valuable  a.nd  more  en- 
durinu',  and  not  less  honorable  and  fitting,  than  tlie  granite 
monument  which  covers  the  Bishop's  grave  in  the  beautiful 
Bcllefontaine. 

The  Board  of  Curators,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  will 
never  forijet  his  guardianship  of  the  sanctity  of  the  endow- 
ment fund.  At  the  last  meeting  he  attended  l)efore  his  de- 
parture to  foreign  shores,  it  was  signilied  in  these  emphatic, 
wordfi :  "If  a  dollar  of  that  endowment  fund  is  touched 
for  any  other  use,  I'll  resign  mv  place  instantly."  The 
types   have  preserved  from  his  pen  a  call    for  its  increase, 


THE  PRESS  AND  THE  SCHOOL.  673 

which  he  had  iust  bcijim  to  re-echo  in  the  ear  of  the  Churcli 
with  his  living  voice,  Avhen  it  was  hushed  in  death.  It  will 
have  a  wider  utterance  on  this  \y.vx('.  It  may  serve  as  his 
nunc  dimittis  in  respect  to  the  College  of  his  loved  Missouri 
Methodism.  It  employed  his  own  ^'last  labor,'''  and  on  the 
stones  of  its  foundation  are  written  the  names  of  two  Pres- 
idents, its  martyrs. 

For  the  first  time  we  met  the  uew  President — Wills.  He  was  clue  on  Sat- 
urday evening,  but  reaching  Boonville  too  late  for  the  hack,  and  adventur- 
ing by  private  conveyance,  was  overtaken  by  a  storm,  and  taking  refuge 
with  a  hospitable  family  for  the  night,  he  made  his  appearance  on  Sunday, 
greatly  to  the  joy  of  the  Dean  and  of  the  people  generally.  But  taking  a 
deep  cold  from  his  exposure,  he  Avas  not  able  to  deliver  the  Inaugural  Ad- 
dress expected  of  him. 

Dr.  Smith  made  it  almost  a  desideratum  that  Prof.  Wills  should  be 
associated  Aviih  him  in  llie  Faculty.  It  is  not  saying  too  much  to  affirm 
that  all  who  mot  with  him  at  Fayette  are  more  than  satistied.  We  would 
not  go  beyond  our  brother  for  a  President,  if  the  choice  of  the  country 
were  open  to  us.  The  quiet  good  sense  and  straightforwardness  of  h's 
chai'acter  command  at  once  confidence  in  him  as  a  man,  and  in  his  adapta- 
tion to  the  great  work  before  him 

This  College,  as  we  verily  believe,  is  just  entering  upon  a  new  era  of 
success.  The  history  of  the  last  three  years  and  tlie  present  organization 
•live  assurance  of  the  future.  I  trust  the  endowment  fund  subscribed  will 
be  soon  paid  up.  It  is  very  desirable  that  the  money  shovdd  be  collected 
and  invested,  so  that  the  expense  of  collecting  the  interest  of  scattered 
bonds  maybe  avoided. 

■  And  now,  beloved  friends  and  brethren  of  the  Church  in  Missouri,  let 
not  the  endowment  stop  at  $100,000.  Let  us  set  in  in  good  earnest  to 
double  this  am.  unt.  I  hope  to  live  (if  it  be  God's  will  to  spare  me)  to  see 
it  swelled  to  $500,000.  With  the  midtiplying  resources  of  our  State,  and 
its  rapidly  increasing  population,  this  is  not  an  extravagant  expectation. 
It  can  be  done.     It  must  be  done  in  time,  and  the  sooner  the  better. 

Already  several  young  men  are  going  out  from  this  College  into  the 
Conferences.  Let  us  make  it  a  great  institution,  the  heart  of  a  system  of 
godly  Influences,  wliose  throbs  shall  send  pulses  of  life  for  coming  centu- 
ries throughout  the  entire  extent  of  the  IMississippi  Valley. 

Amid  the  effervescence  of  thought,  the  loosening  of  old  foundations, 
the  uproar  of  ne-.v  ideas,  the  portent  of  social  upheavals  and  demolitions, 
that  even  now  jar  the  ground  like  premonitions  of  a  world-engulfing  earth- 
quake, we  owe  it  to  God  and  His  Word  which  we  have  in  custody  for  th(j 
future  to  equip  this  seat  of  learning  for  puissant  participation  in  the  con- 


674 


BISHOP  MARVIN. 


fiict.     If  wc  pla}-  a  puny  or   pusillanimous  part  now,  Evil  and  Error  will 
vanquish  tliecuniiny  general  ioa  aiul  l)hul  our  children  in  chains  iu  death. 

Let  every  nian  that  loves  God  and  Truili  and  souls  consecrate  of  his 
substance  to  the  endowment  of  this  Colleiie.  Let  the  rich  jiive  laru-esunis 
of  money.  If  this  is  not  at  commaad,  let  them  f^ive  real  estate.  And  not 
the  rich  only.  Let  every  poor  man  give  one  dollar,  or  two,  or  live,  or  ten, 
or  twenty,  or  forty,  or  fifty,  as  he  may  be  able.  Give  it  to  Gixl  and  Pos- 
terity. Give  it  with  praver.  Give  it  in  faith.  And  may  the  Father  of  lights 
prosper  our  honest  purpose. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 


AS    A    MAN. 

In  the  social  circle — Social  qualities — Given  to  hospitality — At  table — Ta- 
ble-talk— Story  of  spirit-rappings — Tlie  Arkansas  fiirnier — Andrew 
Monroe's  slumber — 'J  he  Hardshell  sermon — lliunor^Sobriety— The 
Man  of  God— Tone  of  Piety— Experimental  godliness — Faith  and  Con- 
secration— Testimony — The  Land  of  BL-iilah — ieliovvsliip  and  friend- 
ships—  "  Lover  of  good  men  " — Personal  force — Antliority  of  charac- 
ter—H'ustrations — Episcopal  residence — St.  Charles  College  Endow- 
ment— Natural  traits — Gratitude — Generosity — Use  of  money — Humil- 
ity— Simplicity  and  sincerity  —  Personal  magnetism — "Behold  the 
Man." 

^•A^^.HEN  Bishop  Marvin  crossed  for  the  first  time  the 
^Jm^^  iron  bridge  s[)aiiiiiug  the  Missouri  at  St.  Charles, 
he  exdainied,  "  Who  woukl  have  believed  it  thirty  years 
aijo,  when  I  was  pk)wing  corn  in  Warren  county  ?  "  One 
contributor  notes  that,  though  raised  in  a  rural  community, 
he  possessed  easy,  dignified  and  graceful  manners.  It  Avas 
said  with  surprise  and  cynically  l)y  Horace  Walpole  of  Lav- 
ington,  Bishop  of  York — "  he  had  the  manners  of  a  man  of 
quality,  though  he  had  been  a  buccaneer,  and  Avas  a  clergy- 
man." A  gentleman,  as  Avell  as  poet,  is  "  born,  not  made." 
The  man  of  quality  puts  on  manners  taken  from  the  Avard- 
robe  of  inntite  gentility.  Bishop  Marvin  possessed  admira- 
ble social  qiudities,  and  in  the  intercourse  of  society  had  a 
becoming  and  agreeable  bearing.  He  had  not  graduated  at 
a  danciiisc  school,  but  his  carriaire  in  the  social   circle  was 


676  BISIIOI'  MAIIVIX. 

easy,  and  as  became  a  clcr<rymnn,  dif^iiificMl  ;  affable  rather 
than  friskv  ;  more  occupied  with  the  substance  than  the  cer- 
emoninl  of  politeness. 

In  a  marked  manner  Bishop  IMarvin  had  a  chnir  under- 
standing of  the  pro})rieties  of  social  and  business  intercourse, 
and  a  recoiriiition  of  tliom  soeminulv  not  studied,  but  in- 
stinctive.  His  day-call  was  not  unwelcome.  His  })resence 
Avas  not  a  restraint  in  the  drawing  I'oom.  His  appearance 
at  the  counting  room  was  not  an  intrusion.  In  the  couipany 
of  friends  he  was  modest,  and  his  i)art  in  the  general  talk 
not  obtrusive,  and  never  a  bore.  He  knew  "when  to  speak  ; 
irood  sense  and  <2;ood  taste  dictated  substance  and  form  of 
speech  ;  he  was  always  listened  to.  Dignitied  and  courte- 
ous, amiable  and  "wise,  his  company  and  conversation  were 
never  irksome,  and  always  prized — the  ])hiyful  s[)eech  with 
the  young  people  ;  the  pleasant  Avord  with  the  elderly,  and 
with  the  preachers,  the  cheerful  chat,  sometimes  enlivened 
with  wit  and  spiced  with  humor. 

He  enjoyed  society  and  minglcMl  much  in  the  social  gath- 
ering's of  the  Church  i)e()ple,  but  always  in  his  individual 
and  not  his  official  capacity  ;  to  enjoy  and  not  advertise 
himself  ;  not  to  a(M  to  the  fame  of  the  preacher  the  laurels 
of. a  courtier,  and  certainly  not  as  a  lay  ligure  in  the  draw- 
in'*"  room,  as  not  a  iigure-head  in  the  i)ulpit.  The  coni- 
nmnion  of  society  was  a  question  of  personal  taste  and 
pleasure.  He  had  a  liking  for  it,  except  in  circles  where  it 
was  disfigure*!  ])y  frivolities  of  fashion  or  marred  by  the 
hollowness  of  ceremony — such  as  he  undertook  to  carrica- 
ture  and  satirize  in  the  only  poetic  lines  he  ever  attempted. 
In  company  where  common  sense  ruled  the  cerenionial  and 
sincerity  Avas  intertwisted  in  the  cord  of  fellowship,  and 
heartiness  diffused  its  fragi-ancc — there  he  sought  and  be- 
stowed his  social  affections.  Honoring  all  men,  and  loving  the 
l)rotherhood  and  kindly  affectioned,  his  social  qualities  and 
personal  friendships  entered,  remarkably,  into  the  tie  Avhich 


AS    A    MAX.  077 

bound  the  man  in  tlic  pew  to  the  man  in  the  puli)it.  Of 
both  the  man  and  the  pi-eacher,  the  President  of  Wesleyan 
Female  ColleiTC,  reporting  the  Commencement  of  1870,  tes- 
tified— "the  impression  lie  made  ^vas  glorious."  On  the 
other  side  of  the  continent,  it  Avas  said  by  his  host  at  Hel- 
ena, in  Montana,  who  was  fascinated  by  his  preaching,  and 
equally  impressed  by  him  at  the  fireside — "  lie  is  the  only 
man  1  ever  felt  honored  in  entertaining  under  my  roof." 

There  is  record  of  abounding  hosnitalitv  ii'iven  as  well  as 
received  hy  him.  That  was  in  his  ordination  vow  as  Bishop. 
It  is  a  royal  virtue  and  an  apostolic  grace.  It  may  be  said 
that  there  was  not  in  all  the  land  a  more  hospitable  roof  and 
board  than  his  ;  dispensing  an  uncalculating  and  free-hearted 
entertainment  alike  to  strangers  and  friends.  It  was  so  from 
the  beginning  of  his  prominent  public  life. 

So  it  was,  also,  at  the  Episcopal  residence — not  a  large 
house,  but  elastic  for  the  stretch  of  bed  and  board  in  the 
free  invitation  and  generous  welcome  of  the  numerous  guests 
drawn  from  a  continental  acquaintanceship.  At  the  last, 
when  the  St.  Louis  Conference  was  held  in  the  city,  he  was 
as  busy  as  host  of  the  preachers,  as  President  of  their  ses- 
sion— parlor,  bed-room  and  table,  under  utmost  taxfortheir 
entertainment,  and  their  last  recollections  of  him,  an  im- 
pression of  the  charm  of  a  graceful  and  hearty  hospitality. 

It  was  a  wonder  to  his  medical  friends,  and  particularly 
to  his  family  physician  and  intimate  personal  friend.  Dr.  S. 
T.  Newman,  especially  after  the  disclosures  of  a  post  mortein 
examination,  that  he  had  lived  as  long  as  he  did.  His  l^hy- 
sician  attributes  his  longevity,  among  other  things,  to  the 
fact  that  he  was  "  a  good  eater."  Of  that  the  Bishop  is 
reported  as  saying,  facetiously,  on  being  rallied,  at  the  table 
of  Eev.  Thomas  Wallace,  in  a  company  of  preachers,  on  his 
repeated  call  for  roast  beef :  "  I  do  not  live  to  eat,  but  eat 
to  live."  He  ate  slowly,  and  was  commonly  the  last  to  lay 
down  knife   and  fork  ;  but  a  chief  reason  of  that  was  that 


678  lilSHOP  MARVIN. 

he  was  kept  talking,  and  supplied  the  table  with  the  irood 
cheer  which  is  <iood  for  dii^estion.  The  irracc  of  the  com- 
pany  more  than  the  flavor  of  the  viands  interested  him  in 
the  dinner  tal)k? — especially  the  charm  of  a  lady  presidency. 
He  has  siirnalizcd  oiu^  of  his  Texas  road-side  lunches  above 
the  rest  bv  tiie  women  and  children  in  the  mess  ;  distin<ruish- 
ini>-  it  in  the  sentiment — "  the  ])leasure  of  eatinir  is  irreatlv 
enhancetl  by  the  amenities  of  eating,  which  are  never  jjerfect 
in  the  absence  of  a  lady." 

"Whether  at  his  own  or  the  board  of  another,  his  jienial 
siiirit  was  the  light  of  the  table  and  the  sauce  of  the  meal. 
On  adjournment  to  the  drawingroom,  and  especially  taking 
the  smoking  room  in  the  way,  his  conversation  was  enliv- 
ened with  anecdote,  of  which  his  wide  travels  supplied  an 
exhaustless  fund,  and  was  spiced  Avith  Avitty  speech,  in  which 
his  tongue  Mas  apt  and  sliarp.  In  the  minor  talk  of  this 
character  is  an  incident  of  the  breakfast  table,  which  was 
recalled  to  the  recollection  of  the  writer  by  L.  T.  Hall,  M. 
D.,  of  Poto.si,  Avhom  he  happened  to  meet  at  this  point  of 
the  writing.  It  was  related  to  Dr.  Hall  in  the  course  of  a 
talk  on  spiritualism  : 

The  Bisliop  was  the  guest  of  a  Cliristian  lacly,  who  supposed  herself 
to  have  become  a  inecliuin,  and  was  much  perplexed  and  annoyed  by  the 
rapping  wliicli  followed  her  everywhere.  She  asked  explanation  of  the 
phenomenon,  and  especially  counsel  how  to  escape  the  annoyance. 

"  Don't  take  any  notice  of  it,"  said  the  Bishop. 

"  But  what  if  it  disturl)s  my  sleep,  and  pursues  me  to  the  table  and 
follows  me  wherever  I  go?" 

lie  had  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  could  not  have  other  than  some 
physical  cause ;  and  that  if  it  had  a  supernatural  and  spiritual  origin,  it 
must  be  satanic.  He  answered  accoi"dini;ly  :  "  1  would  tn  at  it,  as  an  evil 
spirit,  and  bid  it  to  depart,  i:i  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

At  breakfast  next  moininij,  the  rapping  began  on  the  table.  Tlie  Bishop 
accused  his  friends  playfully  of  attcmpling  an  imposture  upon  him,  by 
some  hidden  contrivance,  wliich  made  the  raps.  All,  to  sati>fyhim,  moved 
entirely  away  from  the  table.  Still  the  rapping  continued.  It  was  so  dis- 
tinct that  he  could  locate  the  very  spot  on  the  table.  lie  must  practice  the 
exorcism  he  had  recommended ;  but,  deeming  it  irreverent  to  make  use  of 


AS    A    MAN. 


679 


the  sacred  name  in  such  a  scene  and  connection,  he  gave  three  hard  blows 
on  the  table,  exclaiming:  "  Get  out  of  here,  old  Homey!  "  His  word  was 
obeyed— at  least  his  own  knocks  ended  the  raps. 

Another  contributor  recalls  the  widely-told  story  of  his 
quiz  of  the  Arkansas  farmer,  whom  he  met  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  city  of  Little  Rock  : 

"  StrangL'r,  do  you  know  Parson  Marvin?  "  inquired  the  farmer. 

"  Yes,  1  know  liiin  very  well;  I  have  known  him  all  his  life." 

'•  He  is  a  mighty  preacher,  ain't  he?" 

"No;  I  think  he  is  a  very  poor  preacher," 

"  Well,  everybody  says  he  can  preach  mightily,  and  I  have  come  to 
town  to  hear  him,"  said  the  farmer. 

He  went  on  to  Chni-ch,  and  soon  after  saw  the  man  he  met  in  the  su- 
burbs standing  in  the  pulpit,  and,  he  thought,  preaching  '•  mightily." 

Such  personal  reminiscences  abounded  in  the  talk  of 
social  hours  —  many  of  them  already  of  record  in  these 
passes  and  in  his  correspondence  with  the  Advocate,  and 
even  in  his  books.  The  most  mirth-provoking  of  his  mim- 
icry was  the  "  Hardshell  sermon,"  which  Bishop  and  Mrs. 
Wightman  will  remember,  as  preached  in  the  parlor  of  the 
Avriter,  who  remembers  how  they  were  convulsed  with  mer- 
riment. The  Methodist  as  well  as  Hardshell  pulpit  had 
i-epovt — Dr.  Green's  "doing  my  level  best,"  wdiich  made 
sober-sides  shake,  and  other  sides,  too,  Avhich  shake  hard 
when  there  is  something  to  shake  over.  Another  was  the 
pulpit  slumber  of  Andrew  Monroe — on  one  occasion  awak- 
ened l)y  the  quotation,  in  animated  tones,  by  the  preacher 
in  the  midst  of  his  sermon — "When  I  can  read  my  title 
clear" — and  jumpingup  with  startled  action,  said,  "  Let  us 
sino,"  and  raised  the  tune  and  ended  the  sermon. 

Of  one  of  the  early  Bishops,  Whatcoat,  it  is  said  in  his 
obituary — "so  dec^ily  serious!"  and  yet,  it  is  added, 
"  cheerful  without  levity."  Of  Bishop  Andrew,  it  is  known, 
that  the  last  writing  from  his  pen,  a  few  days  before  his 
death,  and  published  after  his  decease,  was  an  earnest  pro- 
test and  w^arning  to  the  preachers  against  levity  ;  and  yet 


080  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

tlic  irood  Bishoi:)'s  manner  was  the  dress  of  irood  nature, 
and  his  very  ap[)earance  the  picture  of  irood  humor.  Lighi- 
iiess  is  a  Scylhi.  There  is  a  Charyhdis.  ]5ishop  Marvin 
steered  clear  of  Ijolh.  Some  need  a  curb  to  humor,  as  he 
pronounced  concerning  the  excess  of  it  in  Caples  ;  some 
need  a  spur  to  it,  as  he  thought  of  some  who  voted  against 
the  election  of  Caples  to  deacon's  orders,  on  the  ground  of 
his  uncontrollable  humor.  Of  Caples,  he  said  in  extenua- 
tion of  fault,  "  it  was  an  incident  of  natural  tem[)erament, 
rather  than  an  element  of  moral  character."  The  same 
thing  is  said  of  Gen.  Ellery,  one  of  the  most  symmetrical 
and  amialde  characters  contained  in  the  series  of  Sparks' 
American  Biogvaplty.  Of  the  play  of  his  spirit  and  the 
spice  of  his  speech,  it  is  said  :  "  One  never  felt  in  the  tran- 
sitions of  his  familiar  conversation,  mirth  and  gravity,  that 
the  tone  of  mind  underwent  great  changes,  putting  off  one 
character  and  assuming  another.  Tlic  elements  mingled, 
but  the  same  spirit  prevailed.  In  the  midst  of  so])er  rcHec- 
tion  and  important  occupation,  he  could  anmse  himself  with 
the  perception  of  the  ludicrous,  or  descend  to  what  passes 
(with  some  persons)  for  levit}'^ ;  and  yet  the  feeling  of  rev- 
erence and  seriousness  not  lessened  in  himself  or  others. 
There  may  be  separateness  and  not  hostility  in  the  affections 
of  the  mind,  as  there  is  in  the  ()1)jects  of  nature." 

Rev.  Dr.  Eodgei'S,  in  his  monograph,  has  presented  a 
similar  analysis  of  the  INIarvin  manner  of  spirit.  The  one 
Avas  a  civilian  r.nd  the  other  an  ecclesinstic — in  the  super- 
added chai'actcr  of  a  divine,  a  reason  for  caution,  but  not 
oarricature.  In  him  there  Avas  good  adjustment  between  the 
man  and  the  minister ;  the  natural  man  neither  merj^ed  in 
the  professional,  nor  losing  sight  of  it.  The  sericms  call- 
ing" <"nriod  alonij  Avith  it  a  cheerful  tone  and  genial  spirit. 
AVitty  s[)eech  often  sat  upon  Iiis  lii)s  and  playful  humor 
went  Avith  him  in  the  Avhole  I'ound  of  social  intercourse.  But 
his  hand  Avas  on  the  brake  to  repress  exuberant  spirits  at  the 


AS    A    MAN.  681 

point  of  intemperate  levity.  Wit  antl  humor  were  under 
curb — telling  and  listening  to  the  anmsing  story  and  good 
joke,  but  never  establisliing  the  reputation  of  an  anecdote 
monaer  and  a  ca[)ital  joker.  His  natural  temper  would  have 
carried  him  further  than  his  practice  went,  except  that  con- 
sciously and  carefully  he  put  it  under  bonds  to  Christian 
prudence  and  professional  propriety.  The  narrative  of  all 
observation  of  him  contains  at  the  same  time  the  predomi- 
nant spirit  of  sober  concern  as  a  Churchman,  and  as  a 
natural  man  and  companion,  the  play  of  mirth.  That  was 
not  ostracised  :  but  so  curbed,  that  he  vrent  from  the  dinner 
table  into  the  pulpit  in  good  character  as  a  preacher,  and 
closed  the  interview  at  the  evening  fireside  with  edifying- 
worship  and  imjn-essive  prayer.  The  above  description  will 
be  recognized  as  just  by  those  admitted  to  his  nearest  inter- 
course. They  have  heard  his  best  joke  and  most  ludicrous 
anecdotes  without  offense  to  their  own  moral  tone  or  less 
respect  for  his— respecting  him  in  his  gayest  moods,  and 
both  entertained  by  his  company  and  profited  by  his  minis- 
try. 

In  his  later  years  the  sense  of  humor  in  him  became 
moderated — in  a  letter  of  travel  in  Northwest  Missouri,  say- 
ing : 

In  traveling  npon  this  trip  I  met  witii  an  unu?al  number  of  incidents 
of  an  amusing  character,  two  or  three  of  which  would  do  to  print.  But  I 
will  resist  the  temptation  to  give  them.  Tiie  little  affectations  of  tlie 
would-be  wise  people  are,  perhaps,  better  passed  by  in  silence.  Yet  cer- 
tainly a  man  is  excusable  if  he  envoys  a  little  (luiet  hiugh  with  himself  npon 
the  officious  displays  of  sagacious  nonsense  which  are  sometimes  wit- 
nessed. 

But  there  is  so  much  of  real  tragedy  in  the  world  that  I  have  less  nnd 
less  relish  for  the  comedies  that  are  being  enacted  everywhere.  From 
both  I  turn  involuntaiily  to  religion,  as  furnishing  after  all  the  only  refuge 
from  the  littleness,  the  vanities,  the  sin  and  miseries  of  human  life. 

It  Avould  l)e  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  anecdote  was 
intended  by  him  merely  and  always  as  a  monger  of  mirth  ; 


G82  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

ill  the  printed  narnitive,  appearing  rather  and  often  as  a 
vehicle  of  satire  upon  the  follies  and  sins  of  the  times. 
Equally  and  a  greater  mistake  it  would  he  to  inf(>r  that  it 
was  usual  speech,  either  in  tiie  abandon  of  Ihi;  select  circle 
or  in  the  intercourse  of  o-eneral  soci(!tj.  His  mirth  was  not 
U[)roarioi:s  in  explosive  laughter,  nor  his  anecdote  narrative 
extravagant  in  mimicry,  and  not  in  the  coloring.  It  was 
free  from  the  vice,  which  Dr.  Olin  stigmatizes  and  Bishop 
Andrew  quotes — "the  Eev.  Dr.  Olin  is  reported  to  have 
said  that  he  had  never  known  a  man  who  could  tell  a  <rood 
story,  who  did  not  lie.  This  may  seem  rather  a  hard  judg- 
ment, yet  I  think  there  is  more  truth  than  poetry  in  it." 

In  his  Biography  of  Caples,  and  his  Book  of  Sermons, 
and  in  all  his  printed  notes  of  travel,  as  well  as  in  the  record 
of  many  memories,  there  is  found  the  pathos  of  narrative 
which  tilled  the  eyes  with  tears.  In  general,  his  discourse 
was  grave  and  solid  and  instructive  ;  enriched  with  stores  of 
useful  information,  and  at  times  brilliant  with  rhetorical 
effect,  and  profound  in  scientific  lore  or  [)hilosophic  disqui- 
sition. On  one  occasion  he  is  talking  to  the  listeninij  ear  of 
a  meteoroloiiist,  as  tliev  stood  ton-ether  and  viewed  and 
noted  the  wild  tumult  of  cloud  and  storm  from  the  deck  of 
a  steamer  on  the  Gulf  :  on  another  occasion,  talkinuc  with  an 
entologist,  whom  he  met  out  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  gath- 
ering hones  to  establish  a  Darwinian  philosophy  ;  and  about 
whom  he  talked  in  his  letter  of  travel,  as  an  example  of 
easy  self-imposture.  There  is  talking,  equally  entertaining 
and  profitable  to  the  farmer  and  of  servi(;e  to  the  topograph- 
ical engineer,  about  the  surface  and  soils  of  his  countrv,  its 
herbage,  and  its  herds,  and  its  Hocks:  and  Avliat  are  his 
notes  of  travel  around  the  Avorld  but  a  taik  with  its  hun- 
di'cd  thousand  readers,  many  of  Avhoin,  who  liav(^  not  known 
him  intimately,  have  Avondered  at  his  breadth  of  informa- 
tion about  the  literature  and  art  of  ])ast  ages  and  of  all  na- 
tions, and  the  history  and  philosophy  of  the  civilizations  of 
the  race. 


AS    A     MAN. 


683 


In  his  letters  to  absent  friends  there  is  the  same  charm 
of  converse.  In  apoh)gy,  l)y  reason  of  press  of  otHcial 
cares,  for  an  iinfultilled  promise  to  visit  the  Astronomical 
Observatory  at  Ghisgow,  he  wrote  to  the  Superintendent, 
his  old  friend  and  boyhood  companion.  Rev.  C.  W.  Prit- 
chett — "  I  am  afraid  1  shall  have  to  postpone  my  study  of 
Astronomy  till  I  get  to  heaven."  In  another  letter  to  a 
young  friend,  Miss  Byrd,  of  Selma,  Ala.,  there  is  an  inter- 
esting sample  of  his  discourse,  adapted  and  entertaining: 

2719  Lucas  Avexuk,  vSt.  Locis, 

rebnuiry  12,  1875. 

My  Dear  Miss  Byrd  : 

I  feel  that  I  have  been  remiss  in  neglecting  so  long  to  acknowledge 
your  letter,  as  well  as  the  receipt  of  the  books.  You  may  be  sure  that  it 
is  not  on  account  of  any  lack  of  disposition  to  write,  nor  because  it  was  for- 
gotten. I  have  simply  allowed  pressing  affiiirs  to  occupy  me  from  day  to 
day.  I  h  ive  purposed  in  my  heart  to  sp^'ak  to  yon  in  the  only  way  that 
distance  allows— by  writing.  Nor  do  I  write  now  because  I  have  lei•^ure, 
but  because  my  heart  prompts  me  so  decidedly  that  I  put  this  congenial 
duty  before  others  that  are  in  the  way  of  business. 

I  have  been  spending  some  time  in  Na.-hville  and  Louisville  recently, 
and  while  I  saw  no  large  results  of  my  labor,  yet  tliere  were  some  conver- 
sions at  each  place,  and  lam  not  without  assurance  that  tlie  Church  was.  in 
some  measure,  built  up.  I  am  at  home  now  only  for  about  nine  days,  after 
whicli  I  expect  to  go  to  Washington  City,  to  spend  two  weeks  in  preach- 
ing and  trying  to  relieve  tlie  Church  there  of  an  oppressive  debt  Oa  the 
third  of  March  the  Baltimore  Conference  meets  there,  and  after  that,  I 
have  some  visitation  of  the  Churches  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  in  view. 
So,  you  see,  I  have  little  prospect  of  being  much  at  home. 

I  am  presuming  upon  your  interest  in  me  personally,  and  so  indulge  in 
this  account  of  my  own  affairs. 

I  was  deeply  gratifiL-d  to  learn  by  your  letter  how  fully  you  are  looking 
to   God  and  trusting  i7nn,  and  that   you  are  adjusting  your  mind  to  such 
work  as  He  may  liave  for  you   to  do.     It  is  indeed  in  doing  His  will  con- 
sciously that  the   most   exalted  happiness   is  found.     There   is  a  certain 
truth,  hut  it  is  not  the  deepest  truth,  in  these  lines,  by  Longfellow: 
"  Not  enjoyment,  and  not  sorrow, 
Is  life's  destined  end  or  way, 
But  to  act— that  each  to-morrow 
Find  us  farther  than  to-day." 

To  act.  Yes.  But  the  acting  must  have  an  object,  and  that  object 
must  be  something  more  definite  than  just  getting  farther  on.     How  much 


684  BISHOP  MARVrX. 

nobler  is  the  lanmiage  of  the  Apocalypse :  "  Therefore  are  they  before  the 
throne,  and  serve  Hira  day  and  night  in  His  Temple."  Servimj  is  the  high 
est  employment  of  created  beings.  Serving  God  first,  and  tlien  serving 
each  otlier.  He  is  iKii^piesl  and  noblest  who  is  most  occupied  in  honoring 
God  and  doing  g';od  tootlicrs.  "  He  that  will  hv.  chief  among  y  ai  let  liim 
be  your  minister  "  "The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  to,  l)nt 
to  minister."  "  Therefore,"  said  He,  •'  I  am  among  yon  as  one  that  serv- 
ethr    He  washed  His  disciples'  feet  to  teach  this  great  lesson. 

Tliere  are  many  of  His  discip'es  who  long  to  Ik. nor  His  example,  but 
see  nothing  they  can  do.  All  the  while,  perhaps,  they  are  doing  little  deeds 
of  love  wliich  they  do  not  think  of,  but  which  the  Master  sees  and  will  re- 
ward in  the  last  da  v. 

With  much  love  to  your  mother  and  to  ^Oss  Lunie,  and  hoping  to  hear 
from  you  soon  again,  I  am,  as  ever, 

Your  true  friend, 
#  E.  M.  Marvin. 

Tho  prevailing  ilieino  of  lii^  tongue  was  the  great  myste- 
ries anil  deep  experiences  of  religion — with  the  preachers, 
to  be  added,  theological  ex[)ositi()n.  The  ministerial  office 
and  character  were  often  talked  over,  often  recurring  to  in- 
cidents in  his  own  :  unbosoming  himself,  often,  to  compar- 
ative strangers,  and  talking  with  a  freedom  and  familiarity 
to  vouno- preachers,  which  made  them,  as  did  Stanley  and 
Frazier,  in  the  mountains  of  INIonlana,  wonder  at  the  grace 
and  charm  of  his  condescension.  It  is  s[)()ken  of  l)y  the 
latter:  "  On  .several  occasions  I  was  (juartered  at  the  same 
liouse  with  him.  Here  I  saw  him  as  1  could  not  see  him  in 
the  pul[)it  and  in  the  Conference  room.  His  junior  hy  so 
many  years,  and  in  all  respects  his  inferior,  I  was  surprised 
at  the  freedom  with  Avhich  he  would  converse  with  me  on 
Church  affairs  and  other  matters." 

None  have  heard  him  preach,  or  companied  much  with 
him,  or  received  letters  from  him,  who  have  not  had  the 
iiiipi-ession — "  this  is  a  man  of  God."  Who,  that  knew 
him,  does  not  know  what  was  the  type  of  his  piety — strong 
jiiid  rich  ;  experimental  and  practical  ;  round  and  full  ; 
coming  to  the  people  in  every  assembly,  public  and  jirivate, 
in  the  fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  peace  ;  and 


AS   A   MAN.  685 

going  ill  and  out  l)cfore  them,  at  every  step  challenging, 
what  was  apostolic  speech,  "  as  ye  have  us  for  an  example," 
Among  many  similar  testimonies,  is  that  from  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Tudor,  at  the  time  the  pastor  of  the  Church  from  whose 
altar-place  he  was  carried  to  his  burial:  "  I  will  state,  in 
closing  this  paper,  that  from  frequent  intercourse  with  him 
during  ten  or  fifteen  years,  my  secret  impression,  which  I 
never  expected  to  give  for  a  biography  of  him,  and,  therefore, 
was  all  the  more  o:enuine  and  valid,  s^vqw,  that  his  holiness  of 
character  and  life  was  as  thoroughly  principled  and  unaf- 
fected as  such  purity  could  be  in  man.  It  was  a  new  nature, 
regeneration,  spiritually  constitutional  with  him,  and  reliable 
to  manifest  itself  on  all  occasions  and  in  all  forms." 

In  "  iroinij  on  to  i)erfection,"  he  did  not  "leave  the 
first  principles  "  in  any  sense,  as  not  keeping  an  eye  on 
them,  and  ouardino^  and  nurturing  them.  The  contrite  tear 
never  dried  on  his  cheek.  The  first  love  never  died  out  in 
his  heart.  The  "  right  spirit"  was  always  kept  in  adjust- 
ment for  intercourse  with  God,  and  the  "  clean  heart  "  kept 
in  order  for  His  permanent  abode.  Of  the  abiding  Witness 
of  the  Spirit  and  the  responsive  testimony  of  his  own  spirit, 
he  bore  witness  once,  at  the  last  Conference  he  ever  held, 
as  reported  by  the  Rev.  M.  M.  Pugh,  in  words  than  which 
no  word  could  be  more  positive  and  assuring:  "Bishop 
Marvin  was  asked,  during  our  Conference  at  Independence, 
what  he  thought  about  the  doctrine  of  the  Witness  of  the 
Spirit.  He  replied  :  '  I  know  when  I  go  to  God  in  prayer 
that  I  talk  to  Him — tell  Him  what  I  want — unbosom  myself 
to  Him  ;  and  I  know,  that  in  some  Avay,  He  talks  to  me — 
assures  me  that  I  am  heard,  and  that  I  am  His.  He  speaks 
to  me  by  His  Word  and  l)y  His  Spirit.'  The  humility  of 
soul  in  wdiich  he  made  this  impromptu  deliverance,  was  as 
impressive  as  the  words,  and  the  effect  on  some  minds  w'ill 
be  lasting." 

The  word  of  his  testimony  was  effective  ;  not  only  warm 


G86  BISIIOl*   MARVIN. 

■svitli  emolioii,  l)iit  l)riiiht  with  liulit.  Some  s:iyin<i-s  became 
axiomatic;  as  one  often  lieaixl  by  the  writer  on  tlie  lips  of 
preachers  and  hivmen  in  St.  Louis,  taken  from  his  lips  at  a 
Centenary  Church  love-feast,  rising  and  saying  only — "  One 
thing  I  know,  I  must  either  bring  forth  fruit  or  burn."  The 
tiieologv  of  his  [)ul|)il  h;is  its  counterpart  in  lessons  from 
liis  heart ;  Wesleyan  experience  as  well  as  Wesleyan  doc- 
trine and  both  a[)ostolic — "  that  which  we  have  heard,  which 
"\ve  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  wc  have  looked  upon  and 
our  hands  have  handled,  of  the  Word  of  lif(^ ;  for  the  life 
was  manifested,  and  wo  have  seen  it  and  bear  witness,  and 
shew  unto  vou  that  eternal  life  which  was  with  the  Father, 
and  was  manifested  unto  us." 

He  believed  in,  advocated,  promoted  and  (mi joyed  emo- 
tional religion.  It  was  phil()S()[)hical,  scriptural,  a  privilege 
of  believers — "  Again,  1  say,  rejoice."  Jn  his  own  heart 
exercises  it  often  kindled  into  outspoken  praise,  and  not 
seldom  flamed  into  rapture.  Such  characterized  it  all  along 
in  his  Christian  life — from  an  early  day,  this  reminiscence 
in  the  memorv  of  an  eye-witness,  llev.  L.  R.  Dowming: 
*'Once  at  love-feast  under  an  arlxn-  at  Soule  Chapel,  in 
Lincoln  county,  jVIo.,  when  wo  arose  from  the  final  prayer, 
he  remained  on  his  knees,  and  reaching  either  way,  caught 
hold  of  a  bush  with  each  hand,  as  if  to  hold  himself  down 
to  earth,  and  commenced  shouting  and  praising  God — the 
happiest  mortal  I  think  I  ever  saw^''  That  day  he  had 
preached  from  tlie  text — '  lie  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his 
soul  and  be  satisfied.'  The  effect  was  '  clear  cut.' "  A 
similar  incident  has  date  in  1872,  at  the  Wesley  Grove 
Camp,  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  W.  K.  lioyle :  ■ 

I  heard  him  speak  and  preach  ouee  a  day  chiriny  his  stay.  He  came 
every  morning  to  the  experience  mectins:;,  seeking,  as  I  believe,  a  religious 
preparation  for  ])reacliing,  by  having  communion  -with  the  saints.  I  re- 
member one  inorniiisilie  said,  liis  countenance  being  strange'y  lighted  up: 
"  I  am  batliing  in  an  ocean  of  love."  Next  morning,  Avith  transfiizured 
face,  lie  said,  as  though  lie  had  a  much  richer  experience  than  the  day  be- 
fore— "  I  am  lloating  in  an  atmosphere  of  love." 


AS    A    MAN.  (IS? 

He  seemed  duriiiii  Ihut  inoeting  to  have  a  seraph's  tongue.  The  most 
stolid  natures  gave  w;iy  before  the  inspired  utleranees  he  poured  forth, 
and  the  strongest  men  wept  and  laughed  for  joy. 

Another  such  incident  of  his  spiritual  exercises  is  related 
by  L.  D.  Palmer,  the  President  of  Willson  College,  Cali- 
fornia : 

I  have  licard  softer,  more  musical  voice,  but  recollect  no  one  who 
seemed  to  sing  with  such  spiritual  energyand  made  so  much  melody  in  the 
heart  by  sacred  song.  The  lirst  time;  1  ever  lecognized  him  was  at  a  love- 
feast,  held  during  the  General  Conference  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  in  1870. 
The  preliminary  services  were  introduced  ])y  the  venerable  Andrew  Mon- 
roe, who  soon  after  went  to  his  reward.  The  Bishop  arose  from  his  seat 
singing  the  old  chorus  which  I  had  never  heard  before,  but  which  I  can 
never  forget : 

"  I  love  tliee,  my  Saviour, 

I  love  thee,  ray  Loi-d, 
I  love  thy  dear  people. 

Thy  house  and  thy  word." 
Not  only  his  voice,  but  his  countenance  and  entire  form  enterca  into 
the  song,  and  the  intensity  of  the  spiritual  impression  was  manifested  in 
tears  and  sobs  all  over  the  Church.  A  few  months  afterwards,  when  visit- 
ing at  my  house  in  the  East,  I  heard  him  sing  the  beautiful  words  again, 
and  at  the  Los  Angeles  Conference,  held  at  Santa  Ana,  California,  last  year,. 
in  love-feast,  still  again.  lean  Aow  recall  the' outline  of  every  sermon  I 
ever  heard  him  preach,  and  remember  many  passages  of  rare  spiritual  elo- 
quence, but  I  have  no  recollection  of  Bishop  Marvin  more  distinct  and 
powerful  than  as  1  saw  him  pouring  out  his  soul  in  worship,  while  singing 
these  sweet,  simple  words. 

These  higher  moods  M^ere  common  in  the  secret  place, 
as  in  the  public  assembly  ;  more  than  once  in  his  diary 
entries,  the  ejaculation  :  "  God  is  love  " — once  addino; :  "  I 
rest  in  that," 

Bishop  Mtirvin  subscribed  fully  to  the  Weslevan  doc- 
trine of  experience,  and  has  borne  witness  to  the  distinctive 
creed  of  Methodism — "the  will  of  God,  even  vour  sanctifi- 
cation."  His  testimony  .on  two  prominent  occasions  has 
been  preserved.  One  w:is  :it  the  Centennial  Commemora- 
tion of  North  Carolina  Methodism,  his  address  containing 
the  following  passage  : 


688  RISHOP  MAltVIN. 

Tt  seems  that  Mr.  Wesley  never  did,  in  any  formal  way,  profess  him- 
self to  be  a  sauclilied  in.m.  If  he  made  siieli  profession  at  all,  it  was  in 
the  most  modest  way,  and  by  nuTr  implication,  lint  he  did  eneouraire  his 
people  to  seek  for  perfect  holiness,  and  upon  any  distinct  experience  to 
profess  it.  Occasionally  they  jrave  him  lireat  trouble  by  premature  and 
fanatical  denionstralions  on  tins  poir.t.  These  he  earnestly  strove  to  cor- 
rect. For  himself  lie  rejoiced  in  Clirisl,  kciil  hi'^  body  inidci-,  triumphed 
over  sin,  and  gave  the  most  remarkable  example  of  an  unspotted  life,  with- 
out ever  venturini;  to  say,  "  I  am  sanctified."  But  all  the  weight,  both  of 
his  life  and  tcachinir,  went  to  establish  the  hi2;hest  standard  of  experimen- 
tal and  practical  jiodliness.  He  felt  that  indeed  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
dors  cleanse  from  all  si)i,  but  yet  there  was  a  touch  of  the  deepest  humility 

to  the  very  last. 

"Every  moment,  Lord,  1  need 

The  merit  of  Thy  death."' 

This  consciousness  was  in  him  to  the  close  of  his  life.  Yet  in  victori- 
ous faitli  he  added  : 

"Every  moment,  Lord,  I  have, 

Tlie  merit  of  Thy  death.'"* 

Willi  this  uii(lerstan(liii<;-  of  -Mr.  Wesley's  cxpericiico,  in 
:iii  address  at  tlio  8eini-Ceiilen;nv  of  St.  Louis  Methodism, 
in  simihir  reference  to  it,  he  exchiiined  :  "  Full  s:ilvation  ! 
There  ought  to  l)e  :i  revivtd  of  this  exi)erience  ;  a  conscious 
and  constant  victory  over  sin.  1  tru^t  the  Wesle3'an  spirit 
is  niv  own.  ;ind  1  pray  God  I  nitiy  realize  it — the  fullness  of 
the  joy  and  the  salvation  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus," 

On  the  hist  named  occasion,  he  hetird  a  sermon  by  Bish- 
op Keener,  on  the  fjiith  of  Abrahtim,  to  which,  in  hisaddress, 
he  refers,  and  which  led  to  extended  rennirk.  Thtit  grace 
w:is  the  most  niailuMlof  till  his  religious  exercises  and  tiffec 
tions — tlistinguished  :it  the  stime  time,  in  conspicuous  emi- 
nence, as  a  m:in  of  faith  tind  consecration.  Every  monograph 
has  signalized  it.  Every  contributor  notes  it.  lie  has 
pretiched  it,  written  :il)out  it,  testified  concerning  it ;  under- 
.stood  ;uid  exercised  and  exptjrienced  it — :dl  in  remtirkable 
witness  and  wonderful  ])ower.  His  doctrine  and  exemplifi- 
cation of  f.'iith,  if  it  might  be,  emphtisized  the  definition  of  it 


*The  Centennial  of  Methodism  in  North  Carolina,  p  398. 


AS    A    IMAX.  G89 

ill  the  Eleventh  of  Hebrews,  and  joined  him  to  the  company 
of  worthies  who,  through  faith  and  patience,  inherit  the 
promises.  How  hirgely  he  comprehended  the  nature,  pro- 
cesses and  power  of  the  justification  of  the  sinner  before 
God  :  "  It  is  not  repentance  that  saves  ;  it  is  not  faith  that 
saves  ;  it  is  Christ  that  saves."  But  the  salvation  is  condi- 
tioned on  faith  ;  according-  to  the  measure  of  faith;  main- 
tained by  faith  ;  and  l)y  faith,  fruitful  of  good  ^vorks,  over- 
coming the  world,  and  having  victory  over  sin — "  Good 
works,"  he  added,  "  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  salvation 
itself;  its  essence  in  personal  holiness." 

This  summary  statement  of  an  elal)orate  disc|uisition, 
closes  with  the  personal  testimony,  falling  on  the  ears  of  all 
his  Episcopal  colleagues,  and  of  a  large  company  of  minis- 
ters, and  experienced  Christians,  in  tones  of  thrilling  em- 
phasis :  "  I  declare  to  you  to- night,  in  this  presence,  on  this 
commemorative  occasion,  that  in.  my  personal  experience, 
the  only  victory  I  have  ever  had  over  sin  has  been  in  the 
name  of  Christ — as  Christ  is  realized  in  my  thought ;  as 
Christ  \s  realized  in  my  heart ;  as  Christ  \s  realized  \\\  my 
faith  ;  as  Christ  is  realized  in  my  love.  Brethren,  this  is 
the  great  truth  of  our  religion.  I  have  no  defense  against 
my  own  sin,  l)ut  an  immediate  recurrence  of  faith  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  have  no  breakwater  ao-ainst  the  floods 
of  depravity,  excepting  it  be  in  His  Name  :  and  in  lionor  of 
His  Name,  I  announce  and  declare  to-night,  that  that  Name 
has  never  failed  me  yet." 

One  has  aptly  characterized  the  simplicity  of  his  faith  — 
"What  the  Word  of  God  said  was  with  him,  all  so.'"'  It 
was  striking!}^  illustrated  by  a  personal  testimony  occurring- 
in  a  passage  of  one  of  his  sermons  atthe  St.  Joseph  District 
Conference,  held  at  Savannah,  Mo.,  reported  by  the  Ecv. 
M.  M.  Hawkins:  "The  subject  of  one  of  his  sermons  was 
'The  Foundation  of  the  Christian's  Faith — the  Eternal 
Word.' — Heb.  vi,  13-20.     During  the  sermon   he  used  thic 


690  r.Ii^HOl'  MAKVIN. 

illustration  :  '  If  there  was  a  lower  as  liigh  as  heaven,  and 
beneath  it  a  chasm  pawning  and  as  dee[)  as  the  nethermost 
hell,  and  one  word,  nay,  one  s>/llahle  of  the  Word  of  (Jod 
jutted  out  of  the  tower,  and  God  should  commind  mo,  I 
would  leapi(j)on  that  syllable,  though  mi/  soul  were  us  heavy 
as  the  universe.'' 

The  confidence  of  faith  never  hesitated  in  approach  to 
God,  and  never  wavered  in  expectation  from  Him — "  God 
is  love,  and  God  is  mine."  Its  appropriating  power  was 
wonderful.  It  l)rought  God  into  all  his  conscious  being,  and 
kept  Christ  in  his  heart — formed  there,  the  hope  of  glory. 
More  wonderful  than  all,  was  its  realizhig  sense — the  ]ier- 
ception  of  the  invisible,  as  u  tangible  reality;  the  future 
brought  near;  his  conversation  in  Heaven,  its  scenery  as 
real  and  as  familiar  as  the  landscapes  of  the  earth  on  which 
he  trod,  "  the  Gates  of  Glory  in  sight  and  i)ulses  of  heav- 
enly music  falling  on  his  ear." 

This  faith  interprets  his  rapture  in  the  song — "  The  land 
of  Bculah."  Its  inspiration  was  on  him  often  when  he 
preached  as  when  he  sung  ;  and  sometimes  it  seized  his  pen, 
even  in  his  newspaper  correspondence.  A  notable  instance 
is  a  passao-e  in  his  Texas  letter,  during  a  sojourn  at  Houston, 
recording  a  pastoral  visit.  It  is  evident  lion-  his  spirit  caught 
fire,  and  his  own  kindred  faith  i)ictured  the  experience  he 
describes  : 

On  yesterday  I  called  on  several  of  the  older  members  of  the  Churcli, 
with  great  profit  to  myself.  One  of  them  I  must  mention  particularly. 
John  Shearn  is  an  Englishman  by  birth.  lie  came  to  Texas  at  au  early 
day,  and  joined  the  Church  nearly  thirty  years  ago,  at  Houston,  under  the 
pastorate  of  Dr.  Sunnners.  lie  has  been  a  very  active  man,  not  only  in  his 
own  ju-ivate  business,  but  also  in  puljlic  affairs,  and  especially  in  the 
Church.  Since  his  first  connection  with  the  Church  he  has  made  it  a  point 
to  omit  no  duty.  While  strength  remained  he  was  always  at  the  prayer 
and  class  meetings.  The  spacious  house  of  worship  now  occupied  by  us 
here  was  built  mainly  by  him.  He  Avas  the  friend  of  the  widow  and  the 
orphan.  lie  was  never  ashamed  of  the  name  nor  the  reproach  of  Christ. 
Altogether  his  Christian  life  has  been  decided  and  remarkable.    But  now 


AS    A    MAN.  091 

in  old  age  he  has  been  conflned  pretty  much  to  his  room  for  nearly  two 
years.  To  a  inau  whose  life  has  been  so  active  and  enterprising,  this  is  a 
grei.t  trial.  It  might  be  expected  that  he  would  be  gloomy  and  querulous. 
JFar  from  it.  On  the  contrary,  he  is  the  happiest  man  I  ha\e  found  in 
Texas.  His  soul  overflows  by  day  and  by  night  with  tlie  love  of  God.  He 
is  lu  a  constant  ecstacy.  His  very  face  glows  with  holy  light.  Whenever 
he  awakes  out  of  sleep,  even  in  the  dead  hours  oi  the  nighi,  praises  spring 
instantly  from  his  lips. 

He  is  passing  through  the  land  of  Beulali.  Rich  clusters  of  grapes 
hang  on  all  the  trees  Streams  of  living  wattr  flow  perpetually.  Echoes 
of  music  from  the  celestial  city  reach  his  ear.  He  sees  tlie  hills  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  and  the  distant  gates  of  the  city,  with  angels  ever- 
more passing  in  and  out.  Thus  the  aged  servant  of  God  lies  upon  his 
•couch  and  waits.  The  Master  will  soon  call  him,  and  liis  reward  wiii  be 
great. 

His  faith  was  one  of  the  chief  stones  in  the  foundation 
of  his  consecration — api^reliendiiig  the  great  recompense  of 
reward,  as  he  estimated  it  in  the  sermon  on  the  i)aral)le  of 
the  talents  :  for  joy,  entering  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord,  who 
sees  of  the  travail  of  His  soul,  and  is  satisfied;  and  for 
honor,  rule  over  ten  cities — "  Cities  of  God,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  tell  me  how  large  and  how  glorious  is  one  of  God's  Eter- 
nal Cities  !  And  vet  it  is  a  destiny  of  the  consecrated  man 
to  be  ruler  over  tek  of  God's  Cities."  So  it  is  said  of  men 
like  him:  "  His  life  had  at  bottom  the  conviction  of  the 
littleness  of  time  to  work  in,  and  the  vastness  of  eternity  to 
work  for."  It  stirred  in  his  heart  sympathies  of  awful 
■depth,  as  ho  looked  upon  his  fellows  in  the  light  of  his  faith, 
and  in  their  rescue,  in  the  same  light  anticipated  the  joy  of 
gathered  sheaves — "  we  believe,  and  therefore  speak." 

Another  foundation  stone,  in  his  devotedness,  was  the 
authority  of  tlie  ]\laster ;  and  the  chief  corner-stone,  the 
constraining  love  of  Christ.  "  This  poor  life,"  he  wrote, 
"  is  a  very  unworthy  offering  to  Him  who  died  forme." 

"What  the  power  and  comprehensiveness  of  consecration 
could  have  no  higher  expression  and  no  stronger  statement, 
than  in  a  paragraph  of  the  funeral  discourse  of  his  Volume 
of  Sermons — the    "In  Memoriam  "  of  the  late  Hon.  Wm. 


002  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

H.  Byrd,  of  Solina,  Al:i.  He  commits  lilmself  to  tlio  doc- 
trine of  the  i)cremptoiy  sovereignty  of  the  Lord  uiid  its 
stem  assertion  : 

He  must  asscrl  himself  betwoon  husband  and  wife,  even  at  the  moment 
of  supremest  seusibiliiy,  and  cuuiniantl  useveufrcMU  leave-lakiny;  He  must 
stand  between  father  and  sou  at  the  grave's  mouth,  a  Master  and  Lord  who 
'  has  prerogative  even  there  to  summon  the  l)rol^en  lieart  from  the  most  sacred 
of  liuman  duties.  Our  dead  ai-e  under  tlie  roof ;  witli  cruslicd  hearts  we 
are  preparing  to  folh)W  them  to  the  grave  aud  wx'cp  there ;  an  inviohible 
silence  honors  the  grief  which  all  humanity  lias  consecrated  by  an  awe  that 
stands  aloof  and  gives  up  tlie  time  and  place  to  sorrow;  but  the  hush  is  vio- 
lated by  the  sudden  crash  of  a  stern  voice  :  "  Come  away— let  the  dead  bury 
their  dead— follow  nie."  What  sacrilege  is  this?  My  outraiied  heart 
must  scoru  a  call  like  that  at  such  a  tinui.  But  no ;  I  look  up — His  eye  is 
upon  me.  "  My  Lord  and  my  God,"  is  it  thou?  Thou  lia<t  the  right. 
Take  me!  Take  me!  Even  though  it  be  from  the  side  of  my  unburied 
dead.     I  yield  myself  in  unquestioning  love  and  faith  to  Thee." 

The  sentiment  was  not  the  rhetoric  of  u  discourse,  but 
the  sober  prose  of  his  history  ;  a  real  and  not  a  cheap  senti- 
ment. It  took  him  from  the  "  ohl  phice"  in  Warren  County 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  ni:ido  his  life  a  grand  epic  in 
trials  and  triumphs  of  faith,  not  unworthy  to  l>e  an  added 
verse  to  the  Eleventh  of  Holirews — to  Abel's  faith  and  Moses' 
choice  and  to  the  trust  of  Abraham — in  his  ^vh()le  history, 
a  pilgrim  on  the  road  and  a  servant  in  the  field  ;  ever  on  his 
tongue  and  in  his  heart — "Wist  ye  not  I  must  bo  about  my 
Father's  business."  "  'Sly  meat  to  <lo  the  will  of  Ilim  that 
sent  me,  and  finish  His  work  :  "  "I  must  work  to-day  and 
to-morrow."  In  his  diary  it  is  written  :  "  There  will  })e  rest 
after  a  while." 

The  personal  relations  he  sustained  to  Judge  Byrd  may 
sufo-est  what  was  the  ground  and  cement  of  his  cherished 
and  deepest  friendships.  It  is  expressed  in  a  foot-note  to 
the  funeral  discourse:  "  ?k[y  own  participation  in  the  be- 
reavement was  su:-h  as  to  disqualify  me  in  a  large  measure 
for  the  dufl(>s  of  the  hour.  I  will  add  that  I  have  rarely 
known  a  man  lo  whom  I  was  so  deeply  attached  as  T  was  to 


AS    A    MAN. 


693 


Judge  Byrd.  I  count  it  one  of  the  privileges  of  my  life  that 
I  enjoyed  for  two  weeks  the  hospitalities  of  Judge  Byrd's 
house.  His  conversation  profited  nie  in  my  personal  expe- 
rience ;  I  felt  nearer  to  God  after  I  had  been  with  him  "' — 
admiring,  loving  and  devoted  to  him,  not  because  he  was  an 
eminent  jurist  and  a  prominent  public  man,  l>ut  as  a  good 
man.  There  were  obscure  but  saintly  men  and  women, 
from  whom  he  could  expect  neitlier  honor  nor  advantage, 
but  whom  he  alike  and  equally  loved. 

The  author  of  the  introduction  of  his  "  To  the  East  by 
the  ^Vay  of  the  "West,"  has  written  of  him  ' '  as  a  good  hater' ' 
— qualified  by  the  writer,  in  the  sense  he  meant  and  in  the 
truth  of  the  matter,  "  as  David  has  it  in  Psalms  xv.  :  'In 
whose  eyes  a  vile  person  is  contemned,  but  he  honoreth  them 
that  fear  the  Lord.'  "  He  could  be  angry  and  sin  not, 
which  Paul  enjoins  as  a  virtue,  and  which  Paul  jDracticed — 
with  indio-nant  rebuke  of  licentious  Corinth  ;  and  towards 
one  whom  Romanists  have  made  Primate  of  the  Apostles, 
but  whom  Paul  detected  and  published  as  a  time-server  and 
disseml)ler  and  pcrverter  of  others,  misleading  even  Barna- 
bus  :  "  But  when  Peter  was  come  unto  Antioch,  I  withstood 
him  to  the  face,  because  he  was  to  be  blamed." — Gal.  ii. 
11.  The  same  Paul  was  so  loved  by  Ephesian  Elders  that 
they  wept  on  parting  with  him,  and  was  so  tender-hearted, 
that  he  exclaimed  :  "  AVhat  mean  ye  to  weep  and  break  my 
heart !  "  Open  and  fearless  M'lien  sin  was  to  be  rebuked  or 
injurious  disorders  Averoto  be  corrected — "  to  his  face" — 
but,  as  Dr.  Summers  sa}'s  further  of  Bishop  Marvin,  "  he 
might  have  sat  for  the  portrait  of  a  Bishop  in  Titus  i.  ;  espe- 
cially Avas  he  '  a  lover  of  good  men.'  " 

In  this  record  of  the  active  intercourse  of  an  Episcopal 
pastor  with  the  people,  it  has  not  been  noted  how  personal 
character  entered,  as  a  prime  factor,  into  the  form  and  force 
of  his  ministrv.  He  has  illustrated  what  is  here  meant  bv 
what  he  said  of   Mr.  Weslev — his  irenius  and  his  character 


69-4  BISHOP  .-MAKVix. 

projoctiiiij:  themselves  upon  his  work  ;in«I  upon  the  world  : 
"  The  man  that  analyzes  John  Wesley  has  a  compendious 
statement  of  the  differentia  of  Methodism.  *  *  *  His 
massive  personality  moves  forward  in  its  orbit  with  a  force 
that  is  irresistible."  The  indirect  but  potent  inliuences 
o-oino-  out  from  him  are  snecilicd  in  the  foUowini^  words  of 
disquisition  upon  the  office  of  pastor,  and  had  illustration 
drawn  from  his  own  observation  : 

Ii  i>:  not  the  instruction  ajivcn  in  particular  cases,  tlie  special  attention 
given  here  and  there,  that  buiUls  up  the  members  ut  the  Church.  There 
are  sul)Ue,  spiritual  iutluences  going  out  from  a  true  man  of  God,  whicli 
accomplish  more,  for  aught  I  know,  than  any  special  elTort  he  may  put> 
forth.  While  he  is  intent  upon  this  duty  and  that,  going  about  the  Lord's 
errands,  results  follow  that  he  never  dreamed  of;  I  once  knew  a  very 
faithful  man  iu  charge  of  a  Circuit,  always  doing  something  for  God,  who 
was  on  t'.ie  road  rarly  one  morning,  going  to  meet  a  Bible  class.  A  wicked 
man  seeing  him  in  the  saddle  at  that  early  hour,  and  knowing  his  character, 
and  that  he  was  spending  his  life  in  doing  good  to  the  souls  of  men,  fell 
under  conviction,  and  was  soon  converted.  It  was  but  a  short  time  till  the 
whole  c(juiilry  was  in  a  tlamc  of  r<,'vival. 

It  is  whtit  is  in  the  saying  of  the  good  St.  Francis,  of 
Assisi,  to  a  young  monk  :  "All,  my  son,  it  is  of  no  use  that 
we  walk  anywhere  to  preach,  unless  we  preach  as  we  walk." 

The  location  of  his  Episcopal  residence  has  an  interesting 
history,  illustrative  of  personal  character,  as  well  as  official 
fidelity.  He  was  elected  as  a  Western  man,  though  not  for 
the  West.  'Sot  strictly  required,  it  was,  however,  proper 
that  he  should  fix  his  homo  in  that  section  of  the  Church. 
At  Avhat  point  was  the  matter  of  determination,  as  it  had 
become  a  matter  of  competition  among  places,  and,  hence, 
of  perplexity  to  him.  In  the  West  and  Southwest  there 
existed  a  felt  want  of  Episcopal  oversight  and  service.  That 
sentiment  was  prevalent  and  clamorous,  particularly  in  Texas 
and  ]\lissouri.  Throughout  all  that  section  his  election  to 
the  Episcopacy  was  received  with  great  favor  ;  and  his  per- 
sonal popularity  was  unbounded.  Accordingly,  application 
in  various  forms  of  solicitation,  and  from  various  quarters, 


AS    A    MAN.  G95 

for  the  location  of  his  residence  was  presented  and  ursfcd. 
At  oiico  there  was  a  call  for  his  return  to  Missouri,  and  invi- 
tation to  make  his  home  at  St.  Louis.  Shortly  afcr  the 
adjournment  of  the  General  Conference,  the  Texas  delega- 
tions united  in  a  formal  petition  in  hehalf  of  the  Church  and 
Conferences  in  that  State,  to  continue  his  residence  pcrma- 
iientlj  in  their  midst.  There  were  numerous  individual  solic- 
itations from  both  States  ;  and  from  l)()th  substantial  in- 
ducements in  assurances  of  the  donation  of  an  Episcopal 
residence. 

The  location  of  his  residence  at  St.  Louis  at  first  was 
governed  by  high  considerations  of  official  duty  and  su- 
perior usefulness  ;  on  the  same  grounds  it  was  maintained 
there.  From  first  to  last,  how  unselfish  and  elevated  his 
decision  was  appears  in  the  facts.  It  is  knoAvn  that  the  pro- 
l^osal  of  a  residence  to  be  provided  for  him  had  not  been 
fulfdlcd.  He  died  in  his  "  hired  house,''  with  the  way  left 
open  for  his  return  at  any  time  to  a  house,  his^  own,  in 
Texas  ;  or  to  another  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  ;  or  to  a  third? 
as  Mrs.  Marvin  was  assured  by  a  leading  Methodist  of  Cal- 
ifornia, on  the  Pacific  coast. 

It  was  always  the  purpose  of  the  Church  in  ]\IiE:souri, 
and  particularly  in  St.  Louis,  to  provide  the  home.  The 
delay  in  its  accomplishment  is  a  testimonial  to  his  disinter- 
ested devotion  to  the  Church.  On  two  occasion's,  on  his 
return  to  Missouri  in  ISGG  and  in  the  year  1870,  he  interrupt- 
ed a  movement  to  that  end — on  l)oth  occasions  assiijninii' the 
reason  that  it  might  eml)arrass pending  financial  enterprises 
and  interests  of  the  Church  in  St.  Louis.  These  facts  are 
known  to  the  writer.  They  explain  in  part  the  delay,  and. 
show  an  enhanced  deserving  of  the  testimonial,  which  was 
postponed  because  he  forbade  its  prosecution. 

In  another  notable  instance,  similar  honorable  sentiments 
governed  him.  In  1870,  at  a  joint  meeting  of  all  the  ofiicial 
boards  of  all  the  stations  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  held  at 


696  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

the  Central  ( 'liurch,  resolutions  Avcre  unanimously  ndople*] 
inviting  him  to  that  city.  The  lialtimore  Episcopal  Metlio- 
(h\s/,  iinnouneiuir  that  action,  endorses  it  in  extended  re- 
marks,  urging  the  acceptance  of  tlui  invitation  on  various 
grounds,  among  them  these  :  "  Wc  rcMjuire  a  preacher  who 
can  command  the  attention  of  the  people  o.i  his  ministry — 
^v!lo  can  break  up  new  ground  ;  Avho  has  the  mi-sionary 
spirit,  and  around  whom  we  may  rally  as  one  man  for  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel.  Such  a  man  should  he  uiistationed — 
he  should  be  at  the  head  of  the  Church  ;  in  fact,  the  hearts 
and  heads  of  our  people  have  recognized  that  man  in  our 
beloved  r>islioi)  Marvin.  "Will  he  come?  1'ho  coming  of 
the  Bishop  will  be  an  augury  of  success,  and  wo  promise 
him  and  his  family  an  old  Maryland  Avelcome  to  a  home  in 
the  city  of  Methodists."  Though  not  expressed,  it  was  un- 
derstood, that  the  invitation  included  the  donation  of  an 
Episcopal  residence — so  stated  in  the  public  prints  at  the 
time.  That  comnmnication  Mas  formally  presented  to  him 
durino-  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  at  Memphis. 
It  was  ur^-ed  privatelv  bv  influential  advocates.  Ilis  health 
at  that  time  was  much  broken.  It  was  the  promise  of  lighter 
burdens  and  more  comforts  of  home.  Mrs.  Marvin  reports 
his  reply  :  "  ^Ir.  Marvin  connnunicated  to  me  the  invitation 
l)resented  to  him  at  jNIemphis  to  establish  his  residence  at 
Baltimore.  I  rei)lied,  agreeing  with  him  in  the  conclusion, 
that  having  been  elected  to  the  Episcopacy  as  a  resident  in 
the  Trans-?^Iississippi  section  of  the  Church,  it  was  our  duty 
to  remain  in  it." 

What  manner  of  man  he  was  has  illustration,  also,  in  the 
history  of  his  agency  for  St.  Charles  College — strikingly  and 
in  various  aspects  of  personal  and  official  character. 

In  June,  1875,  on  a  call  at  the  residence  of  Hon.  Trus- 
ten  Polk,  and  going  as  usual  to  his  library-room,  the  writer 
found  him  engaged  in  a  business  interview  with  Bishop 
Marvin.     They  were  seated   at  a  table,  and  Governor  Polk 


AS    A     MAN.  ()97 

held  i\  pen  in  his  hand,  ^vith  which  a  few  moments  after  he 
signed  a  paper  and  handed  it  to  the  Bishop.  At  the  mo- 
ment of  entering  the  room  the  remaik  was  heard,  "I  do 
this  believing  and  protesting  that  you  are  under  no  legal  or 
moral  obligation  to  pay  this  amount  ;  certainly  not  more 
than  the  principal  sum  with  the  interest  in  law,  at  six  per 
cent."  Tlie  Bishop's  reply  was,  emphatically,  "I  will  have 
it  so."  Tliis  is  all  concerning  that  transaction  known  by 
the  writer  at  that  time  or  afterwards,  till  the  fcdlowing  nar- 
rative, from  the  pen  of  Rev.  J.  P.  Nolan,  came  into  his 
hands,  and  which  induced  a  search  among  the  business  pa- 
pers of  Bishop  Marvin  and  the  discovery  of  this,  the  paper 
sii>:ned  that  night  in  June,  at  about  nine  o'clock  : 

TJccicvecl,  St.  Louis,  June  29,  ]875,  of  Bishop  E.  M.  Marvin,  tliree 
thousand  dollar-,  paid  by  him,  for  benefit  of  St.  Charles  College,  to  me  as 
Trustee  for  said  College  under  the  will  of  Mrs.  Mary  Collier  deceased, 
mother  of  George  Collier,  also  deceased,  by  the  appointment  of  said 
George  by  his  last  will,  it  being  the  same  amount  whicli  I  paid  over  to  him 
as  Agent  for  said  College  on  the  4th  of  September,  185G,  in  pursuance  of 
the  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Curators  to  that  effect  adopted  the  22d  of 
August,  1S5G — which  amount  I  received,  believing  at  the  same  time  that 
said  Marvin  is  not  justly  or  legally  responsible  for  the  whole  of  the  afore- 
said amount.  Tkustex  Polk. 

That  money,  it  is  known,  was  saved  by  rigid  economy 
during  several  years  out  of  his  salary.  The  receipt  for  it 
Mr.  jS^ohin's  narrative  interprets  : 

At  the  St.  Joseph  Conference,  in  187-i,  in  my  room  at  the  hotel,  and 
when  we  were  alone,  he  made  the  following  statement  substantially,  ac- 
cording to  my  best  recollection,  in  reference  to  the  transaction  of  making 
up  the  $10,000  he  w^as  to  collect  once  as  Agent  of  St.  Charles  College  : 

"At  the  last,"  he  said,  "  when  it  was  necessary  to  do  something,  the 
Board  of  Curators  borrowed  $3,000  from  the  old  lady  Collier  endowment 
of  85,000,  then  in  Mr.  Polk's  hands,  and  this  amount,  with  the  sum  I  had 
collected  as  Agent,  was  presented  to  the  George  Collier  executors  in  the 
bonds  of  Missouri,  when  we  obtained  the  $10,000  provided  for  in  his  will. 
I  approved  this  action  of  the  Board— indeed,  without  my  sanction,  I  dare 
say,  they  would  not  have  done  it.  My  purpose,  as  expressed  to  the  Board, 
was  to  go  on  with  my  Ageucy,  and  as  soon  as  I  could  collect  this  money^ 
replace  it  in  the  Mother  Collier  fund.     Brother got  a  poriiou  of 


698  BISHOP   MARVIX. 

the  old  lady  Collier  endowment  from  Mr.  Polk  when  he  went  South,  and  it 

was  lost  ill  his  ( 's)  bankrupt  estate.     1  have  been  greatly  troubled 

over  tills  business.  I  have  felt  morally  bound  to  see  that  borrowed  money 
replaced,  and  the  old  lady  Collier  fund  of  $.">, 000  made  whole.  The  honor 
of  the  Church  demands  it,  and  my  honor  does,  too.  I  have  seen  that  the 
Curators  would  not  attend  to  it.  Some  time  ago  I  res :)lved  to  attend  to  it 
myself.  I  have  beiiun  to  do  it — out  of  iry  own  eirnings  aU,oj;ether.  Dur- 
ing next  year  I  hope  to  accomplish  it.     1  shall  never  rest  until  it  is  done." 

There  is  a  subsequent  history  which  enhances  llie  lustre 
of  this  exhil)itioii  of  sensitiveness  to  liis  indiviihial  reputa- 
tion and  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  Ihehonorof  the  Church. 
It  has  been  considered  as  going  far  beyond  what  the  most 
scrupulous  prudence  or  most  conscientious  official  fidelity 
could  require.  It  has  been  so  declared  publidv  bv  the  ac- 
tion of  the  Missouri  Conference,  resolving  that  ^vhat  came 
out  of  Bishop  Marvin's  private  means  ought  to  bo  refunded. 
It  is  supposed  commonly  to  have  amounted  to  three  thou- 
sand dollars,  as  it  did,  with  interest  added,  and  could  not 
have  been  less,  in  the  principal,  than  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars. ]\Iembers  of  the  Board  of  Curators,  in  like  maimer — 
men  like  I).  K.  Pittnian  and  T.  W.  Cunningham — declare 
that  in  their  jiersonal  conscience,  as  well  as  official  capacity, 
they  cannot  allow  such  self-imposition,  as  they  deem  it,  to 
go  unrisi'hted  ;  the  more  moved  thereto  bv  the  sentiment  of 
admiration  for  a  remarkable  spectacle  of  self-abnegation  in 
love  and  devotion  to  the  Church.  Bishop  ]\lar\in  replied  to 
the  resolution  of  Conference,  and  hastened  to  say,  that  if 
the  refunding  were  tendered  he  Avould  not  accept  it.  When 
it  came  to  his  knowledge  that,  predicated  on  this  refusal,  a 
member  of  the  Board  meditated  securing  the  return  of  the 
money  by  means  of  a  trusteeshi[)  for  the  bcnolit  of  his  fam- 
ily— "  Neither  shall  my  family  receive  it,''  Avas  the  deter- 
mined message  to  his  old  friend.  "Whatever  mav  or  may 
not  be  done  in  reference  to  the  ])roposed  refunding  of  thai 
money,  the  last  words  of  ]Mr.  Nolan's  narrative  of  his  inter- 
view with  Bishop  Marvin,  stand  good  to   the    reader,   as  to 


AS    A    MAX.  0)99 

himself :  "  I  was  deeply  affected  by  the  words  of  the  Bish- 
op, as  they  opened  up  the  noble,  generous  impulses  of  the 
man.     God  bless  his  memory  !  " 

In  his  wide  intercourse  with  the  Church,  joined  with  the 
perfectopenness  of  his  character  and  his  habit  of  unreserved 
self-disclosure,  he  was  thoroughly  known  and  understood. 
His  Christian  graces  and  natund  traits  Avere  published  in  his 
intercourse  and  dealings  ;  and,  perhaps,  may  be  best  illus- 
trated by  the  incidents  of  both.  Some  are  already  before 
the  reader  ;  others  still  in  hand  ;  little  things,  some  of  them  ; 
but  like  straws  in  the  air,  showing  the  direction  of  the 
wind. 

Gratitude  is  an  instinct  of  the  brute,  and  so  natural  and 
common  a  virtue,  that  it  is  written  of,  as  the  last  virtue  of 
all  the  train  to  leave  the  abandoned  heart.  Nevertheless, 
Barrow,  perhaps  it  is,  reports  the  in(|uiry  made  to  one  of 
the  old  })hilosophers,  "  What  is  that  which  doth  soonest 
grow  old?"  and  his  reply,  satirically,  "Thanks."  The 
remembrance  of  favor  by  him  was  long-lived  and  vigorous, 
as  Bro.  Crouch  had  experience  at  jMarshall,  Texas,  at  the 
close  of  the  war  when  he  was  himself  a  refugee  ;  taken  to  a 
home  in  the  parsonage  of  the  pastor,  whom — "  the  sick 
preacher  " — he  had  taken  out  of  Price's  camp  to  his  home 
in  Arkansas.  At  the  same  parsonage  in  an  older  memory 
of  the  patronage  of  Drvden  on  his  first  Circuit,  when  the 
boy-preacher  needed  a  suit  of  clothes,  Dryden  found  a 
friend  in  need,  and  a  nurse  in  sickness. 

He  was  the  soul  of  orenerositv — in  its  lar2;e  sense  and  in 
an  universal  application.  In  the  use  of  money,  it  is  known 
how,  more  than  he  loved  it,  he  cared  for  the  good  it  might 
do,  ChiU'ity  in  bounty  Lord  Lytton  has  called  an  aristo- 
cratic virtue.  Bishop  Marvin  relished  it  as  a  luxurv  of  life. 
At  the  ]\lissionary  Anniversary  his  speech  had  in  it  what 
Bishop  Pierce  has  called  "the  closing  argument,"  laving  a 
greenback  on  the  table.      At  the  Church  dedication  he  took 


700  lilSIIOl'  MAUVIX. 

"stock,"  as  it  is  named,  in  the  House  to  be  cleared  of  debt. 
At  the  College,  among  the  students,  is  the  son  of  a  Texas 
preacher,  supi)orted  from  his  purse.  At  the  Conference, 
AvhcMi  a  whole  Conference  is  to  l)e  saved,  he  issues  drafts  on 
himself,  having  the  pledge  of  all  his  worldly  substance. 
Out  in  the  destitute  places  he  puts  a  preacher  in  the  field  at 
his  own  charixes.  "With  far  less  revenues  than  Gonzalo  de 
Cordova,  had  ho  had  a  thousand  times  less,  he  would  have 
said  the  same  that  the  "  great  Captain  "  said  to  the  steward 
of  his  treasury  :  "  Never  stint  your  hand  :  there  is  no  mode 
of  enjoying  one's  property  like  giving  it  away." 

lie  was  devoted  to  his  friends,  kind  towards  strangers, 
tolerant  towards  those  who  differed  will)  him  ;  towards  ene- 
mies not  resentful,  though  not  a  cow^ard  in  the  fight;  not 
hesitating  to  cross  swords  with  a  leader  in  the  opposition, 
but  compassionate  towards  the  followers. 

The  vain  man  is  an  egotist ;  the  proud  man  is  self-satisfied 
— there  is  no  incident  of  either  character  known  to  his  })ub- 
lic  career,  nor  his  private  life,  nor  his  familiar  speech.  En- 
w  has  been  called  a  "  shy  passion,  because  when  it  shows 
itself,  it  dcftMits  itself."  It  may  be  detected,  however,  in 
its  family  features  and  in  its  progeny — "the  daughter  of 
priile  and  tiie  mother  of  detraction."  Humility  was  the 
jewel  of  his  graces,  and  did  any  ever  know  of  malice  in  his 
lu'art  or  detraction  (ui  his  tongue.  Even  rebuke  falling 
from  his  lips  was  annointed  with  the  oil  of  kindness  ;  and 
if  stem,  it  was  vindicated,  as  the  command  of  his  conscience 
and  th(!  necessity  of  duty.  If,  in  his  earruu-  ministry,  there 
had  l)cen  carnal  ambitions,  the  name  and  fame  of  Caples 
would  have  been  an  offense  to  the  "  evil  eye  ;  "  but  they 
were  bosom  friends,  and  JNIarvin  was  his  biograplier — in  life 
never  enwinir  the  promotion  of  his  honors,  and  the  most 
entimsiastic  panegyrist  of  his  pulpit;  and  in  death,  Ins  me- 
moir a  lal)or  of  love,  and  a\  ilh  a  design  to  give  to  his  name 
and  labors  posthumous  influence  and  renown. 


AS    A    MAN.  701 

Somebody  has  said,  "  no  man  is  groat  in  the  eyes  of  his 
valet."  In  the  commonest  scenes,  Bishop  Marvin  was  "  a 
proper  gentleman."  In  the  closest  intimacies,  nothing  was 
seen  or  known  about  him  that  was  low  or  mean — by  none 
known  better,  nor  both  loved  and  honored  more  than  by  his 
wife  and  children. 

To  the  pul)lic  eye  his  character  %vas  transparent,  and  to 
the  eye  of  friends  he  opened  the  windows  of  liis  imnost 
heart.  To  his  consistency  and  sincerity  there  is  an  universal 
verdict ;  his  character  a  real  and  not  a  painted  flame,  and 
the  external  lustre  the  reflection  of  an  inner  light.  At  this 
point  of  remark,  the  writer  recalls  an  expression  which  Avould 
not  fail  to  strike  attention,  and  could  not  be  soon  for^^otten  : 
"  I  would  shrink  as  little  as  the  next  man,  in  tlie  face  of  the 
world,  to  turn  myself  inside  out."  It  was  not  a  1)oast.  Oc- 
curring in  a  conversation  upon  the  native  and  inveterate 
corruption  of  human  nature,  it  was  the  i)reface  of  a  state- 
ment that,  notwithstanding  his  sense  of  conscious  rectitude, 
he  detected  with  pain  a  proneness  to  q\\\.  It  was  in  evi- 
dence, however,  of  his  vvatch  and  ward  over  it  and  the  clean- 
ness of  the  inner  sanctuary.  What  was  o/'him  was  scarcely 
better  known  than  what  was  in  him.  AMiat  miuht  not  be 
seen  he  told.  A  remarkable  exemplification  of  such  candor 
has  been  narrated  in  the  columns  of  the  Nashville  Christian 
Advocate,  and  apparently  well  authenticated  : 

The  Eev.  Dr.  Wilkes  relcates  the  following:,  which  illustrates  the  spirit 
of  the  man.  lu  1S70,  when  Bishop  Marvin  made  his  second  Episcopal  visit 
to  Texas,  he  preached  for  Dr.  Wilkes,  in  Austin,  spending  Sunday  and 
Monday  with  him.  On  Tuesday  Dr.  Wilkes  took  him  in  his  buggy,  and 
they  started  for  the  West  Texas  Conference,  thirty-live  miles  distant.  A 
little  after  noon  they  came  to  a  clf.'ar  stream  of  water,  and  the  Doctor  pro- 
posed that  they  stop  and  get  dinner.  The  Bishop  expressed  a  little  sur- 
prise that  the  Doctor  had  been  so  thoughtful  as  to  provide  them  a  table 
there  in  the  wilderness.  They  stopped,  and  the  good  Doctor,  who  was  an 
old  ^my  officer,  proceeded  to  make  the  coffee  and  spread  the  dinner, 
which  process  the  Bishop  watched  witli  marked  interest  from  his  seat  on 
the  grass,  with  his  feet  under  him,  after  the  style  of  a  tailor.     When  the 


702  BISHOr  MARVIN. 

clean  towel  was  spread  on  the  grass,  the  dinner  set,  and  the  rich  aroma  of 
the  smokini;  coffee  had  imparted  its  delicious  flav6r  to  the  tempting  mor- 
sels, the  I)*)ctor  said: 

"  Bishop,  ask  a  blessing."  The  Bishop  removed  his  lint,  and  vei'y  de- 
voutly and  with  tremulous  voice  invoked  tlie  divine  blessing.  After  which 
the  Doctor  said,  "Now,  Bishop,  help  yourself.''  But  he  noticed  tliat  the 
Bisliop  hesitated  and  was  silent.  On  looking  up  he  saw  that  the  B'shop's 
eyes  were  swimming  in  tears,  and  that  he  was  affected  with  deep  emotion. 

"  No,"  said  the  Bishop,  "  I  c.innnt  eat  this  dinner  " — 

"  Wliy,  Bishop,  what  is  the  matter?  " 

"  Until  I  make  a  confession  to  you." 

"  Why,  you  astonish  me.  Bishop." 

"Well,  you  m;ist  allow  mc,  Brother  Wilkes,  to  relieve  my  conscience 
of  a  prejudice  I  have  had  against  you  for  years,  growing  out  of  your  asso- 
ciation with  C and  G and  their  notorious  brigade  during  the  war. 

You  know  that  that  brigade  had  a  bad  character  for  lawlessness  and  gene- 
ral irregularity.  I  wa-;  with  Price's  army,  just  bi'hind  you,  for  some  time, 
and  your  brigade  became  notorious.     I  always  associated  you  with  C — - 

and  G in  their  bad  conduct,  and  yet,  I  confess,  that  I  could  never  hear 

of  anything  lawless  or  wrong  that  you  did.  It  was  only  prejudice.  I  can- 
not recall  a  single  instance,  during  or  since  the  war,  that  I  ever  heard  that 
compromised  your  character,  and  I  must,  tiierefore,  confess  that  it  was 
nothing  but  prejudice,  and  I  could  not  partake  of  this  dinner  to-day  until 
I  had  made  this  confession.     I  have  iiad  no  opportunity  before." 

Ever  after  they  were  the  warmest  personal  friends. 

A  kindred  virtue  was  his  love  of  ti'uth.  It  could  havo 
no  stronger  statement  tlum  in  his  own  v>'ord,  which  nobody 
ever  impeached — what  he  said  in  reference  to  College  Com- 
mencement reports  :  "I  believe  it  is  expected  Avhen  ii  man 
writes  about  examinations,  he  should  Sj)eak  well  of  them.  I 
have  a  rule  on  this  subject.  If  I  have  nothing  (/oocZ  to  say, 
I  say  nothing  at  all.  I  ivill  not  say  flattering  things  of  a 
poor  performance." 

Not  a  flatterer  ;  and  as  to  his  own  performances,  or  po- 
sition or  public  fame,  not  an  egotist,  not  vain,  nor  proud, 
at  what  point  was  he  open  to  flattery?  If  he  had  a  "  blind 
side,"  his  most  intimate  associates  knew  nothing  of  it. 
They,  least  of  all  men,  would  have  the  folly  to  attempt  an 
insidious  approach  to  baffle  his  insight  of  men,  or  the  te- 
n)erity  to  attemi)t  upon  him  an  imposition,  or  the  hardihood 
to  propose  to  him  vicious  counsel  or  a  wrong  purpose. 


AS    A    MAX.  703 

Whore,  it  may  bo  asked,  was  his  weakness  or  his  fault? 
The  writer  answers  for  himself,  that  ho  knew  him  well  and 
does  not  know.  He  knows  of  complaints  and  alleged  griev- 
ances, but  knowing  the  facts  intimately  in  regard  to  the 
motives  and  grounds  of  his  action,  it  is  only  a  not  uncom- 
mon history  of  good  evil  spoken  of.  If  the  writer  did 
know,  as  we  do  not  look  at  the  sun  to  discover  its  spots,  it 
would  be  more  just  to  a  great  character,  as  well  as  more 
<T^rateful  to  the  feelim>:s,  to  adoiit  the  Latin  maxim — "  nildl 
de  mortuis  nisi  bonum.'"  The  same  wise  and  considerate 
judgment  is  expressed  by  the  biographer  of  AVm.  Patton, 
the  tirst  Presiding  Elder  of  Bishop  ]\larvin — said  for  those 
who  knew  him  well  :  "  They  will  forget  his  failings  and  im- 
perfections, and  fondly  dwell  upon  the  ix-colloction  of  his 
amiable  spirit,  gentle  manner,  deep  and  fervent  piety,  well- 
tempered  zeal,  strong  faith  and  exemplary  walk  and  conver- 
sation." 

Every  monograph  which  has  fallen  under  the  observation 
of  the  writer,  has  specitied,  as  a  distinct  attribute,  -what  is 
by  all  pens  written,  as  his  personal  magnetism.  The  Kev. 
Dr.  Deems  locates  such  impression  from  his  presence  as 
lonof  airo  as  at  the  session  of  the  General  Conference,  in 
1850,  at  St.  Louis,  where  Marvin,  then  stationed  at  Palmyra, 
■was  a  visitor.  In  an  admirable  sketch,  dated  1872,  of  that 
General  Conference,  he  writes  :  "  There  I  first  saw  Bishop 
Marvin.  Ho  was  much  with  Caples,  as  I  recall  it,  but  I 
distinctly  remember  that  when  I  first  saw  him,  he  so  im- 
pressed me  that  I  could  not  keep  my  eyes  from  him." 

Of  other  great  men  writers  have  spoken  of  the  same  pe- 
culiaritv.  It  is  usually  called  xxw  indefinable  something  ;  but, 
as  generallv,  it  is  attempted  to  define  it.  This  incongruity 
leads  to  the  remark,  as  the  present  writer  conceives  it,  that 
"what  is  judged  to  have  been  a  separate  and  distinct  quality, 
was  rather  an  impression  from  the  whole  effect  of  his  exalt- 
ed character   and   great  career.     Eather  than  a  nondescript 


704  BISHOP    MAHVIX. 

sonictliinii-,  there  is  :i  satisfactory  rationale  of  the  v.onchMfiil 
attraetioii  he  hiid  upon  the  miiuls  and  hearts  of  men.  The 
to[)ni()st  peak  of  ii  mountain  range  as  ill  coniinand  the  (irst 
h)()k  and  tix  the  gazo  of  the  observer.  There  is  allraction 
in  the  mnjesty  of  greatness.  Tlic  gold  that  has  passed 
through  tho  crucihlo  of  the  assavist  will  lie  prized  al)ove 
erude  or  eommoii  ores.  Ho  Avas  a  tested  man,  a:id  known 
to  ])C  as  pure  gold.  Tho  loadstone  in  the  attraction  of  what 
has  been  otherwise  caWed  "  jx'rsonal  polarity,"  resided  in 
the  impression  thoroughly  groundcMl  and  am[)ly  vindicated, 
that  ho  was  a  great,  true  and  good  m:in.  Especially  in  the 
latter  quality,  in  which  his  greiilness  had  its  sanctitication  to 
tho  Avork  of  God  and  tho  welfare  of  his  race,  and  which  kept 
Ills  ambition  true  to  his  calling  in  high  and  costly  consecration 
and  al)undant  labors,may  be  found  the  history  of  an  instinct- 
ive admiration  and  an  exalted  revcrencG  jind  t  he  gravitation  of 
love.  Tho  fame  of  his  high  benevolenre  made  hini  known 
and  loved  in  tho  households  of  tho  Church,  as  tho  iiamo  of 
Jesus  Avas  a  household  word  throughout  all  Judea  ;  Ixu-ause, 
wherever  ho  went,  ho  went  iibout  doing  good.  The  sclf- 
sacritice  of  his  life  contained  in  it  what  was  spoken  when 
the  deepest  shadows  of  tho  passion  begjin  to  fall  upon  the 
tho  life  of  the  Savior  :  "And  I,  if  I  bo  lifted  up,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  me."  Tliat  was  moi(>  than  an  appeal  of  suffer- 
in"- to  svmpathv — tho  constraint  of  unselfish  and  suffering 
love  winding  itself  around  the  heart  of  the  w^orld,  as  with  a 
l)road  fold  and  an  adamantine  chain.  Bishop  Marvin  has 
noted  this  powci-  in  lAIr.  Wesley  :  "  The  depth  of  sympathy 
that  was  so  conspicuous  a  trait  of  his  character,  gave  him 
extraordinary  power  with  men."  A  young  tourist.  Dr.  F. 
]\I.  Deems,  exiiressed  the  same  ti-nth,  as  exemplified  in  his 
impression  of  tho  modern  J^ondon  pulpit : 

Bishop  Troncli  is  cloiu-  and  iicrsniisivc;  Dr.  Parker  is  grand  and  im- 
pressive; Mr.  Spurueon's  eloqneiit  eoninion  sense  is  electrical;  but  why  I 
should  have  said  to  my  friend,  as  wo  left  Dr.  Ciunmmgs'  Church,  that  if  I 


AS    A     MAN.  705 

remained  in  London  he  would  be  m.v  pastor,  is  more  than  I  can  tell.  His 
sermon  1  tliouglit  betokened  great  care  in  its  construction,  and  mucli  study, 
but  the  sweet,  eas}',  winnihi^  sijde  of  the  Doctor's  delivery  had  a  jjeculiar 
charm  for  me  too  subtle  to  be  imprisoned  in  words.  I  fi;lt  all  aloiii^  tliat 
the  man  in  the  puljiit  loved  the  men  in  the  pews,  and  abcjve  all  else,  was 
most  anxious  that  they  should  see  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ.  It  may  have 
been  this  rich,  marrowy  vein  of  the  love-element  that  ran  throuj^h  all  his 
sermon  that  attracted  me. 

Another  writer  bus  said  :  "Accorclino;  to  everv  theory  of 
reo^eiicrjition,  <j;race  I'uus  in  human  channels  :  and  it  never 
makes  a  more  musical  current  than  through  those  hai)pv 
souls  that  have  a  bent  to  kindness."  The  love-element  is  a 
golden  thread  in  the  cord,  but  not  the  exclusive  tie  that 
bound  men  to  this  magnetic  man — a  threefold  cord  it  Avas, 
as  Dr.  Vaughan  paraphrases  the  Charity  of  the  Thirteenth  of 
Second  Corinithians  :  "A  heart  of  iron  to  himself,  a  heart 
of  flesh  to  bis  fellow,  and   a  heart  of  tire  to  his  God." 

In  respect  of  his  natural  traits,  the  graft  of  gmce  was  on  a 
good  olive  tree.  His  Christian  graces  vere  radical — the  root 
and  stock  of  a  tree  garnished  with  foliage  and  flowers,  and 
laden  with  fruit.  The  effect  of  his  Avhole  character  and  his- 
tory, it  was,  wdiicli  commanded  the  admirino;  exclamation 
concerning  the  disciple,  as  of  the  Master — "  Behold  the 
Man  !  "     In  the  combination  of  virtues — 

"  His  life  was  gentle,  and  tlie  elements 

So  mixed  in  him  that  Nature  might  stand  np  » 

And  say  to  all  the  world,  '  lliis  ivas  a  man!''  " 


1/ 


CHAP  TEH  XXXVI. 


1870— IS  7G. 

The  General  Conference  of  1870  and  1874— Measures  of  public  policy — 
Theological  education — Denominational  schools — His  argument— Gen. 
Lee's  testimony— Tlie  College  in  his  dying  hand— The  itinerancy— Pas- 
toral term — Lay  representation — An  incident — Relations  of  tlie  two 
American  I'^piscopal  Methodisms— Formal  fiaternity— Fraternal  Mes- 
senger to  the  Britisli  Wesleyan  Conference— Southern  Methodist  Mis- 
sions—The  home  work— Foreign  fields— China  visitation— Exploration 
of  Heathendom — "The  whole  world  convened  to  Christ." 

fllE  dates  which  give  name  to  this  chapter  iiuludn  the 
only  two  General  Conferences  vhich  liishop  Marvin 
attended  after  his  incunibeiicv  of  the  Episcopal  office.  They 
will  locate  the  liistory  of  the  i)art  he  took  in  measures  of 
public  policy,  and  some  labors  which  have  not  properly 
fallen  under  review  in  former  chapters. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1870,  the  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Education  Avas  drafted  by  the  pen  of  Dr.  Lan- 
<lon  C  Garland,  at  present  the  Chancellor  of  Vanderbilt  Uni- 
versity.  It  was  exclusively  confined  to  the  question  of  pro- 
viding a  Theoloirical  School — an  elaborate  aro;umcnt  and 
earnest  plea  in  favor  of  that  measure.  There  was  a  minor- 
ity re[)ort,  respectable  in  the  number  and  weight  of  influ- 
ence of  the  dissentients  ;  among  them,  several  College  Pres- 
idents. It  was  the  view  of  the  minority,  that  the  Biblical 
Chair  in  the  Colleges,  which  had  been  recommended  at  a 
previous  session,  and  had  l)cen  introduced  generally,  was  as 
far  as  the  Church  miijht  <ro  Avisolvand  safelv.  The  question 
came  before  the  General  'Conference  as  controverted,  and 


1870—1870.  707 

gave  occasion  to  one  of  the  spiciest  debates  of  the  session. 
The  measure  was  carried  in  the  committee,  but  lost  on  the 
floor  by  an  overwhebning  vote.  It  is  to  bo  added,  perhaps, 
that  the  coin[)rehensive  and  compact  argument  of  the  report 
of  the  committee  was  flanked  l)y  the  ad  captandum  ro[)ly  of 
the  spoken  address.  The  pro[)()siti()n  was  in  advance  of  pub- 
lic sentiment.  It  lay  too  abruptly  across  the  traditional 
policy  of  the  Churcii — the  defeat  at  Memphis,  quite  like,  in 
history  and  result,  that  at  St.  Charles,  when  the  "  Horse- 
back College  "  rode  down  all  o]:)position,  and  ]M;irvin  was 
*' floored."  On  the  latter  occasion,  as  at  tlie  former,  other 
reverend  seniorsi^  besides  Bishop  K.,  in  the  scene  at  St. 
Charles,  lauirhed  over  it :  some  might  have  cried.  Besides, 
it  may  be,  the  question,  in  the  mind  of  the  op[)osition,  was 
not  unmixed  "svith  a  foreign  issue — the  centralization  at 
Nashville  of  the  Educational,  as  of  the  Pul)lishing,  interests 
of  the  Church.  Before  the  session,  the  project  had  been 
mooted  anions;  nine  affiliated  Conferences  for  the  establish- 
ment  of  an  University  at  that  place  ;  and  the  i)roposition  at 
the  General  Conference  was  interpreted  as  a  jiart  of  the 
movement.  That  movement  went  on,  nevertheless.  It  has 
had  grand  culmination  in  the  Vanderhilt  University,  which 
to-day  realizes  in  all  its  parts  the  report  of  Dr.  Garland  in 
1870  ;  and,  in  the  general  sentiment  of  the  Church,  has  vin- 
dicated its  foresiirht  and  its  aruument.  The  discussion  be- 
can  in  the  Committee-room  and  was  waited  on  the  Confer- 
ence  floor.  It  widened  out  before  the  general  public — 
notably,  under  the  championship,  on  the  one  side  and  the 
other  of  the  question,  of  two  of  the  Bishops,  Pierce  and 
McTyeire.  Thpy  had  an  universal  hearing  through  the  col- 
umns of  the  Church  Advocates.  Though  not  taking  a  pub- 
lie  ptirt  in  this  agitation.  Bishop  Marvin  observed  it  with 
absorbino;  interest.  Before  it  had  reached  its  heiijht  and 
beat,  and  before  the  session  of  the  General  Conference, when, 
however,  there  was  sufficient  suggestion  that  it  was  a  com- 


708  BISHOP  MAUVIN. 

ing  issue,  he  put  on  printed  record  liis  views.  They  were 
enunciated  in  his  life  of  Caples,  the  last  pages  of  whicli,  in 
the  preface,  were  dated  April  28,  1870.  He  adhered  to 
them,  after  he  liad  read  and  pondered  all,  and  the  much  in 
complete  discussion,  which  had  been  said  and  written  on  the 
subject.  The  reader,  it  is  supposed,  will  recognize  in  his 
points  usual  connnon  sense  and  practical  views.  They  struck 
out  a  middle  course  between  the  extremes  of  opinions.  Per- 
liaps,  it  may  be  added  concerning  them,  in  the  general  ver- 
dict— )ne(Uo  tutisnintufi  ibis.  His  eight  points  are  prefaced 
by  a  sti'iking  presentation  of  the  training  of  the  ministry  in 
the  days  of  the  fathers — the  school  in  whijt'h  he  was  educa- 
ted. That  is  quoted  at  large  in  a  former  chapter — this  fol- 
lowing : 

But  I  shall  1)0  told  that  things  are  chaim"o<l  now — that  there  is  extem- 
poraneous preaching  all  over  the  laud,  with  nuieh  of  the  Methodist  fervor 
and  power,  by  educated  men  of  other  denoMiinations,  and  that  the  people 
at  hirge  are  themselves  more  iutelligent,  so  that  our  preachers  must  be  up 
to  the  level  of  their  hearers,  or  lose  credit.  I  doubt  not  there  is  much 
truth  in  all  this,  and  ou  this  point  I  have  thc'se  remarks  to  make : 

1.  No  one  desires  that  preachers  should  be  educateil  more  tliau  I  do. 
Let  it  be  done  as  far  as  possib'e.  Let  the  Churcli  tax  her  resources  to  the 
nttermost.  Let  us  have  a  Theological  School.  Let  us  have  a  Chair  of 
Divinity  iu  our  Colleges,  where  it  can  be  done. 

2.  But  wlieu  the  utmost  has  been  done,  we  will  not  turn  out  educated 
men  as  l'a~-t  as  the  demands  of  the  work  will  require. 

3.  Large  classes  of  men  Avill  always  be  found  to  wliom  men  of  good 
sense,  though  not  highly  educated,  will  be  acceptable;  more  acceptable, 
than  th(!  harned  man,  if  he  Inne  flu;  air  of  a  ptMJjuit. 

4.  Many  nuii  in  the  Chureli  now  who  are  iu  demand  in  the  very  b(;st 
jind  most  cultivated  communities,  arc  such  as  have  had  no  early  advan- 
tages beyond  the  common  school. 

5.  The  Cdlcgo  will  not  make  a  brilliant,  attractive  man  of  a  naturally 
dull  one.  Many  educat(;d  men  never  become  acceptable  preachers.  If  a 
man  has  no  '•  gift,"  no  training  can  give  it  to  him.  My  conviction  !'<,  that 
if  a  man  does  not  become  a  respectable  public  speaker  on  the  basis  of  a  fair 
Enirli'^h  education,  he  would  never  do  so  with  all  the  help  in  the  world. 
You  must  have  the  "timber"  to  beuin  with. 

G.  I  apprehend  th.it  exaggerated  hopes  an; entertained  of  the  results 
of  a  College  course.     Yet  I  do  not  deprecate  the  jiresent  agitation  of  the 


1S70-187G.  709 

subject.  Good  will  come  of  it— has  already  come  of  it.  But  brctlifcii  will 
be  disappoiiiiL'd  in  many  of  the  young  men  that  will  come  to  their  pulpits 
out  of  the  Colleges. 

7.  I  should  deplore  most  deeply  any  legislation  that  would  make  a 
liberal  education  a  vondition  of  membership  in  the  Annual  Conferences. 
The  hand  of  God  will  be  on  many  a  man  who  can  never  take  a  classical 
course.  I  am  not  sure  but  some  men— very  useful  men,  too— whom  I  liave 
known,  would  have  been  spoiled  by  any  attempt  of  the  sort.  I  am  almost 
tempted  to  give  names.     II.  S.  Watts  will  pardon  me  for  writing  his. 

8  If  in  any  measure  Methodist  preachers  lose  their  simplicity  through 
affectation  of  learning,  it  will  be  a  black  day  for  us.  If  ever  geometry  and 
Greek,  "  the  objective  and  the  subjective,"  come  to  reduce  our  estimate 
of  peisonal  holiness  as  the  prime  condition  of  a  truly  useful  ministry,  we 
may  write  "Ichabod"  upon  our  altars— for  Methodism  will  be  dead. 

At  the  Genenil  Conference  of  1874,  the  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Education,  Hon.  Trusten  Polk,  the  chairman, 
dealt  with  the  general  subject  of  Christian  and  Denomina- 
tional Education,  in  schools  of  the  Church  of  all  grades. 
That  special  view  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Con- 
ference by  several  memorials,  praying  legislation  on  the 
subject — one  from  Missouri,  on  the  impontance  of  a  general 
and  thorongh  system  of  Educational  Work  by  the  Church, 
and  another  from  Virginia,  to  establish  District  Schools 
throughcnit  the  Church.  The  latter  was  reported  on  favor- 
ably, with  an  accompanying  argument  of  great  force.  In  a 
concluding  statement,  the  comlnned  ;ind  concurrent  culture 
of  the  intellectual  and  moral  constitution  is  set  forth  in  an 
outspoken  and  strong  utterance  : 

The  powers  of  the  moral  uature  lie  at  the  foundation  of  both  greatness 
and  goodness.  Why  was  it  that  Cato,  the  Censor,  was  a  grander  man  than 
Cicero,  the  Orator?  Did  the  ambitious  CiBsar  fear  the  intellectual,  the 
cultivated,  the  ai;eomplished  and  graceful  rhetorician,  as  he  did  the  stern, 
uusellish,  uncompromising  moralist  and  patriot? 

Considerations  such  as  these  urge  themselves  upon  us  with  command- 
ing emphasis  at  the  present  juncture.  The  cry  of  our  times  is,  Education ! 
Education !  But  it  is  for  the  education  of  the  pure  intellect,  and  not  of 
the  moral  constitution.  And,  unfortunately,  as  we  think,  the  tendency  and 
aim  of  onr  systems  c  f  public  and  fstate  Education  are  the  development  of 
the  intellectual  laculties,  to  the   neglect   and   ignoring  of  the  moral  and 


710  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

hi-hcr  nature.  We  want  an  intrUigpnt  people,  it  in  true,  'out  it  is  also  and 
especially  true  tliat  we  want  a  virtuous  people— a  people  who  love,  and 
practice,  and  exemplify  the  eartlinal  virtues. 

The  fact  which  the  report  notes  is  old,  though  the  tirgu- 
mentwliich  lihels  it  is  so  ooiidusive,  :is  the  doctrine  of  rea- 
son as  well  as  the  Scrii)tures — as  old  as  Plato,  who,  con- 
ceininu-  the  mental  and  moral  c-onstitution,  quaintly  and 
forcibly  puts  it  :  "  Wc  are  not  to  fashion  one  without  the 
otlier,  but'make  them  draw  together,  like  two  horses  har- 
nessed to  a  chariot."  Bishop  Marvin  had  occasion  for  large 
expression  of  his  view's  on  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the 
School.  Some  pains  have  been  taken  to  collect  and  sum- 
marize them. 

Mental  education  is  in  the  order  of  nature.  It  is  in  (he 
custom  of  the  times.  Every  nnm,  as  and  when  he  is  able, 
Avill  give  his  sons  and  daughters  a  liberal  education — "to 
school  they  must  go."  Accordingly  as  it  may  or  may  not 
have  a  moral  tone  and  spiritual  direction,  education  Avill  be 
a  social  blessing  or  curse,  promoting  the  hannonies  or  ag- 
o-ravatino-  the  discords  of  life.  In  individual  history  of  the 
educated  vouth,  that  which  is  a  weapon  of  power  to  carve 
out  a  path  to  distinction  and  usefidness,  may  be  the  sword 
of  the  suicide.  On  the  :irena  of  public  life  the  educated 
mind  can  do  more  good — can  do  more  harm.  The  conclu- 
sion, in  his  own  words,  is  :  "  The  youth  ought  to  be  educa- 
cated — must  he,  will  be.  Who  shall  do  it  ?  The  lloman- 
ist?  Thelntidel?"  He  answered  for  himself  those  ques- 
tions, Jn  a  stirring  passage  he  has  w^arned  against  the 
insidious  wisdom  of  Romanism  : 

The  Romanist  and  the  Inlidel,  and  especially  the  former,  are  strivingto 
the  utinostof  their  power  aud  their  vast  re.-ources,  to  i^et  possession  of  the 
young  mind  of  the  country.  And  parents— thoughtless  I'rotestant  parents 
— a; e  constantly  sending  their  sons,  and  especially  their  daughters,  into 
the  midst  of  this  religions  infection— this  spiritual  small-pox— stupidly 
hopingthat  they  will  escape  the  ))lague.  .Just  at  tlie  ni(»t  imiu-essible  pe- 
riod of   life,  when  opinions  are  almost  wholly  the  offspring  of   the  senti- 


1870-1876.  711 

ments  and  the  imagination,  the  incipient  woman  is  placed  under  the  exclu- 
sive coiurof  of  tlios#\vho  will  take  posisession  of  her  through  her  affections^ 
and  in  constant  contact  Witii  a  ritual  contrived  by  the  sagacity  and  experi- 
ence of  ages,  to  impress  the  imagination.  If  she  is  not  led  by  her  affections 
and  imagination  to  embrace  this  stupendous  distortion  of  the  Christian  faith 
it  will  be  a  miracle. 

It  is  evident  in  the  terms  of  the  above  earnest  pastoral 
admonition,  how  potent  the  School  as  an  instrument  of 
Church  power,  and  how  Avise  to  employ  it  in  counteractiois 
to  a  corrupted  form  of  Christianity  and  make  it  subservient 
to  a  true,  as  it  is  to  an  Apostate  Church.  The  Jesuitism  of 
Romanism  may  be  denounced,  l)ut  its  wisdom  is  real  and  to 
be  admii-ed  and  imitated.  It  fixes  its  eye  upon  the  cradle. 
It  stamps  its  image  upon  the  plastic  heart  of  childhood.  In 
its  dealino-  Avitli  social  and  si)iritual  life,  it  takes  its  stand  at 
the  fountain,  where  the  stream  may  be  turned  and  directed, 
and  makes  channels  for  its  flow.  That  is,  it  employs  wise 
and  necessary  methods  of  Church  conservation  and  propa- 
gandism.  It  omits  no  i)ains,  it  spares.no  money,  for  the 
guardianship  of  the  children  of  its  own  communion — in  this 
countrv,  in  c()!n[)etition  with  the  State  and  in  rivalry  with 
the  revenues  of  a  Commonwealth.  The  most  astr.te  and  en- 
terprising monastic  order  has  located  the  Catholic  propa- 
o-anda  in  the  Colleoe,  and  has  undertaken  the  education  of 
the  youth  of  the  world. 

There  is  need  of  Christian  schools,  it  is  equally  obvious, 
for  the  preservation  of  the  young  mind  from  the  dangers  of 
the  pride  of  intellect  and  the  perversions  of  learning,  and 
especially,  of  "  science  falsely  so-called"  — particularly 
in  this  day,  when  free  thinking  is  bold,  and  thinks 
aloud,  and  when  a  class  of  scientists  have  appeared,  who 
are  banded  conspirators  against  the  authenticity  and  the 
authority  of  Christianit3^  Amidst  such  perils,  Christian 
schools  must  become  spokesmen  of  the  scientitic  thought  of 
the  day,  and  stand  sentinel  over  the  literature  and  philoso- 
phy of  the  age — to  conduct  education  to  the  discoveiy,  that 


712  RISIK^l"    MAR\IX. 

in  llic  liclds  of  science  thei'e  i>  no  path  cross!  112^  tl,ic  track  of 
revelation,  and  no  stuml)lini;-l>lock  to  (xos])cl  truth,  ami  in 
the  disclosures  of  philoso[)hy  no  denial  of  God.  liishop 
Marvin  held  that  the  battle  a^ain.^t  tlu^  false  I)ut  plau>il)le 
])hilos()phies  of  the  age  must  be  fought  out  in  l)0()ks,  rather 
than  in  the  pulpit  of  tlu^,  Chui-ch,  and  fought  against  A\itli 
the  culture  of  the  Ciiristian  Colleiie.  He  has  elaborated  the 
thought — in  earnest  plea  for  the  Pacitic  Methodist  College, 
he  said  it  in  a  word  :  "  Through  our  Colleges  our  chil- 
dren will  be  prepared  to  speak  with  the  enemy  in  the 
gate." 

In  one  of  his  letters  from  California,  he  speaks  of  the 
thrill  of  pleasure  he  cx[)eri(>nced  at  the  tidings  of  the  success 
of  Dr.  Smith  and  l^ro.  IJourland  in  raisin<>'  money  for  the 
endowment  of  Central  College,  As  was  the  custom  of  his 
correspondence,  it  fell  at  once  into  the  channels  of  i)astoral 
solicitude.  In  its  utteraiu-e  there  is  disclosed  a.iiighcr  aim, 
and  a  broader  and  more  \ilal  \  icw,  in  respect  to  his  zeal  in 
thec;!use  of  Christian  education,  than  mere  ('hurch  aggi-an- 
dizenumt.  It  is  \vhat  is  repoi-ted  of  Cien.  Lee,  in  Washing- 
ton College,  as  related  at  his  funeral  obsequies — a  testimony 
too  valuable  not  to  be  republished: 

The  venerable  Dr  While,  Stonewall  Jackson's  ohl  pastor,  silling;  iu 
his  chair,  being  too  feeble  to  sluntl,  .said: 

"  The  question  has  l)een  often  usl^id,  <  What  could  have  induced  a  man 
lilco  Geu.  Lee,  one  who  had  tillid  so  liii^h  a  i)osition  in  the  conlidence  and 
love  of  such  multitudes  in  this  and  other  lauds,  to  take  a  po^ition  like  that 
lie  held  here?'  Some  ascribe  it  to  a  desire  to  be  employed.  Such  a  man, 
they  said,  could  not  end  his  days  iu  idleness.  Olhers  said  his  oiijectwas 
to  aid  in  tra'ninu;the  young  men  of  his  country  ni  science  and  literature. 
Both  of  these  were  noble  motives,  and  I  doubt  not  coutribu.ed  largely  to 
the  result.  But  it  is  our  good  fortune  to  have  learned  from  his  own  lips 
what  the  ruling  motive  was;  This  he  explicitly  avowed  to  me  in  the  fol- 
lovvin^  manner.  In  the  good  providence  of  God  I  was  permitted  to  serve 
this  institution  for  two  months  as  their  Chaplain  during  the  first  year  of 
Gen.  Lee's  administration.  Iu  passing  his  gate  one  morning  on  my  way 
to  the  Chapel,  he  joined  me.  When  we  had  nearly  reached  the  College,  he 
stopped,  and  after  remaining  sihiit  for  a  moment  or  two,  with  moistened 


1870-1876.  713 

eyes  and  a  veiy  earnest  manner,  lie  said:  '  I  shall  he  disappointed,  sir;  T 
shall  fail  in  the  leading  object  that  brought  nie  here,  unless  these  young 
men  all  become  real  Christians;  and  1  wish  you  and  others  of  3'our  sacred 
profession  to  do  all  you  cau  to  accomplish  this  result  '  " 

Another,  Eev.  J.  "Win.  Jones^  was  construined  1)V  the 
above  recital  to  narrate  ii  siniihir  incident : 

At  the  "Concert  of  prayer  for  Colleges"  last  year,  one  of  the  pastors 
had  urged  that  special  prayer  be  made  ior  a  revivi^l  in  the  Colleges  of  the 
country,  and  especial. y  in  the  two  iustituiions  located  here.  Gen.  Lee  was 
present,  as  he  always  was  on  such  occasions,  and  at  the  close  of  the  meet- 
ing he  went  to  that  pastor  and  said,  with  more  than  usual  warmth,  '•! 
want  to  thank  yon,  sir,  for  that  adilress;  it  is  just  the  thing  we  needed — 
revivals  that  shall  bring  all  our  young  men  to  Christ.  I  hope  you  will  ccni- 
tinue  to  labor  for  that  end."  And,  during  the  great  revival  in  the  Virginia 
Military  Institute,  two  years  ago.  Gen.  Lee  said:  "It  is  the  best  news  1 
have  heard  since  I  have  been  in  Lexington,  and  it  is  what  we  want  in  all 
the  Colleges." 

Bi.sh()[)  ^Marvin,  as  the  supreme  motive  of  his  zeal  for  the 
Church  School,  did  not  stop  short  of  the  same  aim  and  end 
- — valuable  as  a  bulwark  ao'ainst  iniidelitv,  and  a  method  of 
denominational  auo-nindizement :  but  not  fullillitiiii:  its  mis- 
sion,  except  as  an  evangelizing  agency,  and  in  this,  not  as  it 
might  produce  a  decent  formalism,  but  i-ealize  the  power  of 
vital  religion.  Thus,  in  the  letter  al)ove  alluded  to,  it  is 
expressed  : 

Only  we  must  be  careful  in  the  midst  of  our  material  prosperitj'  to 
live  near  vo  God.  If  we  ever  begiu  to  trust  in  mere  material  agencies,  we 
are  ruined.  Methodism  is  a  miserable  failure  the  moment  it  ceases  to 
realize  a  high  spii-itual  life;  gorgeous  churches  and  grand  institutions  can 
be  no  compensaiion  for  the  want  of  holiness.  The  grand  aim  of  our  Col- 
leges must  be  to  secure  a  high  standard  of  personal  religion  in  educated 
men.  There  is  a  strong  tendency  towai'ds  riiualisra  throughout  the  nation. 
A  relish  of  grand  music  and  of  the  beauty  of  a  wc!l  conducted  perform- 
ance I'f  "  divine  Service  "  is  mistaken  for  true  religion.  A  species  of 
sentimental  pietism  takes  the  place  of  true  piety.  iEsthetics  displace  reli- 
gion. God  is  hinored  with  the  lips,  because  there  is  a  certain  beauty  and 
imposing  grandeur  in  the  way  it  is  done.  The  heart  at  the  same  time  is 
far  from  him.  It  is  the  beauty  of  the  .'■ervice,  and  not  the  love  and  holi- 
ness of  God  that  has  entranced  t'.ie  worshiper. 

We  must  bestir  ourselves  to  lead  the  educated  young  people  of  our 


714  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Church  directly  to  Christ.  Not  the  cultiv:ition  of  a  devotional  caste,  but 
the  saiictitication  of  the  soul  is  the  irreat  lhhi'4  to  bo  sought  for  them.  We 
must  make  them,  uot  conuoiseurs  i.i  matters  of  ritualistic  tastes,  but  pol- 
ished stones  in  the  Spiritual  Teu'iple  Tiioy  must  be  "  boru  a:i;ain;  "  they 
must  be  made  "  new  creatures  in  Christ."  To  secure  this  end  we  must 
not  only  luaiiituin  our  own  simple  forms  of  worshii),  but  iu  the  Churct, 
the  family,  the  Sunday  School  and  the  College,  the  most  active  evan^'cl- 
izing  agencies  must  prevail.  If  we  allow  them  to  float  off  into  other  insti- 
tutions we  are  derelict,  and  must  answer  for  it  to  God.  But  unless  we 
provide  Colleges  of  high  grade  tlu'V  will  forsake  us.  The  Church  in  Mis- 
souri is  beginning  to  realize  her  obligation  in  this  matter.  May  her  altars 
and  her  firesides  ever  be  luminous  with  sanctilied  inlelllgence. 

In  like  manner  in  Texas,  it  is  of  record  that  at  the  Con- 
ferencesJiis  *'  telling  speech  "  from  the  Cliair  gave  authority 
and  enthusiasm  to  the  pr()i)osal  of    a  grand  University  for 
the  live  Conferences  with  an  endowment  of   Five  Hundred 
Thousand  Dollars — as  the  Connnissioners  had  agreed  upon 
and  reported  ;  and  before  he  left  Texas  })residiiig  over  the 
Convention  called  to  })romote  the  grand  undertaking.      So, 
also,  in  Oreo-on,  he  is  the  leader  and  tlie  strenulh  of   a  i)nb- 
lie  meeting  for  the  Corvallis  College,  raising  on  the  spot  a 
not  inconsiderable  sum  of  money  for  its  revenues,     lie  was 
alike  zealous  for  the  Seminary  at  Visalia,  Cal.,  at  a  l^istrict 
Conference,  taking  up  a  collection  of  $1200  for  t  Ik^  District 
Academy.     In  Missouri,  besides  his  devotcdnoss  to  Central 
College,   he  was  in  svm[)athy  with  the  successes  and  tlu; 
struo-olcs  of  its   Ilio-li   Schools.       On  his  attendance  at  tiie 
session  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  held  at   Caledoni:i,  in 
1874,  he  became  alive  to  the  im[)crilled  condition  of  its  two 
Institutions  of 'learning — Arcadia  College  and  Dcllevue  Col- 
leo'iate  Institute — and  took  hold  of  the  action  of  the  Confer- 
ence  for  the  relief  of  both.     Ho  was  present  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Hoard  of  Curators  at  St.  Louis,  and  bringing  Avith  him 
men  of  St.  Louis,  who  n'presented  tlu^  ^\■eallhand  enterprise 
of  the  Church  there,  to  co-operate  with  him  in  the  undertak- 
ing.    The  same  authority  for  that  statement  repoiis  that  he 
withdrew  his  hand    only  because  it  was   aiuiouneed    in  the 


1870— 187().  715 

meeting  that   the   emergency   would    l)c  otherwise  provided 
for. 

His  hdjors  in  bclialf  of  the  Church  School  ;ir(3  to  l)e  in- 
teri)reted  in  the  light  of  his  sentiments  ;\s  they  have  been 
siininiarized — helonuino;  to  the  record  of  his  hiiih  life  and 
character  as  a  })hilanthropist,  a  Christian  and  Christian  min- 
ister. Thcv  were  large,  valuable  and  life-long — begun,  it 
has  been  seen,  in  1854,  and  drop[)ing  from  Iiis  hand  when 
death  ])alsied  it. 

The  i)astoral  term  was  up  for  revision  at  the  General 
Conference  at  ^Memphis.  In  1<SG(),  at  one  p(Mnt  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, a  resolution  had  been  adopted,  removing  all  re- 
striction as  to  term  of  time  ;  but  afterwards  it  was  reconsid- 
ered, and  the  present  four  years'  limit  adopted.  At  the 
next  session  an  indefinite  pastoral  term  was  before  the  body 
on  a  minoritv  re[)()rt  of  the  Committee.  It  was  defeated 
instantly  and  overwhelmingly,  and  has  not  appeared  since, 
even  in  the  nmltiLudinous  memefials  and  resolutions  on 
chano-es  of  economy.  Bishoi)  ]\Iarvin  on  a  i)r()minent  occi-- 
sion — the  Centennial  of  Methodism  in  North  Carolina — jjut 
on  record  his  yiew  on  that  subject.  It  was  done  as  late  in 
his  life  and  in  his  Episcopal  administration  as  in  ]<S7() — his 
mature  as  well  as  deliberate  and  decided  con^•i<^ion.  It  went 
beyond  the  point  of  fa^•or  towards  an  itinerant  rather  than 
settled  pastorate,  and  I'eached  to  frequent  changes — the 
wheels  of  itinerancy  not  to  be  without  both  spirit  and  mo- 
tion, and  not  allowed  to  rust. 

This  sj'stcm  renders  stagnation  impossible.  It  keeps  things  stirred 
lip  in  tlie  most  vigorous  way.  No  man  stays  in  one  phice  long  enough  to 
be  tired  of  the  sound  of  his  own  voice,  nor  does  he  remain  long  after  he 
has  lost  his  vital  hold  upon  the  people.  It  has  often  been  said  that  this 
system  works  well  in  tlie  country,  but  that  a  settled  pastorate  is  belter  for 
cities.  I  am  fully  persuaded,  upon  large  observation,  tliat  this  is  a  niis- 
talvc.  It  lias  been  further  affirmed  that  the  itinerancy  tends  to  make  preach- 
ers good  revivalists,  but  poor  pastors,  and  is,  therefore,  a  good  aggressive 
system,  but  does  not  conserve  the  fruit  of  its  own  success — that  tlie  set- 
tled pastorate  is  better  for  that.     But  I  am  well  convinced  that  the  pas- 


Tin  BISHOP  ^rARVlX. 

tonil  act  ivily  among  Methodist  preachers  will  bear  comparison  with  that 
oi  any  otlier. 

The  lir>t  tiiiiG  he  s:it  in  the  Chair  of  the  Pre.-^ident  of  a 
Gom'ral  Conference — liis  pri-iitice  Iiaiul — the  r('i)ort  of  the 
Committee  reconnnending  the  introduction  of  Lay  Repre- 
sentation into  ihc  i)olity  of  tlie  Church  was  under  consider- 
tion.  There  i.s  an  interesting  episode  in  Iiis  personal  history 
coniuM'tiii"'  liiiii  witli  the  beginnini:;  and  end  of  the  agitation  of 
that  measure — his  iirst  sight  of  a  General  Conference  asso- 
ciated with  its  Iirst  introduction;  and,  as  Bisho})  in  the 
(^h;iir,  conducting  the  proceedings  which  adopted  it,  sixteen 
years  afterwards.  It  is  narrated  in  one  of  his  jjajjcrs  on  the 
"  Doctrinal  Integrity  of  Methodism,"  at  date  in  1<S71: 

Up  to  the  siiriiiii  of  18r)0,  I  had  si'en  but  a  very  few  of  llie  distin- 
guished men  of  tlie  Churcli.  Tiie  reputation  of  sncli  men  as  Bascom,  Smith, 
Winans,  Kavanaiigh  and  the  Pierces,  had  excited  a  romantic  inlerest  in 
me.  I  was,  therefore,  quite  excited  with  the  expectation  uf  visiting  tlie 
(Jeiu-ral  Conference  in  St.  Louis  that  year.  I  had  but  two  or  three  days 
to  spend,  but  during  that  short  time  1  saw  ami  heard  all  that  one  man 
could- 

The  most  impressive  thing  I  heard  was  Dr.  W.  A.  Smith's  great  speech 
on  Lav  Represeutation,  a  measure  which  he  proposed  and  advocated  at 
that  time.  To  what  extent  that  speech  inlluenced  the  action  of  the  Churcli 
in  18(;G,  I  do  not  know.  But  there  was  a  fact  staled  in  it  that  I  had  not 
thought  of  bef  %e.  I  saw  at  once  that  il.  was  a,  1  hL  of  great  siguilicance 
It  was  this  :  T'lat  there  had  never  been  a  doctrinal  schism  in  the  Methodist 
Churcli.  Its  organic  divisions  and  internal  troid)les,  both  in  England  and 
America,  had  originated  from  other  caiisfs.  They  liad  originated  either 
from  considerations  of  convenience,  growingoutof  geographical  relations, 
orfrom  opposition  to  the  iorm  of  government.  In  no  case  had  there  been 
the  slightest  trouble  about  doctrine. 

Nor  did  the  Doctor  dread  any  trouble  about  our  doctrine.  He  feared 
that  if  we  faiii-d  to  iiitroiluce  L:iy  Itepresentatives  into  the  (ient'ral  Con- 
ference, the  time  would  come  when  there  would  be  disafteclion  on  that 
ground.     But  he  anticipated  schism  from  no  other  cause. 

His  views  seemed  emineiitlj'  reasonable  to  me. 

It  SO  ]iap[)ened  thtit  in  the  same  volume  of  the  same 
Advocate,  of  whicliji  Ilcv.  Dr.  Deems  -wtis  :i  correspondent 
likewise,  the  following    paragraph  appctircd  in   :i   letter  of 


1870-1876.  717 

reminiscences  of  the  General  Conference  of  1850,  sketching 
its  personelle : 

And  we  hnve  been  good  friends  ever  since,  albeit  afterward  he  and  I 
had  a  sparnnic  <>n  the  question  of  '•  Lay  Eepresentation,"  he  con  and  I  pro 
— he  in  tin;  Nashville  Advocate  and  I  in  the  Southern  3Iethoclist  ruljiit.  I 
am  now  ready  to  acknowledge  that,  perhaps,  it  was  presumption  in  a  mere 
boy  to  lead  off  so  virj or oushj  for  a  great  reform,  and  Dr.  McFerrin  trounced 
me  W(.llf(jr  it.  I  had  no  backers,  so  I  backed  out;  but  I  let  fly  at  him 
this  Parthian  arrow,  printed  in  italics:  "  We  have  no  douht  Uiat  if  he  shall 
he  living  twentij  years  hence,  ho.  xcill  s>t  doxon  in  his  Conferences  beside  Lay 
Delegates.''^  I  had  forgotten  this  piophecy  until  it  was  fulfilled  and  my  at- 
tention recalled  to  it  by  one  of  the  Bishops,  as  a  rare  instance  of  prevision, 
and  to  day  I  found  it  in  the  Pulpit  for  1852,  and  Dr.  McFerrin  is  good-na- 
tured enough  to  enjoy  it  with  me. 

The  reminiscence  is  in  evidence  of  the  state  of  public 
sentiment  at  that  date  in  regard  to  a  measure  of  radical 
chano-e,  which  was  adoi)ted  with  such  hirae  unanimity  by  the 
whole  Church,  and  twenty  ^ears  afterwards  was  in  practical 
operation  at  Memphis,  in  its  Supreme  Council.  At  the  first 
it  seemed  supported  on  reasonable  grounds.  From  the  Chair 
and  platform  of    a  Presiding  Officer   he  saw  it  tested,   and 

wrote  of  it :  ^ 

There  is  scarcely  a  doubt  remaining  anywhere  with  respect  to  Lay 
Representation.  The  universal  voice  is,  "It  works  well."  T)ie  fact  is, 
laymen  are  as  true  to  the  Church  as  ministers.  Many  of  Ihem  love  the 
cause  of  Christ  as  deeply.  Though  but  few  of  them  have  ^udied  ecclesi- 
astical polity  as  deejily  as  most  of  the  preachers  may  be  supposed  to  have 
done,  their  views,  based  on  observation  and  good  sense,  are  geuerallj' 
sound.  The  late  session  vindicates  their  g"od  sense  and  devotion  to  the 
true  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Three  or  four  weeks'  time  taken 
from  pressing  private  affairs,  just  at  a  season  when  all  business  is  active, 
may  well  assure  us  that  the  Church  is  not  lightly  prized  by  her  lay  mem- 
bers. 

Nor  were  they  less  laborious  in  the  committee  room  than  their  breth- 
ren. All  the  burdens  and  "labors  of  the  occasion  were  fully  shared  by  them. 
Though  not  forward  in  discussion  on  the  Conference  floor,  yet  many  of 
them  participated,  and,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  in  the  very  best  spirit. 

One  excellent  effect  of  this  will  be  a  more  general  and  a  deeper  inter- 
est throughout  the  Church  in  the  business  of  the  Conferences.  This  is  a 
natural  conse(iuence  of  dii'ect  participation  in  the  labors  and  responsibili- 
ties of  these  bodies. 


718  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

The  above  coiu-luding  remark  has  confirmation  in  this 
note  in  his  visitation  of  the  Texas  Conferences  eluring  that 
3'ear:  "  1  called  in  at  the  Advocate  office  this  morning,  and 
witnessed  a  most  interesting  scene.  The  leading  ministers 
aixl  laynien  were  together  in  serious  l)ut  happv  labors,  per- 
fectinglhe  business  plans  of  the  two  c()nj[)anies,  respectively 
in  behalf  of  the  Publishing  and  Educational  interest  of  the 
Church.  It  was  an  animated  and  ins[)iring  business  s[)ecta- 
cle.  It  was  business  for  God  and  the  Church.  The  new 
interest  which  our  laj'men  everywhere  are  taking  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  Church  is  a  fact  of  most  happy  augury.  " 

The  history  of  the  reconciliation  of  the  two  Episcopal 
Methodisms  of  the  United  States,  is  of  i)ul)lic  and  perma- 
nent record,  and  need  not  be  related  on  this  page.  It  began 
with  the  visitation  and  overtures  of  Bishops  Simpson  and 
Janes  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Southern  Bishops  at  St. 
Louis,  in  May,  ISGD.  It  Mas  consummated  in  the  Proclam- 
ation by  the  Joint  Commission,  constituted  hy  tiie  two 
Churches  and  clothed  with  i)lcnary  [)()wers,  issued  from 
Cai)e  May  City,  N.  J.,  August,  ISTi;.  Bishop  Marvin  was 
absent  on  the  Pacific  Coast  at  the*rst  date,  but  took  occa- 
sion at  once  to  express  publicly  his  approval  of  the  I'cply  of 
his  colleao-ues  to  those  overtures.  He  was  in  entire  accord 
with  the  intervening  action  of  the  two  (ieneral  Conferences, 
))efore  which,  in  1870  and  1874,  the  subject  passed  in  re- 
view. He  was  not  carried  away  with  the  gush  of  personal 
sentiments  of  fraternity,  prevalent  at  Louisville,  so  as  to 
lose  sight  of  vital  questions  of  publii;  justice  and  ecclesias- 
tical dignity.  At  Mem[)his,  the  posture  of  the  overtures 
was  without  the  sui)port  of  ofiicial  sanction,  and  was  other- 
wise incongruous  with  an  authorized  or  just  settlement  of 
the  controversy,  as  set  forth  in  the  resolutions  of  the  Con- 
ference in  reply  to  the  proposals  made  by  Bishop  Janes  and 
Rev.  Dr.  Harris,  as  Messengers  from  the  Board  of  Bishops 
of  the  M.  E.  Church.     In  an  article  appearing  in  the  South- 


1870-187G.  719 

em  Review  for  April,  1872,  and  in  his  public  correspond- 
ence, he  has  indulged  severe  strictures  upon  the  inconsistent 
attitude  of  that  Church,  which  ha\e  marked  him  out  forfre- 

»  quent  animadversion  in  the  Northern  press. 

The  prominent  i)art  he  took  in  the  controversy,  and  the 
severe  invecti\e  he  indulged,  grew  out  of  his  peculiar  per- 
sonal, as  well  as  official,  relations  to  the  question,  reaching 
back  to  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  strife,  and  continuing 
durinir  his  entire  ministry.  In  the  invasion  of  the  Southern 
jurisdiction,  authorized  and  introduced  by  the  action  of  the 
Northern  General  Conference  of  1848,  Missouri  was  the  first 
point  of  attack.  There  were,  at  a  few  places,  small  minor- 
ities in  the  vote  among  societies  on  atlhcriiig  North  or  South. 
Tkcse  became  organized  and  were  su[)plied  with  [)astors 
from  the  North.  One  such  organization  at  Hannibal  he 
found,   and  another   at  St.    Louis,  when  he   came  there  in 

.  1855.  Thus  bcuan  the  unseendy  spectacle  of  altar  erected 
ao-ainst  altar,  and  the  division  of  Methodist  forces  in  the 
.State.  The  particulars  of  the  history  shall  be  omitted.  It 
was  in  its  lir.'-t  stage  an  attempted  disintegration  and  a  fail- 
ure. In  St.  Louis  the  Society  had  become  extinct  at  the 
time  he  went  South,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  At  its 
close,  on  his  rc^turn  to  JNIissouri,  he  found  the  St)Uthern 
Church  enfeebled  and  scarred,  and  tlie  rival  organization 
existing  in  a  separate  Annual  Conferencecovering  the  State. 
It  had  been  introduced  concurrently  with  the  military  inva- 
sion and  the  change  of  political  rule,  both  of  which  had 
been  turned  against  the  Church,  South,  and  its  preachers 
driven  from  their  fields  of  labor  in  a  large  measure,  some 
to  prison  and  death,  and  in  numerous  instances,  its  churches 
and  parsonages  and  other  property  he  found  in  adverse  jdos- 
session  by  the  preachers  of  the  Church,  North.  As  Bishop, 
in  his  general  superintendency ,  he  knew  of  a  similar  history  in 
other  portions  of  the  Connection  ;  and  of  the  intended  occu- 
pation of  its  whole  area  under  the  avowed  policy  of  disinte- 


720  KISHOl"    MAKVIX. 

irrMtion  an.il  aljsorplion,  in:iup:ui'at(Ml  at  that  time  jiikI  carried 
forward  uiuier  alliiiiice  with  political  power,  and  l)y  subsidy 
of  tho  niissioiiai-y  treasury. 

At  least  this  uiucii,  iu  general  statement,  of  the  South- 
ern view  of  the  situation,  is  imi)erativc  on  the  hi()<2:ra[)her  in 
:i  just  rei)resentalion  of  the  [)ersonal  bearnig  and  otKeial  ad- 
ministration of  13ishop  jMarvin  in  respect  to  the  oriiiinal  se[)- 
aration  and  the  f^nh^equent  sti'ife.  Es[)ecia11y  in  regard  to 
the  later  history,  iuliis  ollicial  position  it  was  rcMjuired  to  eon- 
front  l:)ol(lly  and  strenuously  Avhat  from  his  stand-point 
•was  vicwc'.l  as  unwarrantahle  and  wicked  aguression.  It 
could  not  he  otlu'i-wisc,  in  his  piu'sonal  sentiments,  than  that 
he  .•should  denounce  itscverely — intemperately,  some  have 
thought.  If  passion  had  entered  into  his  rescMitmcnt,*  it 
Avould  not  ha\'e  been  strange.  Letters  i-ecciNcd  by  him 
during  tlu;  wai'  and  for  a  year  or  two  after  his  return  to 
Missouri  arc.  with  little  exception,  the  oid\'  ones  which  have 
been  prescrx'cd.  Thosf'  relating  to  Missouri,  disclose  a  sad 
tale  of  spoliation  and  tilled  his  cars  with  the  cry  of  distress 
— in  some  instances  among  his  most  cherished  ])ersonal 
associations.  Among  churi-h  housivs  diverted  from  their 
Southern  ownership  wei'e  two  at  which  he  Inul  served — at 
Lai>'rani:"e  and  Louisiana.  He  was  touchod  nearlv  in  his 
personal  feelings  ))y  the  case  nn^itioned  by  him  in  the  fol- 
lowing reference  : 

Tile  Supreme  Court  of  ]\rissouri  has  just  lately  decided  the  St.  Charles 
College  case.  This  college,  to  whicli  1  gave  cue  yeai-'s  service,  has  been 
in  the  hands  of  our  Nortliern  hi-Pthrcn  (my  pen  falters  at  tlie  word)  yiuce 
some  time  during  tho  war.  Tlie  endowment  fund  was  partly  devised  to 
tlic  college  expressly  for  the  use  of  the  JI.  E.  Churcli,  Soutli,  hy  the  late 
(Jeorge  Collier,  on  condition  tliat  tlie  church  should  raise  !$  1-0, 000  for  the 
same  purpose.  This  money  I  raised  at  a  time  wlicn  it  was  no  light  tasjc 
to  do  it.  During  the  war  the  North  Methodists  gathered  it  up,  as  they  did 
so  many  other  tempting  pieces  of  projierty.  Tliey  attempted  to  establish 
a  school  in  the  building,  but  ina<le  a  complete  failure.  A  little  yan]<ee  sat 
down  tli<;re  \\\l\\  a  handful  of  juipils,  and  ]i\ed  on  the;  ])roceeds  of  iny  la- 
bor. Two  years  ago  tlieir  own  J>oard  of  Curators  gave  up  all  effort  to 
keep  a  sciiool  going.     Yet  we  had  to  g(j  to  law  in  order  to  repossess  our- 


1870-187G.  721 

selves  of  the  property.  How  plain  a  case  it  was  is  clear  from  the  fact 
that  the  Supreme  Court,  organized  by  Gov.  Flctclier,  in  tlie  interest  of  the 
Radical  party,  decided  tiie  case  in  our  favor.  It  was  ungraciously  done> 
though,  the  very  terras  of  the  opinion  showing  how  reluctant  the  court 
was  to  "do  us  a  pleasure." 

The  writer  of  these  pages  has  been  in  good  position  to 
know  the  tone  and  tenor  of  Southern  public  sentiment  from 
first  to  List,  of  which  Bishop  Marvin  was  an  exponent ;  and 
to  know  that,  so  far  as  the  case  admitted  of  it,  his  advocacy 
was  free  as  possible  from  passion  and  was  actuated  by  a 
sincere  conviction  of  the  re(piirements  of  ecclesiastical 
fidelity  and  the  constraint  of  Christian  conscience.  At  the 
beirinninix  of  the  controversy  there  was  the  sentiment  of 
deep  regret  implied  in  the  sound  remark  of  Bishop  Morris, 
publicly  expressed,  that,  had  the  plan  of  separation  in  its 
terms  and  spirit  been  carried  out,  the  division  of  the  eccle- 
siastical jurisdiction  would  have  produced  no  more  friction 
than  the  dividing  of  the  boundaries  of  an  Annual  Confer- 
ence. The  course  of  public  sentiment  and  events  at  the 
North,  culminating  in  the  action  at  their  General  Conference 
ill  1S48,  excited  surprise  and  indignation.  Non-affiliation 
was  lamented,  but  accepted  as  the  law  of  the  position  of  the 
parties  and  a  necessity  to  Southern  self-respect.  The  actual 
invasion  of  Southern  territory,  soon  following,  was  de- 
plored as  an  unnecessary  and  unwarrantable  disturbance  of 
the  peace  of  Zion  and  diversion  of  the  forces  of  Methodism. 
In  its  ecclesiastical  character  it  was  resisted  and  reprobated 
as  in  bad  faith  and  denounced  as  covenant-breaking.  The 
subsequent  history  during  and  after  the  war  made  a  record 
of  deeper  estrangement  and  wider  antagonism,  which  neces- 
sitated the  conditions  of  fraternity  proposed  in  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  Southern  Methodist  General  Conference  at 
Louisville,  in  1874 — adding  to  the  fraternal  responses  at 
Bidtimore,  the  settlement  by  the  Joint  Commission  at  Cape 
Mav. 


722  BISHOP  .AlAUVliV. 

Negotiations  extended  throuiih  eight  years.  The  approacli 
of  the  Methodism  of  ihe  North  to  the  Methodifsni  of  the 
Soutii  at  St.  Louis,  in  lS(;i),  like  a  flag  of  truce,  was  a  por- 
tent of  peace.  Tiio  mission  of  Bishop  Janes  airl  llov.  Dr. 
AV.  L.  Harris  ^vas  not  a  su'.'ccss,  l)ut  it  M'as  notafaiiure.  It 
■\vas  a  si'cond  sti'p,  faulty  only  in  tlic^  path,  not  in  the  pur- 
pose and  destinalion  of  the  movement .  The  reply  hy  tlie 
resolution  of  the  General  Conference  at  jNIomphis,  reiterat- 
ing the  reply  by  the  Bishops,  at  St.  Louis,  -was  understood 
by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Northei-n  Church  in  ses- 
sion at  Brooklyn.  It  "vvas  respected,  and  in  their  re[)ly  there 
WHS  seminal  promise  of  reconciliation.  Their  messengers 
were  at  the  bar  of  the  Southern  Church,  at  I/ouisville.  The 
personelle  of  tiie  deputation — Rev.  A.  S.  Hunt,  D.D.,Rev\ 
C.  IL  Fowler,  D.D.,  and  Gen.  Clinton  B.  Fisk — was  admir- 
able, coming,  as  Dr.Lovick  Pierce  expressed  it,  with  "winning 
ways."  Their  utterances  -were  ehxpient,  cai)tivating  and 
assuring,  and  the  responses  by  the  Southern  delegates  at  B  il- 
timore — the  late  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  Rev.  James  A.  Dun- 
can, D.D.,  and  Dr.  Gai-land — were  digui Tied ,  wise,  concilia- 
tory. That  Conft'rcneo  met  i)ro)nptly  and  in  terms  the  pro- 
posal of  tiie  Soutli  for  a  Joint  Commissson  "  to  remove  ob- 
stacles to  fi-aternity  between  the  two  Churches  and  to  adjust 
all  existing  difficulties."  M.  D'C.  Crawford,  D.D.,  Hon. 
Enoch  L.  Fancher,  LL.D.,  E.  Q.  Fuller,  D.D.,  Gen.  C.  B. 
Fisk,  J.  P.  Ntnvman,  D.D.,  Mcn-e  the  Commissionei-s  on  the 
part  of  the  North,  appointed  by  the  Boaid  of  Bishops.  The 
promise  of  tlie  negotiations,  ])erhaps,  was  signified  by  the 
remark  of  Dr.  Newman,  of  the  Church,  North,  one  of  the 
Commissioners,  to  a  Commissioner  of  the  South,  as  they  met 
for  the  first  time  in  the  surf  of  the  Capo  May  beach — "  We 
meet  ainidst  l)reakers,  l)ut  let  us  hope  for  a  calm  sea."  It 
Avas  little  in  the  thouglit  and  hope  of  the  Church  that  it 
might  l)e  accom[)lislied  ;  but  it  was  done.  God  was  in  it  and 
lie  brought  it  to  pass.     In  the  human  agencv.  Dr.  .Lovick 


1S70-187C).  723 

Pierce,  -uho  Avas  not  of  the  Commission  but  at  the  head  of 
the  delegation  to  bear  fraternal  responses  at  Baltimore,  had 
a,  remarkable  prominence.  In  his  person,  ho  had  his  birth, 
March  28Lh,  1784,  in  the  year  in  wliicli  the  American  Wes- 
lej^an  Methodism  was  organized,  and  his  itinerant  ministry 
dating  from  1804,  the  oldest  in  the  -world.  In  his  office,  as 
fraternal  messenger,  in  1848,  he  had  left  on  the  journal  of 
the  General  Conference  of  the  Northern  Church  of  the 
divided  jurisdiction  the  record  of  the  sole  condition  upon 
which  his  rejected  mission  of  peace  and  fraternity  would  be 
renewed.  In  the  same  ofnce,  in  187(),  his  address  contained 
a  paragraph,  substantially  embodying  that  condition,  which 
became  the  text  of  the  first  overture  between  the  Commis- 
sions, and  shaped  the  ordinance  which  was  adopted  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  l)oth.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Com- 
missioners, the  greatest  "  obstacle  "  to  fraternity  was 
removed — the  unity  of  the  Church  under  its  divided  juris- 
diction doiincd  and  declared  as  the  status  alike  of  both 
hranches  of  the  Original  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
adoption  of  its  first  paper,  a  "  Declaration  and  Basis  of 
fraternity,"  lifted  the  burden  of  anxiety  and  doubt  from 
off  all  hearts  in  that  company  of  ten  men  representing  the 
hopes  and  fears  of  three  millions  of  Methodists,  and  caused 
a  spontaneous  expression  in  joined  hands  and  outburst  of 


song : 

o 


"  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 

Our  hearts  iu  Christian  love  : 
The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds 

Is  like  to  that  above." 

That  jDaper  was  drafted  by  a  Northern  pen  ;  the  South 
subscribed  to  it  a  satisfied  Amen.  Its  adoption  was 
moved  from  th§  North  and  seconded  by  the  South,  and  all 
the  Commissioners  pronounced  upon  it  an  emphatic  aye.  In 
a  paragraph  containing  three  short  sentences,  the  strife  of 
thirty-two  years  was  put  at  an  end  : 


724  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Status  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Cnrncn  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  their  Co-ordinate  relation  as 
legitimate  branches  of  Episcopal  Methodism  : 

Each  of  said  Churches  is  a  Iciritimate  Branch  of  Episcopal  Methodism 
in  the  United  States,  having  a  common  origin  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Churcli  organized  in  178-t. 

Since  tlie  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Soutli,  was 
consummated  in  1845,  by  tlie  voluntary  exercise  of  the  riglit  of  the  South- 
ern Annual  Conferences,  ministers  and  members,  to  adliere  to  that  Com- 
munion, itl;as  been  an  Evangelical  Church  reared  on  scriptural  foundations, 
and  her  ministers  and  members,  with  those  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Churcli,  liave  constituted  one  Methodist  family,  though  in  distinct  ecclesi- 
astical Connections. 

The  second  paper  speedily  followed — "  Rules  for  the 
adjustment  of  Adverse  Claims  to  Property."  It  was  just, 
equitable,  ma<;nanimous — a  measure  of  healing.  After  the 
adoption  of  the  linal  paper — "  The  Address,"  Dr.  Myers 
presiding,  there  is  the  following  minute  in  the  proceedings  : 

The  Chairman  announced  the  vote  stating  that,  by  a  strange  coinci- 
dence, it  had  become  his  duty,  for  the  third  time,  to  announce  unanimous 
action  in  the  adoption  of  the  most  important  i)apers  passed  ujion  by  the 
Joint  Convention,  and  it  gave  him  an  inexpressible  pleasure  to  announce 
the  vote  upon  the  linal  paper,  as  unanimous— a  paper  which  he  believed, 
would  bring  permanent  peace  to,  and  restore  complete  fraternity  between 
the  two  Communions. 

M.  D'C.  Crawford,  the  Joint  Chairman,  followed  in  words  of  hearty 
reciprocation  of  tlie  sentiments  uttered  by  the  Chairman,  and  continued  in 
earnest  words  of  gratitude  to  God  for  the  happy  outcome  of  the  labors  of 
the  Joint  Commission. 

The  action  at  Cape  May  had  first  comment  in  the  secu- 
lar press.  It  was  viewed  by  them  chiefly  from  the  stand- 
point of  social  and  political  considerations,  and  denominated 
a  work  of  patriotism  and  an  ordinance  ()f  national  l)rother- 
liood — construed  in  the  leading  papers  at  the  commercial 
metropolis  of  the  Nation  "as  the  greatest  event  in  the 
Ecclesiastical  history  of  the  century,"  and  "  a  measure  of 
political  reconstruction  for  the  healing  of  the  wounds  of  the 
country."     Christian  men  rejoiced  over  it,  as  did  a  Chris- 


1870-187G.  725 

tiuii  minister  on  the  highway  of  travel,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  D. 
Foss,  the  fraternal  messsenger  at  Atlanta,  and  the  tirst  upon 
the  platform  of  a  consummated  brotherhood  of  the  Meth- 
odisms.  He  read  the  announcement  in  a  newspaper  and 
exclaimed  :  "  It  is  an  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost !  "  The 
entire  address  was,  l)y  request,  given  to  the  telegraph 
■wires — published  on  the  same  day  on  the  shores  of  both 
oceans,  and  borne  by  the  lightning  from  lakes  to  gulf.  It 
filled  the  heart  of  universal  Methodism  with  joy,  and  its 
lips  continue  to  render  the  Doxology  of  Praise  to  God.  In 
that  sentiment  of  satisfaction  Bishop  Marvin  joined.  Be- 
fore the  pul)lic  announcement  it  was  known  to  him — before 
that,  the  only  one  to  know  it  outside  the  Council  Chamber 
of  the  Joint  Commission.  Its  deliberations  were  kept 
rigidly  secret.  By  special  order  the  result  of  it  was  per- 
mitted to  be  disclosed  by  telegram  to  him  with  his  trunk 
packed  to  start  on  the  tour  of  the  world,  taking  the  Tnoun- 
tains  of  Montana  in  the  route.  It  satisfied  him.  On  the 
soil  of  Missouri  and  among  the  last  acts  of  his  official  ad- 
ministration was  cordial  reply  from  the  President's  chair 
of  the  St.  Louis  Conference  to  the  fi-aternal  greeting  of  the 
Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  bearing  the  same  name. 
He  would  have  subscribed  the  address  of  his  colleagues  to 
the  General  Conference  of  1878 — in  reference  to  its  action 
on  the  subject  in  1874  and  the  result: 

In  accordance  with  the  second  resoUition,  Rev.  Edward  H.  Myers,  Rev^ 
Thomas  M.  rhiney,  Rev.  R.  K.  Hargrove,  Hon.  R.  B.  Vance,  and  Hon. 
David  Clopton,  were  appointed  a  commission,  on  our  part,  to  meet  a  simi- 
lar commission  appointed  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  These  two  commissions  met  by  agreement,  at  Cape 
May,  August,  187G.  After  a  session  of  several  days,  characterized  by 
devout  supplication  for  the  Divine  blessing,  a  due  appreciation  of  the 
pending  issue,  and  the  exercise  of  becoming  Christian  candor,  they 
adopted  with  entire  unanimity,  as  the  basis  of  reconciliation,  the  true 
ecclesiastical  status  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  This 
essential  factor  solved  the  problem  of  "  formal  fraternity,"  and  led  to  the 
conclusion  which  was  hailed  by  the  Church  as  the  settlement  of  the  ques- 
tions submitted  to  their  arbitration.     The  terms  authorizing  these  com- 


72(>  RISIIOr  MARVIN. 

missions  were  fulflllcd,  ami  accordinj;!}'  tlicir  action  in  tlie  premises  miist 
be  considered  llnal.  The  transaction  of  those  coniujissions,  as  tlie  his- 
torical and  otlicial  exponent  of  the  present  reciprocal  relations  of  the  two 
great  bninclu^s  of  American  Metliodism,  is  invested  with  pecnliar  signitl- 
cance.  It  illustrates  also  before  tlie  world  the  tieuius  of  tlie  (Jospei,  and. 
especially  the  filial  affection  whicli  sliould  ever  pervade  and  animate  two 
families  descended  from  the  same  parent  stock. 

At  the  General  Conference  iit  Atl:uit:i,  in  1878,  the 
Southern  Church,  :it  lenofh,  had  greetings  from  Avell  nigh 
the  entire  fainilv  of  universal  jNIethodisin — from  its  sister 
Ei)iscopal,  the  Protestant,  the  Canadian,  llie  Zion  Coh)red, 
and  the  Colored  Metliodist  K[)isc()i)al  in  America,  and  from 
across  the  waters,  tlie  British  Wesieyan,  which  Bishop  Mar- 
vin called,  "Jerusalem,  Mother  of  us  All."  He  was  not 
there — gone,  as  he  said  it,  "  to  join  the  brotherhood  of  the 
Immortals."  Before  his  dc[)artuie  hence,  it  h:ul  been  hi^s 
privileged  and  distinguished  mission  to  become  representci- 
tive  of  Southern  Methodism  around  the  world,  and  its  first 
])ersonal  representative  before  the  parent  body  of  all  the 
Methodisms  in  all  lands.  The  manner  of  thtit  apixiintment^ 
and  the  discharge  of  that  high  trust  the  Episcopal  address 
testities  : 

It  is  eminently  proper  that  we  should  refer,  in  this  connection,  to  a 
trns't  committed  to  him  and  his  associate  by  the  College  of  Bishops  and 
tlic  lioard  of  Foreign  Missions,  under  the  assumed  warrant  of  the  General 
Conference,  that  they  sht)uld,  on  their  return,  attend  tlie  ensuing  session 
of  the  Urilish  \Vesle3'an  Conference,  in  the  city  of  Bristol,  and  represent 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  iu  that  patrlarelial  body.  They 
were  present  at  that  session,  were  duly  recognized,  and  in  an  able  and 
lucid  address,  the  Bishop  set  forth  the  claims  of  Southern  Methodism  to  a 
co-ordinate  position  aniongst  the  Wesieyan  families,  and  requested  that  a 
deputation  be  sent  from  them  to  the  present  General  Conference,  fu  lieu 
thereof,  we  are  informed  that  a  written  communication  has  beeni  sent, 
which,  in  due  time,  will  be  transmitted  to  you. 

That  communication  speaks  of  "the  earnest  and  affec- 
tiontite  saluttition  "  borne  to  them  by  Bishoi)  Marvin  and  his 
colletiiTue,  the  Rev.  E.  R.  Ilendrix.  It  was  preceded  by  a 
clear    and   concise    exhibit   of  the    status  of  the  Southern 


1870— LSTC.  727 

Chuirl),  :ui(l  the  sentiiiicift  and  tone  of  his  address,  it  ap- 
pears from  the  report  of  it  iu  full  in  the  columns  of  the 
London  MetliodUt  Recorder^  commanded  frequent  and 
hearty  marks  of  attention  and  a[)phiuse.  Tlie  Rev.  Dr. 
Punslioii  replied  felicitously  to  the  address,  and  moved  a 
resolution  expressing  the  pleasui'e  of  the  body  in  the  recep- 
tion of  the  inessenu'crs  and  address  of  the  M.  P].  Church, 
South,  and  in  the  renewal  of  fraternal  intercourse  with  that 
"numerous  and  important  hi-auch  of  the  Methodist  con- 
nexion." The  occasion  is  more  particularly  related  in  a 
coMiniunication  from  Kev.  Richard  Martin,  a  member  of 
that  Conference,  from  which  the  following  extract  is  made: 

The  lamented  death  of  Bishop  Marvhi  occurred  so  soon  and  so  sud- 
denly after  his  appearance  among  us  liere,  that  I  seemed  quite  overcome 
bj'  the  stroke.  For  some  years,  the  name  of  Bishop  Marvin  had  been 
familiar  to  me.  I  first  knew  of  him  through  Mr.  Vickers  a  relative  who 
lived  in  St.  Louis  and  was  connected  with  the  M.  E.  Church.  I  possess 
his  book  on  "  The  Work  of  Christ."  and  had  learned  to  pinze  him  highly 
before  1  ever  saw  him.  His  appearance  in  the  last  Bristol  Conference  was 
a  great  joy  to  me.  My  regret  was  that  his  stay  was  so  short,  and  at  that 
stage  of  the  Conference  so  crowded  with  business  that  he  had  not  the  best 
chance  of  being  heard  and  known.  The  impression  made  on  us  was  that 
in  i)oint  of  moral  and  intellectual  excellence  Bishop  Marvin  must  hold  a 
foremost  place.  Illustrious  predecessors  from  the  South  had  represented 
Southern  Methodism  in  the  British  Conference  in  years  gone  by.  Capers, 
Emory,  Soule  and  Sargent  are  remembered  still.  The  sainted  Bishop  was 
worthy  of  being  their  successor  and  will  ever  be  classed  as  one  of  the 
worthiest  in  our  remembrance  and  love. 

He  was  in  full  accord  with  the  sentiment  of  fraternity 
between  the  kindred  Episcopal  Methodisms,  but,  in  1877,  as 
in  1845  at  Columbia  by  his  Conference  vote  and  personal 
adherence,  he  held  to  organic  separateness.  The  Southern 
oro-anization  he  taught  was  not  .born  in  the  i)assions  of 
changing  times,  but  based  upon  principles  of  Christian  truth 
and  ecclesiastical  polity,  unchanging  and  vital,  of  which, 
amongMethodists,  it  became  in  the  order  of  Divine  provi- 
dence  and   continues    to    be    the    sole   representative    and 


728  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

responsible  guardian.  The  trust  committed  to  it  lie  lias 
defined  negatively  :  "  If  the  Church,  6outli,  has  no  reason 
for  continued  separate  existence  other  than  the  passions  of 
the  war,  let  her  be  blotted  out.  If,  indeed,  her  organization 
from  the  first  was  merely  in  the  interest  of  slave  property,  as 
her  enemies  assert,  then  she  never  had  any  just  title  to  exist- 
ence, and  the  sooner  she  perishes  the  better,"  Positively, 
as  respects  both  polity  and  principle  he  defines  it  in  three 
principal  particulars — the  essential  co-ordinancy  of  the  Kpis- 
copal  function  and  independent  status  of  the  chief  executive 
power  in  the  constitution  of  the  Church  ;  the  inviolate 
supremacy  of  law  as  the  spirit  of  the  community  and  the 
unbending  rule  of  Church  disci[)line  ;  and  lastly,  the  great 
principle,  the  exclusivcncss  of  the  spiritual  vocation  of  the 
Church — "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  The  duty 
and  the  destiny  of  the  Southern  Church  he  locates  in  these 
earnest  and  stirring  words  : 

To  ulienate  its  existence  is  to  betray  its  trust.  Its  members  cannot 
disorganize  it  witliout  incurring  guilt.  God  liolds  them  to  account  for  tlie 
Avork  He  luis  given  tlieni  to  do,  and  tliey  cannot  destroy  the  body  which  is 
the  instrument  provided  by  the  Head  of  the  Church  for  doing  it.        * 

*  *  We  must  stand  in  our  lot.     The  future  must  be   left  to 

the  men  of  the  future  and  to  God.  Those  Miio  shall  have  the  affairs  of 
llie  Church  in  charge  lifty  years  lience  Avill  be  as  wise  as  we.  Let  us  pray 
that  they  may  be  much  more  wise.  Fifty  years  hence  God  will  be  listening 
to  the  prayers  of  his  people.  Fifty  years  hence— we  cannot  doubt  it— tliere 
will  be  a  Metliodist  Church  in  tlie  land,  in  poise  amidst  the  factions  of  tlie 
hour,  pure  amidst  its  temptations,  her  candlestick  still  in  its  place,  her 
liglil  burning  w  iih  the  pure  flame  of  inspiration  and  faith,  revered  by  all 
who  love  tlu!  Lord  .lesus,  and  liated  only  by  his  enemies ;  her  children 
dwelling  in  peace  in  the  South  and  in  the  North,  and  in  the  West  and 
in  the  East,  with  Republican  and  Democrat,  Radical  and  Conserv- 
ative, alike  calling  her  blessed.  She  wiU  excite  the  suspicion  and 
liatred  of  none  by  allying  herself  with  an  adverse  party  upon  issues 
that  arouse  tlie  passions  of  the  hour,  but  lie  outside  of  her  proper  sphere. 
She  will  move  with  a  grand  but  quiet  energy  amid  the  affairs  of  men,  the 
representative  of  Christ  to  all,  the  political  ally  or  enemy  of  none.  She 
will  stand  for  Christ,  recognized  by  all,  upon  a  plane  far  above  the  level  of 
those  contests  which  conie  and  go  with  the  energy  and  swiftness  of  a  tor- 
nado.    She  will  abjure  both  the  riches  and  the  power  which  might  reward 


1870-1876.  729 

a  lewd  and  bewitching  coquetry  with  some  successful  party  in  the  State. 
She  will  be  known,  and  loved,  and  hated,  as  the  chaste  spouse  of  Christ. 
Her  character  will  give  full  force  and  meaning  to  the  word  of  God  com- 
mitted to  her. 

This  is  the  destiny  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  a 
destiny  that  she  cannot  alienate.  She  must  "stand  in  her  lot  to  the  end  of 
the  days." 

During  the  quadrennium  expiring  in  1870,  the  work  of  the 
Church  WHS  its  own  reconstruction  after  the  disorganization 
and  prostration  resulting  from  the  war.  To  this  work  it 
addressed  itself  Avith  an  earnestness  and  energy  inspired  by 
the  desolation  of  a  loved  Zion,  and  a  purpose,  animated 
1)V  a  chastened  devotion,  to  rebuild  its  walls  and  restore  its 
former  beauty  and  strength.  It  was  entered  on  with  heart 
and  hope.  At  the  close  of  the  lirst  post-bellum  quadren- 
nial term,  its  busy  activities  were  noted  by  Bishop  Marvin  in 
a  review  entitled  "  The  Situation  "  : 

With  all  these  measures  of  the  General  Conference  there  is  also  an- 
other fact  which  nmst  not  be  passed  over  in  silence.  We  are  in  tlie  midst 
of  aiier;iof  uncommon  activity  in  the  ministry.  Bishops,  Presidiug  El- 
ders, Pastors,  Editors,  Agents,  Teachers,  all  feel  it.  Men  are  in  earnest. 
Many  are  laboring  with  a  zeal  and  constancy  that  causes  alarm  amongst 
their  friends.  But  there  are  not  wanting  those  who  would  rather  die  in  the 
rush  of  victorious  battle  than  linger  out  an  insipid  and  profitless  existence 
in  the  midst  of  a  stagnant  and  decaying  church. 

Recuperation  was  rapid  and  large.  The  rubbish  had  been 
removed  aiKl  re-erection  of  the  Church  on  its  old  foundation 
had  progressed  wonderfully.  Aggression  had  gone  along 
Avith  rehabilitation,  and  in  the  large  domain  of  the  Far  West 
the  fields  of  Church  Extension  had  been  explored.  The 
address  of  the  Bishops  calls  attention  to  the  fact  of  progress 
and  its  responsibilities : 

Our  Domestic  Missions  have  multiplied,  and  with  increasing  useful- 
ness. Your  attention  is  particularly  invited  to  the  great  and  effectual  door 
now  open  in  the  West.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river  to  the  Golden 
Gate,  and  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  Puget's  Sound,  there  is  a  field  becoming 
populous  more  rapidly  than  any  in  which  our  fathers  labored  in  their  day. 
No  louder  call  has  ever  fallen  on  the   ear  of  the  ministry  than  that  which 


730  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

comes  to  us  from  this  vast  region.     This  is  all  missionary  ground  at  pres- 
ent, including  Oregon  and  Southci'n  California. 

Tt  has  alreauy  appeared  in  these  pages  how  in  his  own 
labors  those  fields  had  been  explored  and  opened  up  to  the 
view  of  the  Church — some  words  in  the  above  extraet  from 
the  Bishop's  address  taken  from  a  manifesto  published  by 
him  shortly  l>efore,  in  the  central  organ  of  the  Church  at 
Nashville,  from  which  quotation  has  akeady  been  made. 
The  whole  })aragraph  embodies  the  recommendation  in  his 
Avritten  official  eommunication  to  the  College  of  Bish()i)s  at 
its  ^lay  meeting,  in  18()9,  in  St.  Louis,  and  renewed  in  per- 
sonal interview,  in  1870,  at  Memphis,  with  an  earnest  inspi- 
I'.ition  of  Zealand  hope,  such  as  imbues  the  whole  of  that 
})aragraph  of  the  Bishop's  Quadrennial  Address.  Like- 
wise, just  before  the  assembly  of  the  Gen"^ral  Conference, 
and  in  view  of  it,  he  published  afonnal  and  elaborate  papc^r 
on  that  sul)ject  in  the  columns  of  the  Aduocate  at  St. 
Louis — from  there,  called  the  "  Gateway  of  the  ivlighty 
AVest,"  summoning  the  Church  to  the  occupanc}^  of  that 
vast  domain  of  Missionary  cPiterprise.  It  was  Ijrought  to 
the  door  of  the  Church  in  the  access  to  it  opened  by  the 
great  highway  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  just  recently  com- 
pleted. He  was  the  first  Methodist  Bishop,  perhaps,  wiio 
had  traversed  its  line  from  end  to  end.  His  own  eye  had 
seen  what  he  describes,  and  his  own.  feist  had  stood  amidst 
the  unoccupied  but  inviting  fields  to  which  he  uttered  the 
rally-call.  His  utterance  Avas  eloquent  with  the  s[)irit  of  a 
]ead(;r.  In  Oregon,  in  the  region  of  Puget's  Sound,  he  had 
fixed  the  eye  and  heart  of  a  General  Superintendent  upon 
the  Dalles,  where  Bishop  McTyeire,  following  in  a  i)ath 
marked  by  the  fresh  track  of  his  footsteps,  found  a  Pre- 
sidinoj  Elder  travelino;  a  district  a  thousand  miles  around  it, 
and  making  regular  rounds  of  all  the  quarterly  meetings. 
In  the  summer  of  1872,  as  soon  as  ho  had  })i()neered  the 
Mexican  Border  Mission  work  on  the  liio  Grande,  he  was  u]) 


1870-1876.  731 

in  the  mountains  of  Montana,  in  ilie  spirit  and  in  the  line 
of  thinii's  belonging  to  an  Apostolic  Bishop,  which  looked 
and  reached  to  regions  l)cyond.  The  proposed  [)rograninio 
was  large  and  costl}',  and  he  called  for  money  as  well  as 
men.  In  the  [)a[)er  refer.red  to,  he  makes  a[)[)eal  to  the 
traditional  missionary  s[)irit  and  [)(>licy  of  Mcliiodism,  and 
makes  demand  upon  its  revenue  for  missions,  as  at  the  time 
claimed  for  that  work  in  the  manifest  Providence  of  (jod. 
The  treasury  had  been,  during  the  past  quadrennium,  a[)- 
plied,  in  its  principal  expenditure,  to  the  fields  within  the 
bounds  of  the  old  and  established  Conferences — as  provided 
for  in  18()(),  dividing  the  revenue  between  the  Domestic  and 
Foreign  Boards;  the  latter  charged,  also,  with  the  support 
of  all  Missions  other  than  in  Annual  Conference  work, 
includin2:  the  Indian  Missions.  That  was  the  demand  of 
the  times  in  18GG,  in  the  midst  of  the  impoverishment  of 
the  jieople  and  intidequate  support  of  the  ministry,  and 
other  imperative  drafts  upon  all  the  pecuniary  resources  of 
the  Church  in  recovery  from  the  desolation  following  U[)on 
the  war.  During  that  period,  indeed,  there  were  distresses 
of  poverty  and  trials  of  persecution  ;  but  these  had  been 
endured,  and  were,  for  the  most  part,  over  past.  The 
Church  was  erect,  in  1870,  as  an  unbroken  tree,  standing 
upright  after  the  stoi-m  had  swept  over  the  bowed  head.  It 
must  now  spread  its  branches  over  the  barren  plain  and  en- 
rich the  desert  j)lace  with  its  fruits.  He  went  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  at  ^Memphis  with  that  sentitnent,  and 
the  purpose  w^as  expressed  in  the  following  paragraph  : 

For  one,  I  felt  a  deeper  interest  in  the  re-adjustment  of  our  Missionary 
oi-ganizatiou  than  in  any  otliL-r  Avork  .before  the  Conference.  I  was  not 
wedded  to  any  particuhir  phm.  All  I  desired  was  that  the  Church  should  be 
put  fully  into  the  attitude  of  aggression.  That  we  might  enter,  in  full  force, 
every  new  field  in  the  West,  and  re-enforce  the  foreign  Missions  was,  as  I 
conceived,  indispensable.  The  money  of  the  Church  must  be  brought  into 
active  service  in  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel. 

After  food  and  raiment  and  habitation  are  provided,  and  the  Christian 
education  of  our  children  and  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  at  home,  with 


732  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

a  proper  basis  for  our  private  business,  what  monej'  remains  over  will  go 
inevitably  to  the  support  and  enlarsoment  of  the  Kinsj^dom  of  the  Wicked 
One,  or  to  extend  the  domain  and  eidianee  the  fJjlory  of  the  Son  of  God. 
It  will  be  hoarded  by  avarice  or  sciuandcred  in  sensual  and  shiful  pleasures 
and  to  pamper  pride,  unless  it  is  expended  for  the  aid  of  the  poor,  the  dif- 
fusion of  Christian  knowledge,  and  the  i)ropagation  of  the  (Jospel  in  "the 
regions  beyond."  Money,  in  the  hands  of  God's  people,  will  be  a  snare 
and  an  occasion  of  backslidinj>;,  and  of  their  eternal  ruin,  unless  they  put 
it  into  active  service  in  the  work  of  saving  souls. 

The  le<'-i.sl:itioii  of  the  Conference  fi^lly  realized  his 
*'  heart's  desire."  The  Western  Conference  was  organ- 
ized, its  eastern  boundary  ah)ng  the  Kansas  River  ;  and  the 
Los  Ano-eles  District  erected  into  a  Conference  for  Lower 
California.  In  these  results,  it  cannot  be  in  question  that 
they  were  not  only  in  the  lino  of  his  counsels,  but  promoted 
largely  by  the  authority  of  his  great  spirit  and  his  example 
of  apostolic  labors  from  which  he  had  come  up  to  that  ses- 
sion, and  to  which  he  went  from  it.  After  two  tours  in 
Montana,  one  of  the  mountaineers  wrote:  "Bishop  Mar- 
vin was  in  deep  sympathy  with  those  laI)oring  on  the  out- 
posts, and  longed  to  see  our  Zion  occupying  the  whole 
land."  His  death  was  mourned  in  those  fields  as  the  loss 
of  best  friend  and  chief  cham[)ion.  lie  has  loft  as  a 
legacy  to  that  work  a  printed  record  of  argument  and  ap- 
peal, which  has  not  been  unheeded  altogether.  In  it,  "  he 
being  dead  yet  speaketh."  It  was  written  at  St.  Louis, 
where  he  wanted  the  whole  College  of  Bishops  to  meet,  as 
they  did  in  LSOl),  "to  look  out  upon  the  vast  fields  of  the 
West."  A  copy  of  it  was  laid  on  the  desk  of  every  mem- 
ber of  the  General  Conference  on  the  first  day  of  its  ses- 
sion. In  the  argument,  iiis  doctrine  of  Providence  con- 
nected railroads  and  Missions,  as  opening  up  a  path  and 
casting  up  a  highway  in  the  desert  for  an  oncoming  Chris- 
tianity. In  his  doctrine  of  grace,  "  a  man  that  does  not 
earnestly  desire  the  salvation  of  the  world  is  not  a  Chris- 
tian.    Let  him   not  deceive  himself.     If  he  lives  thus  he 


1870-1876.  733 

will  go  down  out  of  the  Church  into  hell."  Of  his  doc- 
trine of  the  Church  and  its  Divine  Headship — "  The  Church 
that  does  nothing  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  by  that 
very  inactivity  forfeits  its  character  as  a  Christian  Church  ;" 
its  right  to  live,  therefore — "Love  is  life.  Selfishness  is 
death;"  instancing  the  rescue  of  the  Indian  Mission  Con- 
ference,  which  he  safed — "  thus  we  have  been  saved  from 
the  curse  that  would  be  involved  in  losing  our  Missionary 
character.''''  The  concluding  paragraphs  are  not  his  last, 
but  one  of  the  first  and  a  life-long  a[)peal  to  the  Church  in 
reference  to  the  Mission  fields  of  half  a  continent,  and  to 
Avhat  was  the  title  of  the  publication,  "The  Duties  and 
Responsibilities  of  the  Hour:" 

There  is  one  field  of  Missionary  labor  that  demands  special  attention 
from  us,  and  which  has  a  liistory,  up  to  this  date,  that  must  cause  us  shame 
and  grief.  An  open  door  is  set  so  directly  before  us  as  a  Church  as  appar- 
ently to  furnish  a  test  of  our  integrity  to  the  trust  committed  to  us.  Thii 
door  stands  wide  open,  suggestively,  appealingly  open,  and  has  stood  there 
forj'ears;  yet  we  have  never  entered  in  any  effectual  way.  I  speak  of  the 
whole  West,  from  Leavenworth  City  to  Sau  Francisco,  and  from  the  Rio 
Grande  to  the  Columbia  and  beyond.  The  very  organization  of  our  Mis- 
sionary work  is  so  cast  as  to  preclude  our  entrance.  It  is  in  the  domestic 
field,  so  that  there  cau  be  no  appropriation  from  the  foreign  treasury,  and 
there  is,  in  effect,  no  general  treasury  of  the  Domestic  Board.  In  this 
way  the  general  wealth  of  the  Church  is  shut  off  from  this  inviting  and 
fruitful  field.  A  large  section  of  it,  including  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Colorado,- 
Wyoming  and  Montana,  are  thrown  upon  the  Missouri  and  St.  Louis  Con- 
ferences. Texas  has  all  of  its  own  boundless  frontier,  and  one  of  its  Con- 
ferences has  almost  the  whole  of  our  German  work^all,  I  believe,  except 
that  at  New  Orleans.  There  is  no  hand  to  help  Oregon,  almost  the  whole 
of  which  ought  to  be  Missionary  ground.  We  ought  to  occupy  Washing- 
ton Territory.  California,  represented  by  the  Pacific  Conference,  offers, 
with  Nevada  and  Arizona,  an  empire  to  enlightened  zeal.  One  hundred 
thousand  dollars  a  year  ought  at  once  to  b.e  expended  on  this  great  field. 
Hardy  and  devoted  men  scattered  over  these  vast  regions  would  bring 
thousands  on  thousands  to  the  Cross.  The  Clmrch  organized  in  these 
new  communities  would  soon  become  self-supporting,  and  begin  to  swell 
the  treasury  for  other  fields.  Enlightened  labor  here  would  increase  the 
vigor  of  the  Church  at  home.  The  enthusiwim  of  work  would  become  an 
infection  among  us,  and  we  should  begin  to  measure  up  to  the  standard  of 
duty,  and  acquit  ourselves  of  the  trust  committed  to  us. 


734  BISHOr  MAIiVIN. 

Now  that  we  have  recovered  from  the  paralysis  which  fell  upon  a  nation 
in  its  overthrow — a  nation  tliat  was  blotted  out  in  fire  and  Ijlood  and  fam- 
ine— now  that  onr  people  are  rich  and  increased  in  jjjoods,  at  this  auspicious 
luonuMit  tlu-se  i^rrat  opportunities  tall  us.  And  just  at  this  auspicious 
moment  the  Gi'iieral  Conference  meets.  May  tlie  God  of  Wusley  and 
A-l)ury  and  McKendree  give  to  the  representatives  of  the  Churcli  wisdom 
in  tliis  hour.  I  l\o  verily  believe  that  the  most  important  business  before 
them,  incomparably  so,  is  tlu!  adju-^inicnt  of  the  missionary  organization 
to  the  calls  and  conditions  of  the  time. 

May  I  not  also  ask  every  preacher,  and  every  member  of  the  Church 
who  reads  this  arlicle,  to  make  a  new  consecration  of  himself  at  this  very 
lime.  Let  ns  renew  the  ollVring  of  ourselves,  onr  souls,  our  bodies,  our 
families,  our  repulaliou,  our  labor,  our  property,  to  God.  It  all  belongs  to 
Him.  Let  us  yiuldllira  Ills  own  freely,  joyfully.  He  has  use  for  all.  lie 
will  enlarge  His  kingdom,  save  souls  and  glorify  Himself  by  it. 

Then,  from  tliis  hour,  from  tlds  great  convocation  of  the  Church  at 
Memphis  will  we  see  Zion  in  travail  and  in  tiiumi)ii,  lookiuu;  with  mater- 
nal joy  upon  her  childn  n  crowtling  all  her  palaces.  The  very  calamiiies 
and  Immiliations  of  the  past  will  prove  to  have  been  the  preparation  for  a 
great  history  of  labor  and  of  reward. 

In  the  del ibenit ions  of  the  General  Conference  at  Louis- 
ville, in  1874,  special  i)roniinence  was  given  to  missions  on 
foi-eiirn  shores.  In  the  interval  of  the  quadrenniuni  then 
closing,  under  the  administration  chiefly  of  Bishop  Keen-i 
er  a  Southern  Methodist  Mission  had  been  established 
in  the  heart  of  jNlexico,  and  Hernandez,  the  first  fruits  of 
Mexicio,  stationed  in  its  capital  city.  An  advance  guard  had 
moved  on  South  Anic'rica  and  erected  a  Mission-post  in 
Brazil.  China,  the  early  and  only  ISIission  of  the  Chui'ch 
in  the  heathen  lands,  called  for  reinforcement  there  and  di- 
rected the  eye  of  the  Church  to  Jai)an,  which  had  been 
recently  opened  to  Missionary  occupation,  its  tirst  mission 
founded  IMarcli  10th,  1872.  In  eight  years  the  Church  in 
its  post-bellum  history,  had  advanced  step  by  step  in  the 
l)uri)ose  and  plans  of  its  Missionary  oi)erations,  till  in  1874, 
it  had  in  mind  and  in  hand  the  entire  scope  of  the  work 
at  home  and  the  work  abroad.  The  address  of  the  Bishops, 
read  bv  Bishop  Pierce  and  it  is  presumed  comjiosedby  him, 
pressed  the  claims  of  the  Foreign  field  and  vindicated  their 


1870-1870.  735 

pre-eminence.  It  gave  the  key  note  to  the  legi.slatiou  of  that 
session  of  the  General  Conference  :  "  Missionary  work,  dis- 
tinctly so  called,  must  be  made  more  prominent.  It  ought 
to  be  disentangled  from  all  qucifii  views  and  substitutes.  It 
should  stand  alone  in  its  magnitude  and  grandeur.  It  is  the 
work  of  the  Church,  lier  special  mission — '  Go  ye  into  all 
aUt\\Q  loorld  and  preach  t\\Q  Gof^pel  to  E  very  Creaturp'  " 

In  that  sentiment  as  well  as  in  the  special  call  for  Epis- 
copal visitation  of  the  China  Mission  for  the  ordin  ition 
of  native  preachers.  Bishop  Marvin's  Missionary  Tour  of  the 
World  had,  if  not  origin,  yet  sanction  and  interpretation, 
as  a  rccounoisance  of  heathendom,  preparatory  to  a  large 
and  well  directed  advancement  of  the  o[)v3rations  of  the 
Church  in  Pagan  lands.  The  resolution  0:1  the  subject,  as 
finally  adopted,  allowed  it  and  in  terms,  as  a  tour  of  obser- 
vation, it  was  authorized  by  the  instructions  of  the  Parent 
Board  of  Missions.  The  incidents  of  his  personal  history 
during  that  to.:r,  and  in  general  terms  the  performance  of 
his  high  trust,  are  narrated  in  the  following  chapter  ])y  an- 
other and  an  a[)pro[)iiate  and  able  pen.  His  Episcopal  col- 
leagues have  testilied  individually  and  collectively  how 
satisfactory  in  performance  and  how  important  a  result  was 
this  exploring  tour,  as  well  as  enhearleuing  and  invigorating 
to  the  Mission  in  China.  Its  President  has  ex:[)ressed  the 
sentiment  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  of  the  Missionaries 
and  the  Church  in  his  words  of  introduction  to  the 
bound  volume  of  his  letters  of  travel.  "The  benefit  con- 
ferred upon  the  Church  \^y  this  Missionary  tour,  thus  faith- 
fully and  picturesquely  reported,  is  incalculal)le.  It  has 
made  the  pulse  of  the  Church  beat  higher — it  has  enlarged 
our  view  of  the  Mission  field,  and  suggested  plans  for  its 
cultivation — it  has  greatly  strengthened  the  hands  and  com- 
forted the  hearts  of  our  little  band  of  Missionaries  in  China, 
and  those  of  other  Churches  in  the  lands  visited  by  him,  and 
the  publication  of  his  letters  will  do  much  to  fan  the  flames 


736  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

of  Missionary  zeal  in  tlie  widespread  connection  of  which 
he  was  so  brii2;ht  an  ornament  and  in  which  he  hiboretl  with 
so  much  zeal  and  success." 

In  the  extraordinary  circuhition  of  the  bound  volume, 
as  well  as  in  the  wide  publication  in  the  columns  of  the 
Church  journals,  he  has  addressed  the  judu-ment  and  con- 
science of  the  Church  in  such  extcMit  and  with  such  power, 
that  what  competition  may  have  existed  in  the  [)ul)lic  mind, 
in  1H74,  ])etwcen  the  claims  of  Domestic  and  Foreiijn  Mis- 
sions (as  was  supposed  and  to  the  (lisadvanta;j:e  of  the  latter), 
has  been  modilied  by  the  effect  of  those  letters.  Alto- 
irether,  it  is  a  marked  and  valuable  siijniticancc  of  his  ad- 
ministration  and  labors  in  behalf  of  Mission^,  that  alike 
and  e(|ually  the  enthusiasm  of  zeal  has  Ix^en  kindled  for 
the  Home  and  Foreiu-n  work — the  heart  of  the  Church  lixed 
on  (yjiina,  as  on  Montana,  and  iixcd  for  the  occui)ation  both 
of  the  Western  Hemis[)lu're  amon^-  his  own  countrymen, 
and  of  tlio  Eastern  among  heathen  nations. 

His  letters,  besides  as  Epistles  to  the  Churches,  read 
"  like  chapters  in  the  Acts  of  tiio  Apostles,"  as  was  said  by 
a  reader  of  them  at  London,  the  great  seat  and  centre  of 
Evanirelizinii:  aijencies,  to  which  tlicv  had  reached  in  their 
wi(h3  circulation.  There  is  in  them  the  sign  and  fruits  of 
personal  enthusiasm.  In  a  private  letter  to  Dr.  Summers, 
the  President  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  he  wrote  of  Lam- 
buth,  the  founder  and  Superintendent  of  the  Mission,  and 
of  his  co-laborers  :  "  Our  bi-ethren  are  hard  workers — true 
and  faithful — and  held  in  high  respect  by  the  brethren  of 
other  Churches,  l)oth  European  and  American.  I  am  l)e- 
cominir  more  and  more  interested  in  this  tield."  It  was  the 
same  spirit  in  both  hemispheres  developed  for  both  tlie  do- 
mestic and  foreign  work.  In  America  the  spiritual  destitution 
in  Territories,  as  large  as  States  and  prinicipalities  in  Asia, 
constrained  the  expression  to  a  Montana  INIissionary  :  "I 
wish  I  could  go  mj'self  and  labor  in  your  fields."     It  was 


1870—1876.  737 

the  same  spirit  in  the  utterance,  at  the  graves  of  our  dead 
in  China — "  How  1  wouki  h)ve  to  labor  and  die  here  amonij 
these  Missionaries  of  the  Cross  !  How  I  would  love  to  rise 
at  the  last  day  in  the  midst  of  a  multitude  of  heathen  con- 
verts !  " 

That  sentiment  was  reiterated  in  the  address  to  his  old 
Conference,  the  Missouri,  in  one  of  the  very  last  of  his 
addresses  to  the  preachers  among  whom  he  had  begun  his 
ministry,  that  he  wished  he  could  have  gone  as  a  Missionary 
to  Japan  when  he  was  called  to  it  l)y  Bishop  Paine  in  the 
days  of  his  early  ministry.  What  he  saw  with  his  own 
eyes  of  the  social  deijradation,  as  well  as  the  soul-beni<rhted 
darkness  of  heathen  lands,  inspired  a  sentiment  and  prayer 
which  had  in  them  prophec}^  and  pledge  of  a  boundless 
future  zeal.  "  Hundreds  of  times  in  this  tour  have  I  been 
overwhelmed  with  gratitude  to  God  that  I  aud  my  children 
were  born  Christians.  May  a  merciful  God  pardon  any 
want  of  ardor  I  may  have  been  guilty  of  in  pressing  the 
conquests  of  the  Cross!"  By  one  who  has  known  well, 
also,  of  his  Apostleship  to  the  Church  in  America  it  is  sug- 
gested for  this  page:  "  If  he  had  lived,  would  he  not  have 
been  our  Apostle  to  Foreio-n  Missions?  "  Another  has  sus- 
gested  :  "  Out  of  the  apparent  evil  of  his  translation  will 
ensue  immense  good  to  the  cause  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
The  work  of  God  will  proba])ly  be  more  extended  by  the 
Bishop's  death  than  if  he  had  lived.  And,  Oh  !  what  a  joy 
to  him  will  it  be  to  see  others,  by  the  solemnities  of  his  de- 
})arture  so  soon  after  the  completed  mission,  brought  into  and 
carrying  on  the  work  so  well  and  so  extensively  inaugurated 
by  his  Missionary  tour."  The  sentiment  and  the  fact  are  not 
unknown  or  uncommon.  At  Columbo,  in  Ceylon,  on  the 
wall  of  the  first  Church  built  in  Asia  by  the  Wesleyans,  in 
1818,  he  saw  a  tablet  sacred  to  the  memory  of  Thomas 
Coke,  erected  and  inscribed  bv  his  survivin£>:  Missionarv 
companions  and  sons  in  the  ministrv.     It  recounts  that  he 


738  RTSIIOP  MAllVIX, 

died  on  llio  voyage  and  was  buried  at  sea.  Bishoj)  Mirviu 
has  spoken  ot"  him,  as  he  was  a  Methodist,  that  Methodism 
is  "  the  Mother  of  modern  Missions  f  and  as  the  lir  it  Meth- 
odist Bisliop,  that  he  Avas  ''  the  first  mover  among  the 
Methodists  in  the  grand  enterprise  of  convertingthe  workl." 
Of  his  death,  lie  lias  written:  "More  than  half  way  to 
India  his  body  is  preserved  in  the  de[)ths  of  the  salt  ocean, 
as  if  ever  m  )re,  in  the  silent  eloquence  of  death,  he  were 
callinir  the  Church  to  the  re<i;ions  Ixiyond.  The  call  has  not 
been  in  vain.  Only  one  other,  and  th  it  a  very  small 
Church,  equals  the  British  Methodists  in  Missionary  zeal  and 
liberality." 

At  Eeyroot,  he  had  stood  before  a  monument  in  the 
Prussian  Cemetery,  inscri!)ed  on  the  one  side,  "  Rev.  Cal- 
vin Kingsley,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Mothodist  E[)iscopal 
Church.  Died  in  Syria,  Ai)ril  G,  1870,  while  making  for 
his  Church  the  first  Episcopal  tour  of  the  glol)e  ;  "  on  the 
o[)posite  face  are  these  words  :  "  May  his  tomb  unite  more 
closely  Asia  and  America."  Bishop  Mtirvin  died  at  home, 
within  the  year  of  his  completed  tour,  but  in  the  midst  of 
an  uncompleted  Mission,  while  tlie  Church  awaited  with 
largo  expectations  his  leadership  in  a  rally  to  the  standard 
of  Missionary  conquest.  His  tomb  is  in  a  Christian  land. 
If  it  shall  have,  in  like  mann;n',  a  voice,  it  may  be  ap[)ro- 
priately  the  text  of  his  address  at  St.  John's  Church,  which 
in  a  public  meeting  bade  him  God-speed  at  his  departure 
and  welcomed  his  return  at  a  public  reception.  h\  that 
address  he  stated,  as  its  text,  a  principal  question,  and  the 
one  most  frequently  asked  him  since  his  return — "  Do  you 
believe  the  whole  world  Avill  be  converted  to  Christ?" 
*'  Conscientiously,"  he  said,  "  I  can  answer,  I  do," 

His  official  communication  to  the  Board  of  Missions,  at 
its  May  meeting  following  his  departure,  was  an  admirable 
document ;  clear  and  solid  and  convincing,  as  Avell  as  assur- 
injj.     It  was   written  from  the  midst  of  heathendom,  and 


1870-1870.  739 

contained  the  words  Ix^th  of  pnictical  wisdom  and  inspiring 
hope. 

Among  plans  of  Missionary  enteq)rise,  not  publicly 
mentioned,  was  a  suggestion,  not  for  immediate  adoption, 
but  as  both  wise  and  good,  when  there  might  be  ability  for 
it,  that  an  Asylum  be  founded  at  Shanghai  as  a  refuge  for 
hapless  Erusian  girls.  It  was  the  proposal  to  add  the  be- 
nevolent institution,  as  well  as  the  school,  to  the  Church 
house,  as  an  EvanLcelizing  A-j-ency.  It  embodied  tha  wis- 
dom  of  the  Romish  propaganda — the  trinity  of  powvn*, 
Charity,  Education,  Worship ;  in  Protestant  hands,  the 
ministration  of  the  pulpit  as  well  as  the  altar;  and  in  con- 
nection with  Education,  the  Press. 

His  volume  of  six  hundred  pages  must  be  read  for  a 
proper  and  adequate  report  of  his  observations  in  the  Mis- 
aion  tields  of  the  world,  and  of  those  of  his  own  Church, 
and  for  his  legislation  of  plans  of  work  and  for  the  scope 
of  argument  and  appeal.  It  covered  the  whole  ground  of 
the  duty  and  opportunity  of  Christendom  in  its  relation  to 
the  peoples  which  sit  in  the  region  of  the  shadow  of  death. 
Never  was  turned  on  those  fields  a  more  discriminating  eye. 
Never  was  more  analytic  mind  at  work  on  the  conditions  of 
their  occupation,  development  and  possibilities.  "  It  may 
be  known  to  you,"  he  wrote  to  the  President  of  the  Board, 
*'  that  Brother  Lambuth  has  had  a  desire  that  we  should 
occupy  J:ipan.  He  fully  agrees  with  me  now  that  our  true 
policy  is  to  enlarge  in  China."  The  statement  is  amplified 
iind  intensified  in  his  public  utterance  :  "  My  plan  is  for  the 
Church  to  keep  to  this  field.  Go  nowhere  else  outside  of 
America.  Enlarge  Jiere,  instead  of  going  to  Japan,  Siam, 
Persia,  or  anywhere  else.  Enlarge  here  and  make  a  Con- 
ference, so  that  our  brethren  may  have  the  great  advantage 
there  is  in  numbers  and  annual  sessions,  kindling  enthusi- 
asm and  imparting  courage."  In  the  concluding  paragraph 
of  an  elaborate  showinjji;  of  the  conditions  of  China  and  its  re- 


740  BISHOr  MARVIN. 

lations  to  the  surrounding  nations,  there  is  this  question  and 
answer:  "What  interest  has  the  Church  in  this  fact? 
This  :  the  conversion  of  China  would  be,  virtually,  the  con- 
version of  all  Eastern  Asia,  and  that  would,  practically, 
complete  the  conquest  of  the  world."  He  adds:  "  I  re- 
joice, that  though  our  Church  has  but  one  Mission  across 
the  ocean,  that  one  is  in  China.  It  puts  us  into  the  midst 
of  the  campaign  which  is  to  be  decisive  and  final  in  the  en- 
thronement of  the  Son  of  God  over  the  nations."  *'  China 
conquered,  the  world  will  be  virtually  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,' ' 
were  his  words  ;  and  the  hope  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
Cross  for  China,  which  he  calls  the  key  of  the  situation,  is  in 
his  own  words,  written  at  the  graves,  as  for  the  tombstones 
of  our  dead  Missionaries  :  '■' China  will  turn  to  the  Lord! 
I  feel  it ;  I  almost  see  it." 


'^-^^^A^uzs'-^ 


CHAPTER     XXXVII 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUND  THE  WORLD.* 


^T  tlie  session  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Meth- 
odist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  held  in  Louisville, 
in  May,  1<S74,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted,  viz.  : 

"  Resolved,  That  a  Bishop  who  may  visit  the  Pacitic  Con- 
ference during  the  next  quadrienniuni,  if  deemed  advisable 
by  the  College  of  Bishops,  also  visit  our  missions  in  China, 
and  ordain  any  native  preachers  who  may  be  recommended 
l)y  our  missionaries  in  the  field." 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  May,  1876,  Bishop  Marvin  was 
assiirned  by  his  colleaoues  to  visit  the  Pacitic  coast  duriuir 
that  year,  and  he  was  thus  in  a  iDosition  to  comply  with  the 
expressed  wish  of  the  General  Conference,  as  there  would 
not  be  time  for  a  suitable  visit  to  China  unless  made  then. 
In  one  sense  he  regarded  his  appointment  as  accidental, 
that  is,  an  accident  of  his  episcopal  supervision  of  the  Pacific 
Conference.  In  that  view  of  it  he  recoirnized  that  it  mi<rht 
just  as  well  have  l)een  given  any  of  his  colleagues  had  it 
been  their  time  to  visit  California,  and  that  he  had  not  ])een 
chosen  for  the  tour  because  of  peculiar  fitness  for  it.     In 


*This  chapter  has  been  contributed  by  Kev .  E.  R.  Hendrix,  D.D.,  now 
President  of  Central  College,  Mo.  lie  was  the  traveling  companion  of 
Bishop  M.  on  this  great  tour,  and  of  whom  the  Bishop  has  said,  he  was  every- 
thing such  a  companion  could  be.  The  reader  will  prize  this  more  private 
history  of  his  life  and  labors  in  the  Eastern  Hemisphere,  than  is  found  iu 
the  published  travels.  The  delicacy  and  good  taste,  as  well  as  literary 
excellence  with  which  it  is  rendered,  will  command  admiration  — [Acthor. 


742  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

anotlier  vic\v  ]ic  regarded  his  appointment  as  ])rovidential, 
believing,  as  he  always  did,  that  any  opportunity  for  useful- 
ness M'as  not  a  thins:  of  onere  accident,  but  sonu'thin<>-  occur- 
ring  in  the  order  of  Divine  Providence.  The  conjunction, 
of  circumstances  which  seemed  to  indicate  liini  as  the  man 
for  tills  si)ecific  work,  he  believed  to  be,  in  some  sense,  an 
ai)pointnient  of  Him  who  is  '"  Head  over  all  things  to  the 
Church."'  \\\  this  confidence  he  went  forth  on  his  great 
mission,  assured  that  the  Master  who  sent  him  would  fulfil 
his  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am  Avith  you  alway,  even  to  the  end  of 
theAvorld." 

He  had  loni>-  felt  a  orowina:  desire  to  leave  to  the  Church 
in  some  permanent  form  certain  lines  of  thought  which  had 
given  him  great  satisfaction  in  i)rivate,  and  u[)on  which 
thousands  had  fed  as  he  had  at  different  times  elaborated 
them  from  the  pulpit.  Now  that  his  voice  was  to  be  heard  no 
more  for  many  months  in  his  native  land,  he  believed  that  the 
time  had  come  for  him  to  publish  his  volume  of  sermons.  No 
small  part  of  that  volume,  as  we  understand,  was  ])repared  for 
the  press  between  the  Bishops'  meeting  in  ]May  and  his  depart- 
ure for  the  Western  Conferences  in  August.  He  seemed  to 
anticipate  that  his  work  was  nearing  its  end,  as  appears  l)y 
the  closing  language  of  his  preface  to  that  volume  :  "  And 
now  that  the  day  is  far  spent  and  the  night  at  hand,  I  feel 
that  I  cannot  afford  to  be  idle.  So  I  h;ive  put  in  the  odd 
hours  in  preparing  this  l)ook.  Son  of  God,  I  connnit  it  to 
thee  !"  His  volume  of  sermons  has  thus  a  more  immediate 
connection  than  many  are  aware  Avith  his  great  missionary 
tour. 

After  he  had  ended  his  Avork  on  the  Pacific  coast  he  was 
joined  in  San  Francisco  l)y  the  Avritcr  (avIio  Avas  to  be  the 
companion  of  his  travels)  preparatory  to  embarking  for  the 
shores  of  Asia.  In  the  meantime,  however,  since  the 
Bishops'  meeting  in  May,  the  proposed  visit  to  our  missions 
in   China    had   grown   to   a   tour   of   innnense   proportions. 


ins  MISSIOXAIIV  TOril  AltOCXD  TIIK  WOULD.  743 

Bishoi)  Marvin  was  iirst  to  suggest  to  the  officers  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  that  his  visit  could  be  made  of  most 
profit  to  the  Church  l)y  extending  it  to  other  missionary 
fiehJs  than  China.  They  fully  agreed  with  him  in  this,  and 
his  plans,  as  discussed  with  them,  included  visits  to  Ceylon, 
India,  Egypt,  Syria,  and,  if  possible,  to  Turkey  and  Greece, 
and  thence  to  Rome,  where  he  desired  to  see  what  foothold 
Protestantism  was  iietting  under  the  shadow  of  St.  Peter's. 
He  hoped  also  to  reach  England  in  time  to  witness  some  of 
the  great  missionary  gatherings  alwaj's  incident  to  the  ^hiy 
meetings  in  London,  and  to  learn  something  of  the  best 
methods  for  disseminating  information  and  quickening  zeal 
in  use  amonir  the  successful  missionary  churches  of  Great 
Britain. 

His  plan  v»as  a  vast  one,  worthy  alike  of  his  heart  and 
brain.  Its  very  announcement  fired  the  Church  and  brought 
them  into  more  immediate  sympathy  with  those  distant 
fields  which  seemed  far  less  remote  when  about  to  be  vis- 
ited by  one  of  their  honored  Bishops.  He  himself  spoke 
of  it  in  the  followinir  huiiruajre  :  "  It  is  a  sort  of  exploring 
expedition  and  contemplates  an  advance  movement  of  our 
own  Church.  We  hope  by  the  grace  and  help  of  God  to 
take  a  leading  position  in  this  war  of  conquest,  and  to  do  our 
full  part  toward  the  coronation  of  our  risen  liedeemer  as 
Lord  of  all. 

''While  I  did  not  seek  the  undertaking,  but  rather 
sought  to  avoid  it,  I  did  not  resist  it,  as  I  have  never  re- 
sisted any  work  laid  on  mc  by  the  Church.  And  I  confess 
that  since  my  designation  to  it,  notAvithstanding  all  the  dis- 
comforts of  the  voyage  and  the  long  absence  from  home  in- 
volved in  it,  I  have  a  feeling  of  great  satisfaction  in  doing 
this  woric  for  my  Master  I  pray  that  it  may  be  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  era  of  missionary  activity  in  the  2\l.  E.  Church, 
South,  In  entering  upon  it  I  commit  myself  to  the  care  of 
God  and  the  prayers  of  his  people." 


74  4  KISirOP    MARVIN. 

A  suitable  furcwe]!  meeting  was  liclil  at  the  St.  John's 
M.  E.  Church,  South,  in  St.  Louis,  Avhere  Bishop  Marvin's 
family  hold  their  membership.  Another  occurred  in  San 
Francisco,  at  St.  Paul's  Church.  At  this  latter  meeting, 
attended  l)y  numerous  ministers  and  members  of  other 
churches,  the  Bishop  spoke  with  deep  feeling,  remarking 
that  while  he  wont  forth  with  no  evil  forebodings,  he  knew 
not  but  what  that  was  the  last  work  Avhich  lie  should  ever  l)o 
permitted  to  do  for  his  Master,  and  he  craved  the  ])rayers 
of  the  people  of  God  that  ho  might  do  it  well.  lie  desired 
to  make  most  careful  observation  while  in  heathen  lands 
and  to  discover  the  progress  which  the  Gospcd  Avas  actually 
making  in  supplanting  the  false  faiths  of  the  vrorld.  This 
information  he  should  si-ek  to  make  as  Avide-reachin<>;  as 
possible,  that  Christian  America  might  share  more  largely  in 
In  the  conquest  of  pagan  lands  for  Christ.  His  speech  was 
almost  i)roplietic.  He  scarce  survived  the  gi'cat  work, 
while  the  information  which  he  gathered  during  his  tour, 
published  under  the  title,  "  To  the  East  by  Avay  of  the 
"West,"  had  a  circulation  within  six  months  after  j)ublica- 
tion  of  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  c()})ies.  it  may 
doubtless  be  safely  averred  that  no  American  has  been  so 
hjo-hly  useful  in  the  dissemination  of  missionary  Intel li<2:ence. 
At  noon  on  Noveml)er  1st,  1876,  the  good  ship  "Alaska" 
.'started  with  us  on  her  long  voyage  across  the  Pacitic.  By 
the  thoughtfulness  of  Kev.  T.  M.  Finney,  1 ),!).,  an  auto- 
gr;i[)h  letter  of  introduction  was  secured  from  President 
(haiit,  bespeaking  the  kind  offices  of  United  States  ministers 
and  consuls  throughout  the  world.  Similar  letters  to  differ- 
ent individuals  living  in  th'i  Orient  prepared  the  way  for  one 
of  the  most  delightful  of  tours.  From  the  time  we  steamed 
outof  the  (lolden  (late  until,  ten  months  later,  we  awoke 
one  morning  at  anidior  off  Staten  Island,  thongh  compass- 
inir  the  i>lol)e  in  the  interval,  there  was  no  lack  of  facilities 
for  makinij:  the  tour  in  the  lar<;est  deii:ree  both  ])leasant  and 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUND  THE  WORLD.  745 

instructive.  English  and  American  residents  in  foreign 
lands  were  equally  cordial  m  proffers  of  assistance.  Being 
thrown  very  largely  with  the  missionaries,  those  who  spoke 
the  laniiuaire  of  the  country  and  were  most  familiar  with 
the  customs  of  the  people,  the  tour  was  unusually  satis- 
factory. 

The  averaire  traveler  in  the  Orient  is  in  danijer  of  com- 
ing  back  with  most  superficial  views  of  the  work  of  evangel- 
izing the  heathen.  The  class  of  English-speaking  residents 
which  he  meets  about  the  hotels  are  too  often  those  who 
Avere  very  unfamiliar  \vith  Christianity  before  leaving 
Christian  lands,  and  who,  practising  none  of  its  restraints, 
are  very  unwillingly  reminded  by  the  presence  of  devoted 
missionaries  of  its  laws  and  personal  claims.  The  avowed 
()l)ject  of  their  stay  is  to  make  money.  The  natives  are  to 
them  only  so  many  agents  for  the  increase  of  commerce  and 
wealth.  If  they  ever  attend  religious  service  it  is  often  one 
more  marked  l)y  an  elaborate  ritual  than  by  the  presence  of 
what  may  quicken  spirituality  or  awaken  the  conscience. 
Of  missionary  Avork  they  know  nothing.  Their  opinion  is 
worth  about  as  much  as  that  of  the  hotel-loumrers  in  New 
York  concerniiig  the  benevolent  work  done  at  Five  Points. 
Bishop  Marvin,  on  the  other  hand,  visited  the  missionary 
chapels  and  closely  ol)served  the  Avorship  of  the  native 
Christians.  He  saw  them  in  their  homes  and  conversed 
with  them,  in  some  instances  in  English,  but  more  frequently 
through  interpreters.  He  visited  their  schools  and  saw  their 
zeal  for  knowledge.  He  talked  with  those  Avhosc  experience 
and  long  residence  in  the  country  are  a  oruarantee  of  the 
accuracy  of  their  information.  It  has  been  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise to  some  that  Bishop  Marvin's  narrative  of  his  tour 
should  be  so  remarkably  accurate  in  view  of  his  limited  stay 
in  different  lands.  The  explanation  is  found  in  the  reliable 
sources  from  which  he  f)btained  his  facts.  He  nsually  en- 
deavored to  see  things  from  the  standpoint  of  the  consul,  the 


746  BISHOP    MARVIX. 

merchant,  and  the  missionary,  and  of  all  tlie  missionaries  of 

whatever  sect. 

The  books  of  tra\cl,  the  outgroA\'th  of  that  tonr,  have 
been  so  generously  received  by  the  publi(!  that  the;  general 
facts  of  Bishop  Marvin's  great  mission  abroad  are  already 
in  the  reader's  possession.  It  is  no  part  of  the  work  of  this 
chapter  to  repeat  them,  even  in  outline.  Such  a  tour  could 
not  have  taken  place  without  disclosing,  annd  the  intimacies 
of  travel,  the  inner  life  and  character  of  the  man.  It  was 
thus  that  Dr.  Johnson  stood  revealed  to  the  eye  of  his  com- 
panion, so  that  ''the  most  charming  l)iography  in  the 
world"  w^as  written  by  IjoswcII  after  only  27(3  days  of  per- 
sonal intercourse  with  his  great  su])ject.  He  enjoyed  scarce 
a  dozen  occasional  visits  to  Johnson  ;  but  the  "  Tour  to  the 
Hebrides"  had  already  torn  away  the  disguises  which  fre- 
quently conceal  the  real  character.  Ihe  self-respect  which 
should  prevent  one's  playing  the  Boswell  to  an  eminent 
man  during  his  life  may  well  restrain  the  })en  after  his  death. 
But  that  closer  view  obtained  during  the  unrestrained  inti- 
macies of  travel,  Ix^longs  now,  in  part  at  least,  to  others. 

As  we  walked  arm-in-arm  the  deck  of  our  steamer  the 
first  night  on  the  Pacitic  and  watched  the  disappearing  rays 
of  the  Farralone  Light  House,  with  this  last  glimpse  of  our 
native  land  he  began  to  oi)en  his  heart  M'ith  the  utmost  free- 
dom, both  as  regarded  his  official  and  private  life.  Eight 
years  before,  wIkmi  spending  a  week  at  my  father's  house, 
the  need  of  a  wise  counselor  at  a  critical  stage  in  my  minis- 
terial career  was  the  occasion  of  a  ])rolonged  contidential 
interview  of  several  days.  The  insight  wliich  he  then  gave 
me  into  his  own  history  was  the  beginning  of  the  most  cor- 
dial friendshi]),  marked  by  the  utmost  openness  and  candor. 
Although  we  had  been  together  for  only  brief  intervals  since 
then,  yet  he  had  so  honored  me  with  his  coiitidence  at  differ- 
ent times,  that  wlicn  Ik^  was  assigned  to  visit  China,  I  had  no 
hesitation  in  offering  to  accompany  him  on  his  great  tour. 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUXD  THE  WORLD.  747 

In  response  he  expressed  his  ijreat  joy  at  the  proposal,  and 
compared  his  fceliiiijs  to  Paul,  at  Athens,  waiting  in  lone- 
liness for  the  arrival  of  Tiniothv.  Only  death  ended  the 
delightful  confidences  renewed  and  cemented  during  that 
meinora1)le  tour. 

What  imi)ressed  me  at  the  very  be^'inning  of  our  vovaire 
was  the  joyful  sense  of  rest  which  ho  experienced  in  escap- 
uvj^  for  awhile  from  his  exacting  ofBeial  duties.  In  two 
months  he  had  held  four  conferences  and  traveled  several 
thousand  miles,  four  or  live  hundred  of  them  in  a  stage- 
coach.  Even  his  great  j^owers  of  endurance  had  been  unduly 
taxed,  and  he  craved  rest.  After  incessant  calls  for  sermons 
and  addresses,  he  welcomed  release  from  public  speaking. 
He  was  glad,  too,  to  lay  aside  his  pen  and  to  be  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  mailbags  and  the  telegraph.  He  seemed  to 
luxuriate  in  inactivity  and  it  had  come  none  too  soon.  With 
rest  came  a  new  spring  to  his  whole  being.  The  summer 
mildness  of  the  atmosphere  which  our  southernly  course  on 
the  Pacific  brought  us  was  extremely  grateful.  The  long 
voj'age  of  a  month  was  not  more  than  enough  for  relaxation 
in  social  intercourse  and  in  reading  before  the  exactions  of 
sio'litsecins;  should  beirin  on  the  shores  of  Japan. 

I  cannot,  with  some,  attribute  Bishop  Marvin's  shortened 
days  to  his  round-the-world  tour.  There  were  delightful  in- 
tervals of  rest  on  the  water,  occurring  when  mo.st  he  needed 
them.  The  Inland  Sea  of  Japan  and  the  Yellow  Sea  quiet 
the  traveler's  nerves  after  his  strange  experience  in  the 
"Land  of  the  Rising  Sun."  The  China  Sea  and  the  Bay 
of  Beno-al  rest  him  between  China  and  Cevlon,  or  India. 
The  Arabian  Gulf  and  the  Red  Sea  are  hailed  with  delight 
after  long  travel  in  India,  whde  the  tideless  but  stormy  Med- 
iterranean is  welcome  even  to  a  poor  sailor  after  the  weari- 
ness of  land  travel  in  Egypt  or  Syria.  Only  in  Europe, 
with  several  months  of  constant  travel  unbroken  by  a  sea 
voyage,  did  Bishop  ]\Iarvm  begm  to  show"  signs  of  unrelieved 


748  BISIIOr    MARVIN. 

faliuuc.  OiK-e  or  twice,  wlicu  suffering  iVoiu  ;i  cold  "which 
ho  hud  taken  on  the  Alps,  he  expressed  the  fear  that  he  Avould 
have  to  stoj:)  a  day  or  two  for  al)soluto  rest.  A  Sabbath  in 
Cologne  was  spent  mostly  in  l)ed,  but  with  his  remarkable 
powers  of  recuperation  \ir  expressed  himself  the  following 
morning  as  anxious  to  proceed  at  once,  to  Holland.  The 
Atlantic  voyage,  however,  seemed  to  i)rove  (piite  a  tonic, 
and  on  his  return  his  friends  could  not  but  remark  his  im- 
proved health.  Ere  we  reached  London  a  considerable  bus- 
iness correspondence  began  to  tax  his  time  and  to  raise  some 
difficulties  that  evidently  jjerplexed  him.  There  Avere  com- 
plaints about  the  times  for  holding  some  of  his  conferences. 
Letters  were  Avritten  which  brethren  would  gladly  recall  if 
they  knew  that  it  was  while  seeking  to  comply  with  their 
wishes  that  he  attempted  the  unwise  and  enormous  task  of 
holding  five*  conferences  in  as  many  weeks,  and  traveling 
several  hundred  miles  between  them  to  meet  his  engage- 
ments. The  whole  tour  abroad,  busy  as  was  his  ])on  during 
nmch  of  it,  was  a  rest  compared  with  his  exacting  duties  at 
home.  Despite  the  fact  of  organic  disease  as  developed  by 
iij^ost  mortpm,  the  fresh  vigor  with  MJiich  he  returned  Avould 
have  given  him  a  new  lease  of  life  but  for  the  overwork  in 
the  conference  room,  and,  later,  with  his  pen. 

Perhaps,  chaiacter  is  nowhere  better  revealed  than  on  a 
Pacific  steamship  durinij::  a  lonir  vovairc".  The  number  of 
passengers  is  usually  small,  and  their  life  soon  becomes 
home-like  and  shows  the  i)redominant  traits  of  each.  In 
the  books  chosen  from  the  ship's  li1)rarv,  in  the  compan- 
ions selected  from  the  passenger  list,  in  the  ta})le-talk  and 
dailv  occupations,  one  soon  discovers  a\  ho  are  his  fellow- 
vovairers.  I  find  nivself  constantlv  n-vertinii'  to  our  life  on 
})oard  ship  (  which  occu[)ied  almost  three  months  of  the 
tour  )  for  the  best  insight  into  liishop  Mar\in\s  tastes  and 
character.  True,  I  saw  him  tested  l)y  the  many  varied  (ex- 
periences  of  land-travel,   now   (|uickcned  into   entliu' iasm, 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUND  THE  WORLD.  749 

again  sprunir  with  iudigiiation  ;  l)ut  on  ship-board  I  saAv  his 
character  in  repose  as  we  cahnly  discussed  the  strange  sights 
and  events  which  we  had  witnessed  in  the  Orient  or  picked 
up  the  thread  of  our  American  life  and  talked  of  men  and 
things  across  the  seas.  . 

What  constantly  impressed  me  were  his  htibits  of  intro- 
spection. Always  occupying  the  same  or  adjoining  state- 
rooms it  was  our  habit  to  si)cnd  an  hour  before  breakfast 
in  family  worship.  We  usually  read  a  couple  of  chapters 
in  each  of  the  Testaments,  pausing  to  comment,  harmonizing 
seeming  difficulties,  discussing  doctrinal  points,  and  then 
followed  the  reading  by  prayer.  The  Bishop's  prayers  at 
such  times  were  marvels  of  simplicity  and  siiicsritv.  He 
fathomed  the  great  deep  of  his  own  soul,  exposed  imi)ure 
thoughts,  checked  improper  desires,  and  questioned  all  mo- 
tives, until  it  would  seem  as  if  he  were  one  of  the  basest  of 
mortals.  It  was  thus  by  the  help  of  the  Psalmist's  prayer, 
"Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults,"  that  ho  l)ecame  one 
of  the  holiest  of  men.  His  was  one  of  the  most  transparent 
characters.  His  simplicity  and  candor  were  windows  which 
opened  his  entire  being  to  the  gaze  of  friendship.  Having 
reached  so  elevated  a  position  after  so  humble  and  unprom- 
ising a  beginning,  he  naturally  felt  some  measure  of  satis- 
faction at  his  success.  In  any  other  person  Bishop  Margin 
would  have  condoned  this  feeling  as  pardonable,  but  in  his 
own  case  he  regarded  it  as  sinful  vanity.  I  remember  that 
at  one  time  he  characterized  himself  as  "nothing  but  a  bun- 
dle of  vanity,"  because  of  dwelling  on  his  somewhat  suc- 
cessful career  ;  and  yet  while  being  driven  back  to  our  hotel 
in  London  in  the  carriage  of  a  successful  business  man,  who 
had  been  entertaining  us  by  some  account  of  his  prosperity 
after  a  most  huml)le  start  in  life,  the  Bishop  apologized  for 
him  on  the  ground  that  where  a  man's  success  was  due  so 
largely  to  his  own  mental  force  there  mio'ht  be  a  feelin<T  of 
pride  about  it  both  natural  and  innocent.     T'le  uniform  hu- 


750  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

mility  of  Bisliop  INIurviirs  character  forbids  the  thought  that 
personal  vanity  ever  obtained  the  mastery  over  him,  but  only, 
doubtless,  because  he  constantly  Avatched  his  subtle  foe. 

At  the  time  he  spoke  of  himself  so  dispara<i:ingly  he  con- 
fessed that  his  onl}^  safety  was  in  the  atoning-  merits  of  a 
merciful  Saviour,  and  that  des[)ile  the  fact  that  his  feet 
sometimes  Avell-niirh  slipped  in  tin;  midst  of  his  p(H-uliar 
temptations,  yet  Christ  was  so  consciously  i)resent  in  his 
reliiiious  life  that  he  needed  but  reach  out  his  own  tremblinir 
hand  to  touch  the  hand  that  was  pierced.  Ejaculatory  peti- 
tions were  frequently  on  his  lips,  especially  at  niirht,  Avhen 
he  seemed  most  <iiven  to  self-examination,  he  would  often 
exclaim,  "Jesus,  forgive  me  !  "  "  My  Saviour,  have  mercy  !  " 
The  conquest  of  self  which  so  impressed  all  who  knew  him 
was  a  victor}^  Avon  only  after  the  utmost  vigilance  and  the 
most  trying  struggles. 

It  was   following  such  times   of   introspection   that  he 
preached    his    most    remarkable    sermons.       At    Shanghai, 
Lucknow,  and  Bombay  he  excelled  himself  in  elevation  of 
thought  and  in  depth   of  feeling.      In  every  instance  the 
afternoon  preceding  the  evening  sermon  had  been  spent  in 
the  profound  study  of  his  oavu  religious  life  as  compared 
with  the  exalted  standard  of  the   Scnptures.     The  candor 
with  Avhich  he  confessed  his  own  derelictions  led  to  convic- 
tions of  unfaithfulness  in  the  hearts  of  his  congregation. 
His  preaching  in  each  of  these  places  ])r()duced  a  deep  im- 
I)ressi()n.     In  Shangluu  his  services  were  demanded  as  fre- 
quently as  his  official  engagements  would  permit.     Merchant 
and    missionary    seemed   alike    eager   to    hear   his  faithful 
words.     In  either  case  the  effect  seemed  to  me  to  remind 
men  of  the  elevated  claims  of  the  Gospel,  which  require  th(^ 
whole  heart.     Many  a  missionary  resumed  his  Avork  Avith 
new  consecration  after  the  tender  deliverances  of  the  Amer- 
ican preacher.     The  Bishop's  visit  was  almost  apostolic  in 
8ome  places,  Avhile  to  the  native  preachers  of  our  Chinese 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUND  THE  WORLD. 


751 


Mission  he  was  a  very  Apostle  sent  from  tlic  Church  in 
America. 

His  keen  sensibilities  brouirht  him  into  ready  sympatliy 
with  the  noble  men  who  were  laborinii'  for  the  redemption  of 
heathen  lands.  Tiie  lirst  two  nights  we  were  in  Japan  ho 
was  scarcely  a])le  to  sleep  as  he  recalled  the  temples  and  the 
idols  and  the  benighted  people.  The  burden  of  their  salva- 
tion Avas  soon  upon  his  soul,  and  it  never  left  him.  It  be- 
came a  matter  of  petition  in  both  his  public  and  private 
devotions.  It  was  no  uncommon  niing  to  pray  for  our  Chi- 
nese missionaries  by  name  long  after  we  had  left  the  coasts 
of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  He  sought  to  inspect  thoroughly 
every  branch  of  missionary  work.  He  combined  both  the 
l)hilosophical  and  the  practical  spirit.  While  he  sought  to 
trace  idolatrous  systems  to  their  source  and  to  ascertain  the 
secret  of  their  hold  on  the  masses,  he  inquired  into  the  or- 
der of  civilization  that  attended  them,  endeavored  to  learn 
their  very  best  products  in  the  comforts  of  social  life,  in 
architecture,- invention,  village  customs  and  laws,  and  then 
discussed  with  equal  interest  the  best  methods  of  enlarging 
missionary  operations  for  the  spread  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion and  its  higher  civilization.  He  seemed  to  comprehend 
in  every  case  the  difficulties  of  missionary  work,  whether  in 
light-hearted  Japan  or  superstitious  China  or  i)ollutcd, 
bigoted  India.  His  supreme  conviction  was,  that  Avhile  the 
work  of  education  was  important  and  the  press  a  mighty 
iifTencv  for  ii'ood,  no  less  in  heathen  lands  than  in  our  own, 
yet  everywhere  the  preached  Gospel  was  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation.  A  living  ministry  faithfully  proclaiming 
the  truth  nuist  ever  hold  the  prominent  place  among  all 
these  agencies  in  every  land.  The  revival  of  preaching  in 
its  l)est  sense  is  ever  a  revival  of  religion. 

While  in  Cevlon  we  met  a  lavman  of  lar<ie  influence  :  he 
was  of  English  parentage  although  a  native  of  the  island. 
At  one  time  he  was  impressed  with  the  fact  that  it  was  his 


752  liisiior  MAUNiN'. 

tint \- to  j)i'c;icli.  Tilt'  missionaries  l)('li('\  iiii;:  lliat  a  Christian 
l)arristcr  with  a  laru'c  practice  aiul  aniph'  income  would  jzivc 
a  social  status  to  the  church  among  the  Famiish-speaking 
])opulatioii,  and  that  he  could  he  largely  useful  as  a  layman, 
did  not  encoui-age  him  to  heconie  a  minister.  Theii'  ex])ec- 
taiions  of  his  usefulness  wci'e  not  (lisap[)ointc(l,  and  they 
nai'rated  the  facts  to  Bishoj)  Marvin  with  some  satisfaction. 
He  thought  about  it  much,  and  after  some  days  he  remarked 
to  me  that  he  believed  they  had  made  a  mistake.  A  man 
who  could  hold  entranced  audiences  in  Exeter  Ilall,  as  this 
gentleman  had  done,  might,  if  given  wholly  to  the  work  of 
the.  ministry,  have  had  unparalleled  success  amo  ig  both  na- 
tive and  foreign  residents  in  Ceylon.  Nothing  in  his  opinion 
was  a  substitute  for  preaching  the  Gospel.  It  was  a  fa"orite 
thought  of  his,  that  "  incandescent  thought  when  lodged  in 
words -which  themselves  take  fire"  is  the  mightiest  force 
known  to  man.  This  strong  stress  wdiich  Ik;  everywdiere  laid 
upon  the  preached  Word,  and  tht^  freijuent  illustration  which 
his  own  labors  g\-ne  of  its  ])ower,  accomplished  great  good. 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  in  Japan  expressed  by 
a  formal   communication*   their    deep   a])preciatioii    of    his 

*  Yokohama,  Japan,  Dec.  4,  1S7G. 

To  thr  licr.  Bishop  E.  M.  Marvin,  D.I").,  and  the  Tier.  E.   R.  IIkndkix, 
A.M.,  of  the  Mttthudist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  C.  S.  A. 

Dear  Brktiirkn— On  behalf  of  the  Japan  Mission  of  tlu;  Mothoclist 
Epi.sco|);i,l  Cliuicli,  U.  S.  A.,  we  desire  to  express  to  yon  ilie  f^rcaL  pleas- 
nie  and  ben  111  we  liave  received  from  your  brief  sojourn  anionti  us.  Your 
diM;oi,r>e->  at  Yokoluinia  aud  Toi^io.  to  Kuij;lisli-sp(!akin'_;'  ;;u(liences.  your 
addresses  throui^li  inie]-i)retei's  to  our  native  Church,  your  remarks  .-it  tlie 
Missionary  Conference  in  Toki  >.  tosiether  with  your  i-odly  counsel  aud 
iiearty  syiiipatliy  with  our  mi'^sionary  work,  liave  been  most  opportune  aud 
refi-esliiii;:-  to  ns,  aud,  indeed,  to  all  wlio  iiave  here  met  yon  in  tlie  social 
circle  or  waited  upon  your  public  mluistratiiuis. 

We  pray  God  to  preserve  yon  duriiiii  your  Vm-Ji  journey,  to  make  yon 
a  blessiuii  t()  a  1  wiiii  whoui  you  meet,  and.  lu  due  liuic  to  l)riu.<j;  you  safely 
lo  your  i)rloved  fauulies.  and  to  the  church  \ou  >o  worthily  represent. 
Yours  iu  the  Gospel,  Ji.  s    M  \ci,aV, 

J.  C.  Davison, 
Julius  JSonn, 

W.   C     IlAIJHlS, 
IRVIN  II     COKRELL. 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUND  THE  WORLD.  753 

services  ;  while  his  visit  to  our  Chinese  Mission,  where  he 
ordained  four  native  preachers  and  visited  each  station  of 
the  mission,  was  of  incalcuhible  benefit.     His  spirit  was  so 
admirable,  and  there  was  such  a  magnetism  about  him,  that 
he  won  all  hearts.      Quickened  zeal  followed  his  visit,  and 
unusual  results  attended  the  labors  of  both  missionaries  and 
native  helpers  after  he  had  gone.     He  refused  no  opportu- 
nity to  preach,  and  many  of  his  discourses  were  memorable 
and  powerful  expositions  of  the  word  of  God.     He  touched 
no  land  in  all  the  tour  where  he  did  not  contribute  toward 
the  success  of  the  moral  agencies  already  at  work.     While 
holding  to  the  form   of  belief  espoused  in  his  early  man-    . 
hood,  he  proved  himself  in  full  sympatliy  with  all  Christian 
views   of    whatever   name.     The    privilege    of  communing 
with  those  of  nearly  all  Protestant  sects,  and  of  many  dif- 
ferent nationalties,  ho  prized  as  one  of  the   delightful  feat- 
ures of  the  tour.     In  Japan,  in  China,  in  Ceylon,  in  India, 
in  Syria,  and  in  Turkey,  the  sacramental  services  with  many 
who  had  been  won  to  the  Christian  faith  from  the  false  re- 
ligions of  the  world  were  occasions  of  memorable  interest. 
He  so  impressed  all  with  his  singleness  of  aim  that  native 
Christians  in  Japan  and  China  followed  him  to  the  ship, 
dismissing  him  with  their  benediction  ;  while  four  hundred 
Christian  Sinohalese  arose  in  a  native  Church  in  the  heart 
of  Ce^'lon  to  pledge  him  their  prayers  for  his  successful 
mission  and  safe  return.     It  could  be  as  truly  said  o'f  him 
as  of  St.  Paul,  that  "  being  recommended  by  the  brethren 
unto  the  grace  of  God,  he  went  through   Syria  and  Cilicia 
confirming  the  Churches."     His  path  through  the  Orient 
is  radiant  with  good  words  and  works. 

One  source  of  Bishop  Marvin's  strength,  no  less  appar- 
ent during  this  tour  than  at  home,  was  his  naturalness.  He 
himself  used  to  say  :  "  Any  departure  from  simplicity  is  a 
loss  of  power."'  Whether  you  saw  him  in  the  pulpit  or  in 
the  social  circle,  or  alone,  what  first  impressed  you  was  the 


754  BISHOP  MAIiVIN. 

man  more  tluui  the  Bishop.  He  liiid  a  decided  personality, 
but  nothing  affected.  His  huiiih  was  hearty  and  genial. 
His  social  instincts  were  strons:,  and  the  hearts  which  he 
■Nvon  in  conversation  he  held  and  moved  intlie  pulpit.  Those, 
too,  wiioni  he  influenced  in  the  })ulpit  he  did  not  lose  in  so- 
cial intercourse.  He  was  fond  of  an  innocent  joUe,  and 
had  rare  powers  as  Ji  niiniic.  His  skill  in  "  taking  off  " 
operatic  singing  and  iron-side  preaching  was  something 
remarkable.  His  sense  of  the  ludicrous  was  quite  keen, 
:ind  his  happy  powers  of  description  often  reproduced  some 
ludicrous  event  for  the  merriment  of  his  friends.  I  remem- 
ber while  out  in  the  interior  in  China  the  astonishment 
which  sat  upon  the  faces  of  some  who  for  the  iirst  time 
saw  the  wonderful  mimic  whom  they  had  onlv  thought  of 
as  the  grave  Bishop.  But  there  was  never  anything  to  com- 
promise his  character,  and  the  very  naturalness  which 
charmed  in  private  won  all  hearts  in  the  pul[)it.  The  de-  . 
voted,  conscientious  minister  could  ])e  as  playful  as  a  child. 
His  simplicity  never  deserted  him,  and  as  he  went  through 
heathen  lands  toiling  missionaries  recognized  in  the 'eloquent 
Bisho[)  "  a  brother  l)oloved." 

One  day,  Avhilc  on  a  Rhine  steamer  observing  the  old 
castles  that  border  the  historic  river,  a  few  remarks  ad- 
dressed to  a  ])ystander,  made  him  the  centre  of  a  group  of 
listeners,  mostly  Americans,  who  sought  to  draw  him  out  in 
conversation.  They  discovered  that  he  was  no  ordinary 
man,  and  were  anxious  to  know  Avhat  one  of  their  distin- 
guished countrymen  was  going  down  the  Rhine  with  them. 
His  conversation  on  European  affairs  showed  that  he  w^as 
so  well  versed  in  political  matters  that  some  supposed  that 
he  must  be  a  politician  abroad.  A  hidy  insisted,  however, 
that  he  must  be  a  minister,  and,  seating  herself  where  she 
could  watch  him  at  the  dinner  table,  she  turned  triumph- 
antlv  to  a  friend  with  the  remark ;  "  I  told  you  that  he  was 
a  minister,  for  I  saw  him  bow  his  head  and  return  thanks." 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUND  THE  WORLD.  755 

He  thus  happily  illustrated  the  advice  of  a  theological  pro- 
fessor to  his  pupils  :  "  Never  demean  yourself  so  as  to  pro- 
claim yo-ur  profession  to  strangers,  but  always  act  so  that  if 
your  profession  becomes  known  no  one  will  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  you  are  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel." 

While  Bishop  Marvin  did  not  advertise  his  vocation  yet 
he  never  forgot  that  he  was  a  Christian  minister.  He  began 
to  preach  when  only  eighteen  and  made  it  his  life  work.  He 
often  said  that  any  live  lawyer  or  banker  did  more  business 
in  a  fortnight  than  he  had  done  in  all  his  life.  He  was  a 
man  of  one  work  and  of  one  book.  He  was,  accordingly,  in 
his  element  when  he  reached  the  Holy  Land.  With  the  ge- 
ography and  history  of  other  lands  he  did  not  profess  the 
most  intimate  acquaintance,  but  the  country  of  our  Lord's 
nativity  he  knew  almost  as  well  before  reaching  it  as  he  did 
his  own  native  Missouri.  With  his  keen  religious  suscepti- 
bilities the  journey  through  Palestine  was  one  long  ecstacy. 
He  had  feared  that  on  account  of  the  threatened  war  between 
Eussia  and  Turkey  that  he  would  be  unable  to  do  more  than 
to  seeJerusalem  and  a  little  of  Judea,  but  when  he  learned 
at  Cairo  that  it  would  be  perfectly  safe  to  take  the  long  tour, 
crossimr  the  foothills  of  Mount  Hermon  to  Damascus,  his 
joy  was  very  deep.    • 

I  can  see  him  now  on  the  deck  of  our  steamer  as  on  the 
morning  of  Easter  Sabbath  we  stood  gazing  upon  the  outline 
of  the  Promised  Land.  With  eager  eyes  he  looked  upon 
Mount  Carmel,  the  coast  of  old  Cesarea,  the  town  of  Joppa, 
and  the  country  of  the  Philistines,  all  stretched  out  in  a  sin- 
gle panorama,  while  the  Judean  hills  skirted  the  horizon  and 
shut  out  the  Holy  City,  This  vision,  which  until  a  few 
months  before  he  had  never  dreamed  of  enjoying,  was  a  ban- 
quet to  his  gratified  spirit.  As  we  sat,  a  few  hours  later  at 
our  hotel  window,  the  air  fragrant  with  orange  blossoms, 
and  looked  out  upon  the  Mediterranean,  the  Great  Sea  which 
had  fixed  the  thouijhtf ul   gaze  of  so  many  from  Jonah  to 


756  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Peter,  the  tir.st  impulse  was  to  thank  God  for  this  privilege, 
and  then  to  turn  to  the  narrative  of  Peter's  vision  on  the  his- 
toric housetop.  The  Bishop's  Bible  was  hardly  out  of  his 
hands  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  He  was  studying  the  religious 
historvofJoppa  and  trying  to  learn  where  and  by  Avhoni  the 
Gospel  had  been  first  preached  in  this  seaport  of  Palestine, 
so  off  the  line  of  the  Lord's  travels.  At  lenijth  he  believed 
that  he  had  found  that  it  was  none  other  than  the  evangelist 
Philip,  whose  history  after  the  baptism  of  the  eunuch  is 
summed  up  in  a  single  verse  :  "But  Philip  was  found  at 
Azotus  :  and  passing  thrqjLigh,  he  preached  in  all  the  cities,  till 
he  came  to  Cesarea  "  (Acts  viii :  40).  Joppa  being  in  the 
line  of  his  travels  was  doubtless  the  scene  of  his  labors,  per- 
haps the  lirst  ever  performed  in  Christ's  name  there,  and 
Dorcas  may  have  become  one  of  the  faithful  from  that  visit. 
This  exposition  gave  the  Bishop  great  satisfaction,  and  he 
referred  to  it  durinc;  his  sermon  in  the  afternoon  on  "Peter's 
vision." 

There  were  certain  localities  in  Palestine  where  lis  de- 
lighted to  linger  and  to  open  his  soul  to  their  sacred  associ- 
ations. One  of  these  was  the  walk  between  Jerusalem  and 
Emmaus.       Here  we  dismissed  our  carriage,  preferring  to 

oo  on  foot  the  distance  which  our  Master  walked  with  His 
o 

two  disciples.  What  an  hour  of  memorable  communion 
w'ith  each  other  and  with  Christ !  And  we  said  one  to  an- 
other, "  Did  not  our  heart  burn  within  us  while  he  ti'.lked 
with  us  by  the  way  ?  " 

In  that  conversation  lie  referred  much  to  his  earlv  life. 
He  had  not  expected  to  enjoy  this  hour.  His  ministry  had 
but  begun  when  many  looking  at  his  spare  form  had  pre- 
dicted an  early  death.  This  had  only  quickened  his  zeal  and 
multiplied  his  labors  not  knowing  but  what  his  time  was 
short  and  beinii;  anxious  to  do  what  he  could.  He  confessed 
even  to  an  enthusiasm  that  Avould  have  welcomed  death  early 
in  life.     But  God  had  spared  him  far  longer  than    he  had 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUND  THE  WORLD.  757 

expected  and  had  now  granted  him  a  joy  of  -which  he  had 
not  even  dared  to  dream.  It  was  evident  that  his  cup  was 
full  and  that  he  was  ahnost  ready  with  aged  Simeon  to  say, 
"  Now,  Lord,  lettest  Thou  tliy  servant  depart  in  peace." 

In  our  rambles  over  Olivet,  to  Bethany,  in  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat,  about  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  to  Bethel  and  Beth- 
lehem, he  found  great  delight.  His  deep  voice  lingers  on  my 
ear  even  now,  as,  seated  on  one  of  the  slopes  of  Olivet,  he 
read  John's  account  of  the  costly  ointment  that  was  poured 
upon  the  Saviour's  feet.  His  voice  comes  up  from  the 
Plain  of  Shechem  responding  its  solemn  "  Amen  "  to  the 
blessing's  and  curses  as  read  from  Ebal  and  Gerizim.  I  hear 
his  exclamations  of  delight  as  we  stand  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill  back  of  Nazareth,  or  are  being  rowed  by  Galilean  fish- 
erman across  the  Sacred  Gennesaret,  or  as  from  one  of  tha 
foothills  of  Mt.  Hermon  we  have  our  last,  lingering  views 
of  the  Holy  Land.  Here,  amid  the  sacred  places,  he  seemed 
to  be  in  that  receptive  mood  most  favorable  to  poetry  and 
eloquence.  As  he  said  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  "As  I  sat 
there  on  horseback,  gazing  upon  it  for  the  last  time, 
the  whole  scene  entered  too  deeply  into  my  heart  to  be 
forgotten.  I  am  sure  it  will  never  fade.  I  turned  my 
horse's  head  and  left  it — or,  rather  in  a  deeper  sense,  I 
carried  it  away,  a  rich  possession  of  the  soul  forever."  It 
was  thus  that  he  carried  away  much  of  Palestine  to  be  repro- 
duced with  his  marvellous  felicity  of  expression  to  the  delight 
of  admiring  audiences  for  years  to  come — but  no  !  the  fruit 
had  ripened  and  the  vine  dresser  gathered  it  for  the  celes- 
tial banquet.  Only  a  few  drops  were  pressed  from  the  pur- 
ple cluster  for  the  taste  of  expectant  men. 

Bishop  ]\Iarvin  seemed  to  enjoy  his  visit  in  Athens  more 
than  at  any  other  point  on  the  Continent.  During  the 
earlier  part  of  our  visit  there  I  was  confined  to  my  bed,  but 
the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  described  the  Parthenon  and 
other  of  the  rare  temples  of  ancient  Greece  made  me  impa- 


758  BISHOP    MARVIN. 

ticnt  to  join  him  in  .strolling  amid  these  luiiis.  With  that 
readiness  at  mustering  most  sul)jects  to  which  he  gave  his 
attention,  ho  made  a  specialty  of  architecture  for  a  few 
days,  and  had  so  fixed  the  general  rudiments  in  his  mind,  as 
well  as  the  peculiarities  of  the  different  schools,  that  he 
made  an  admirahle  cicerone  when  we  were  able  to  climb 
together  the  summit  of  the  Acropolis. 

In  the  more  familiar  portions  of  Europe  he  found  the 
usual  delight  of  the  tourist  in  visiting  the. great  art  collec- 
tions, seeing  the  w^onderf  ul  cathedrals,  witnessing  the  varied 
scenery  from  Italy  to  the  Scotch  highlands  and  the  Irish 
lakes.  It  was  his  first  visit  to  Europe,  and  ho  expected  it 
to  1)0  his  hist,  and  ho  looked  upon  everything  with  the  eyes 
of  a  traveler  who  did  not  expect  to  see  them  again.  His 
experiences  at  liomo  recalled  some  of  the  incidents  of  his 
"  Lectures  on  the  Errors  of  the  Papacy,"  during  which,  as 
he  subsequently  learned,  his  life  was  sought  by  a  Roman 
emissary  in  St.  Louis.  Now  he  walked  unharmed  in  the 
very  halls  of  the  Vatican.  As  we  passed  the  elaborate  con- 
fessionals of  St.  Peter's  he  recalled- a  remark  which  ho  had 
made  in  one  of  those  lectures  :  "  If  my  wife  had  habitually 
confessed  to  a  priest,  I  would  not  have  married  her  had  she 
been  the  only  woman  in  the  world."  This,  he  said,  he 
could  repeat  now  with  added  emphasis. 

With  his  strong  jNIothodist  affections,  he  greatly  enjoyed 
visitino-  City  Road  Chapel  in  London,  and  standing  by  the 
graves  of  John  Wesley,  and  Clarke,  and  Benson,  and  Bunt- 
in<>-,  and  just  across  in  Bunhill  Fields  of  Susanna  Wesley, 
well  worthy  to  sleep  near  the  dust  of  the  "  innnortal 
dreamer,"  John  Bunyan.  He  loved  to  linger  around  these 
spots,  and  also  Wesley's  first  Chapel  in  Bristol.  His  visit 
to  the  Wesleyan  Conference,  though  brief,  gave  him  great 
satisfaction  by  the  insight  affouded  into  the  workings  of  the 
Methodist  polity.  He  wo*n  for  himself  and  the  Church  he 
so  ably  represented  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his  English 


HIS  MISSIONARY  TOUR  AROUND  THE  WORLD.  759 

brethren,  so  that  the  kindliest  of  feelings  will  henceforth 
exist  between  the  veneruble  mother  and  her  second  largest 
daughter.  Could  his  stay  have  been  longer,  he  would  have 
found  ready  access  to  all  the  leading  J3ritish  puli)its. 

The  call  of  duty  was  now  upon  hiin,  and  he  had  only 
time  to  return  and  spend  less  than  a  week  with  his  family 
ore  his  official  work  in  presiding  at  the  Fall  Conferences 
should  bei^in.  He  often  lamented  during  his  absence  his 
inability  to  sermonize.  His  mind,  he  said,  would  not  take 
hold  of  a  tpxt  with  sufficient  grasp  for  the  making  of  new 
sermons,  and  he  had  to  l)e  content  with  preaching  such  as 
he  had  prepared  before.  But  crossing  the  Atlantic,  his 
mental  hal)its  ])ogan  to  be  adju'sted  to  the  requirements  of 
his  work  in  America,  a-id  he  rejoiced  at  the  ease  with  which 
he  was  able  to  sermonize  again,  declaring  that  he  had 
mapped  out  with  some  satisfaction  the  analysis  of  several 
discourses.  His  whole  mental  force  seemed  turned  back 
into  its  old  channel,  and  I  observed  that  until  we  parted  in 
St.  Louis,  with  nmtual  congratulations  on  our  successful 
tour,  his  uninterrupted  moments  were  spent  in  close  thought. 
He  had  the  happy  faculty  of  thinking  in  the  midst  of  the 
noise  and  confusion  of  travel.  His  moving  lips  indicated 
that  he  was  often  giving  many  of  his  thoughts  their  rhetori- 
cal dress,  while  his  unconscious  gesticulation  would  enforce 
some  of  his  periods. 

He  thus  reached  home  prepared  for  the  greatest  useful- 
ness. He  had  as  never  before  the  ear  of  the  public.  Only 
one  other  Bishop  had  ever  made  an  official  tour  of  the 
world.  No  tour  had  ever  awakened  so  much  interest,  or 
made  so  favorable  an  impression  as  his.  While  his  preach- 
ing was  commanding  vast  audiences  in  one  hemisphere,  his 
letters  were  beins;  read"  bv  eao;er  thousands  in  the  other. 
His  Church  felt  a  natural  pride  in  her  distinguished  Bishop 
and  servant.  But  when  she  thought  herself  rich  in  his  ac- 
cumulated stores  of  information  and  in  his  enlarged  views 


760  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

and  sympathies,  she  was  called  to  lament  her  sudden  })overty 
and  to  mourn  her  irreparable  h)ss. 

Bishop  Marvin's  missionary  tour  acconi[)lished  all  that 
he  or  the  Board  of  Missions  could  have  hoped.  It  brought 
the  Church  to  a  close  view  of  the  very  foj-cfront  of  the 
great  battle- waging  for  the  world's  conquest.  It  made  men 
comprehend  more  fully  their  opportunity  and  their  duty. 
With  his  bugle  call  yet  ringing  in  their  ears  he  fulls  ia  the 
conHict,  and  they  are  left  to  win  the  battle. 


-&-<=>^^P^^^=^^ 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII.  n- 


IN    MISSOURI LAST     DAYS. 

"  My  latest  sun  is  sinking  fast, 
My  race  is  neaiMy  run  ; 
My  strongest  trials  now  are  past, 
My  triumph  is  beguu." 

— Land  of  Beulah. 

.IflY-HE  life  and  labors  of  Bishop  Marvin,  which  had  their 
^1^^  beginning,  had  their  close  in  Missouri.  In  the  tirst 
half  of  this  Volume  there  is  record  of  them  from  the  cradle 
to  the  maturity  of  his  age  and  powers,  and  embracing  minis- 
terial labors  during  twenty-two  consecutive  years  of  his  public 
life.  Of  the  remaining  sixteen  years,  nearly  twelve  of 
which  were  employed  in  his  Episcopal  office,  very  much  of 
its  cares  and  service  was  expended  among  the  Churches  and 
in  the  Conferences  of  Missouri.  At  length,  in  fitting  termi- 
nation, he  ended  his  days  in  the  midst  of  the  associations  of 
his  earlier  years,  and  laid  down  his  charge  where  first  he 
took  it  up. 

Nowhere,  more  than  in  this  peculiarly  home-field,  has  his 
work  been  more  abundant  and  various  or  more  acceptable 
and  useful.  His  Episcopal  residence,  it  must  have  been  ob- 
served, was  favorably  located — at  St.  I^ouis,  which,  among 
its  other  peculiar  cognomens,  has  been  called  "the  half- 
way house  between  the  Oceans."  Within  a  half  hour's 
walk  from  his  residence  were  points  of  departure,  in  direct 
travel  and  on  lio-htnino;  trains,  for  either  Coast  of  a  Conti- 
nent  and  across  Arkansas   into  Texas.     Along  the  front  of 


762  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

the  great  city,  the  Father  of  "Waters  flowed  to  the  Gulf, 
■with  its  lateral  streams  and  railroad  connections  reachino;  to 
the  Middle  Conferences  and  to  the  most  northern  and  south- 
ern borders  of  tlie  vast  jurisdiction — all  locating  him  at 
the  centre  of  the  Connection.  It  contril)uted  to  the  wide 
oversight  and  extensive  travel  and  abundant  labors  recorded 
in  tlie  foregoing  pages.  In  the  polic}''  of  his  Episcopal  ad- 
ministration, the  view,  con\ersely,  was  prominent  and  pro- 
found, that  the  Church  nmst  be  fostered  at  the  Great 
Central  City  of  the  Continent  and  in  the  Empire  State  of 
the  Great  West.  , 

Though  not  in  the  Plan  of  his  Episcopal  Visitation  his 
labors  in  Missouri  began  in  the  first  year  of  his  Episcopacy. 
After  the  session  of  the  Texas  Conferences  in  the  fall  of 
18l)G,  on  his  return  to  ^Missouri  in  December,  he  was  met  by 
multitudinous  and  clamorous  calls  for  visitation  tuid  service. 
By  being  put  away  in  an  old  trunk  the  letters  have  l)een 
preserved,  making  several  large  bundles.  They  are  sugges- 
tive at  every  point — an  universal  and  hearty  welcome  baek 
to  his  native  State  and  his  old  Conferences  ;  al)ounding  in 
sentiments  of  personal  love  ;  full  of  tender  reminiscences  ; 
containing  a  picture  of  the  times,  after  the  desolation  of 
the  Civil  War,  and  sad  stoi'ies  of  individual  distress  as  well 
as  Church  disaster.  Some  of  the  calls  are  triplicated  in  de- 
fault of  reply  to  the  former — the  reason  of  it,  the  writer 
knows,  in  utter  perplexity  how  he  might,  as  he  wished,  res- 
pond with  an  universal  compliance,  and  delaying  answer  till  he 
could  project  a  i)lan  of  visitation  intelligently  and  make  the 
inostof  time  and  sti'engtli.  At  length,  it  was  formed  and  em- 
ployed every  Sabbath  and  all  ^\■eeks  till  the  sessions  of  the 
Conferences  in  the  fall  of  1(S()7  ;  and  thereafter,  in  like  stretch 
and  strain  of  ardor  and  energy,  throughout  the  fall  and 
winter  and  spring  and  summer,  till  his  departure  for  the 
Pacific  Coast  in  the  last  days  of  July,  1868.  The  extraor- 
dinary itinerancy  on    the    Pacific    Coast    closed    his  first 


IX  MISSOURI LAST    DAYS.  763 

Episcopal  qiuulrciinium,  during  wliicli  lie  had  traversed  the 
"Western  field  in  its  whole  extent — his  laijors  elsewhere,  he 
has  said,  were  surpassed  by  the  travel  and  preaching  in  Mis- 
souri. 

In  the  subsequent  quadrennium,  much  of  every  year, 
durinir  the  intervals  of  Annual  Conferences,  ho  spent 
ill  preaching  tours  in  its  bounds.  He  has  been  in  every  sec- 
tion of  the  State,  in  every  Presiding  Elder's  district  of  the 
three  Conferences,  and  for  the  most  part  in  their  Circuits 
and  Stations.  In  every  section  there  are  fruits  of  his  pulpit 
— its  converts  in  Missouri,  from  first  to  last,  to  1)e  counted 
bv  the  thousand.  In  all  quarters,  throughout  the  Confer- 
ences, he  has  been  a  benign  presence  among  the  Churches — 
in  all  forms  of  ministry  and  great  in  all.  In  his  Episcopal 
office,  conspicuous  throughout  the  entire  Connection  as  the 
larae-minded,  enterprising  and  indefatigable  General  Super- 
intendent, in  the  home  field,  he  was  watchful,  painstaking, 
untirino",  his  own  transcending  the  labors  of  any  of  its  Dio- 
cesan  Bishops. 

Pre-eminently  and  by  every  personal  consideration,  as 
well  as  ofiicial  fidelity.  Bishop  Marvin  was  enlisted  for  Mis- 
souri Methodism — its  purity,  its  peace,  its  power  ;  and  for 
all,  with  single-minded  purpose  and  self-sacrificing  devotion 
and  eminently,  with  prevalent  influence  and  control.  Cor- 
respondingly, he  was  an  acknowledged  leader,  and  in  the 
midst  was  not  only  an  aggressive  but  centripetal  force. 
Happening  in  his  last  years.  Church  troubles  in  Missouri  are 
too  notorious  not  to  be  known  throughout  the  Connection. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  this  Volume  to  abstain  from  review  of 
them.  In  these  lines  the  silence  is  not  broken,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, in  saying,  what  will  be  recognized  by  all  as  proper 
and  universally  admitted,  that  no  man  could  have  held  and 
guided  the  elements  of  disturbance  with  a  more  powerful 
and  iniluential  hand  ;  and  none  could  have  borne  himself 
with    more    dignity,   more    meekness,  more    self-contained 


764  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

power — :it  length,  closing  his  life  and  hibors  in  the  Missouri 
(.'hurches,  at  the  end  as  at  the  beginning,  the  idol  of  their 
affections  and  enshrined  in  their  veneration  ;  in  those 
troubles,  some  disapproving  his  administration,  but  few,  if 
any,  dismissing  him  from  their  respect  and  love. 

In  the  distribution  of  lal)ors  among  the  Bishops,  the 
charo-e  of  the  Conferences  in  :Missouri  fell  to  Bishop  Mar. 
vin  only  twice — in  1867-8,  and  in  tiic  last  year  of  his  life. 
The  advice  of  Bishop  Andrew,  locating  his  residence  in  his 
native  State  for  particular  and  constant  supervision  of  its 
Church-work,  was  well-founded  and  well-justitied.  His 
first  coming  was  timely  and  of  incalculable  advantage.  lie 
returned  to  Missouri,  after  the  war,  to  find  the  Methodism 
m  which  he  was  born  to  God,  and  for  which  he  had  toiled 
in  the  dew  of  his  youth,  prostrate  and  bleeding.  Not  long 
before,  literally,  the  Conferences  had  confronted  the  ques- 
tion of  their  possible  existence.  The  situation  in  the  Mis- 
souri Conference  during  those  dark  days  Bishop  Marvin  has 
delineated  in  his  Life  of  Caples.  In  the  St.  Louis  Confer^ 
eiice  the  prostration  and  the  peril,  if  possil)le,  were  still 
<rreater.  The  writer  has  still  in  his  possession  a  communi- 
cation  from  Western  ^Missouri,  signed  by  as  true  sons  of 
Southern  Methodism  as  ever  wrote  or  spoke  for  it  or  suf- 
fered for  its  name's  sake,  who,  in  the  consternation  of  the 
shock  at  the  first  and  during  a  bloody  tribulation,  suggested 
whether  the  Church  could  survive  the  odium  of  its  connec- 
tional  relation  with  the  Church  in  the  South,  and  submitting 
whether  it  might  not  and  should  not  be  dissolved  for  the 
time  of  this  distress — at  least  the  name  changed.  The  com- 
munication was  addressed  to  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the 
St.  Louis  District ;  at  that  time  the  only  district  organiza- 
tion remaining  on  the  south  side  of  the  Missouri  River. 
The  reply  came  from  Bjoyle,  Morris,  Browning  and  Protts- 
man  among  the  older  men,  and  was  the  voice  of  all — the 
flag  with  its  old  inscription,  M.  E.  Church,  South,  nmst  not 


IN  MISSOURI LAST  DAYS.  7G5 

be  lowered  ;  if  the  Conference  goes  down  in  the  stress  of  the 
tempest,  it  must  bo  with  its  colors  flying  from  the  mast- 
head . 

Subsequently,  Bishop  Kavanaugh,  the  only  Bishop  re- 
maining within  the  Federal  lines,  at  the  first  opening  for  his 
visitation,  was  among  the  desolated  fields  of  Missouri  Meth- 
odism and  rallied  the  broken  ranks  of  its  Conferences.  At 
his  coming,  it  was  in  doubt  whether,  in  holding  his  first 
Conference  in  Northeast  Missouri,  the  arrest  of  his  person 
was  not  impending.  It  will  be  remembered  by  every  one 
of  the  thirty  preachers  who  were  convened  at  St.  Louis  in 
Conference  session,  in  the  basement  of  the  First  Church, 
the  appearance  of  an  uniformed  young  Lieutenant,  stalking 
up  the  middle  aisle  with  heavy  tread  and  the  spurs  of  his 
military  boots  clanking  on  the  floor — in  a  Church  Court  to 
require  of  it  an  oath  of  loyalty  to  Caesar.  The  w'riter  has 
in  his  possession  the  phonographic  report  of  the  grand  and 
brave  sermon  of  Bishop  Kavanaugh  on  Sunday  morning, 
from  the  text,  "Be  it  known  unto  you  that  we  will  not 
bow  down  to  your  image,"  Only  two  men  sat  with  the 
Bishop  in  his  Cabinet — one  of  them,  Ecv,  S,  S.  Headlee. 
"I  am  making  these  appointments,"  said  the  Bishop  in  the 
stationins:  room,  "  with  a  feeling  as  solemn  as  death." 
When  he  read  out  the  appointments,  he  added,  "I  do  not 
know  but  that  I  am  sendino;  men  to  their  ijraves." 

It  happened  even  so.  On  the  Lord's  day,  in  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  House  of  God,  on  his  way  to  preach,  Pleadlee 
was  murdered  by  a  band  of  men,  with  McNabb,  a  Northern 
Methodist  local  preacher,  as  the  rhigleader  of  the  mob,  and 
his  house  the  place  of  noon-refreshment  after  the  murderous 
deed  was  done.  Nobody  thought  of  arresting  the  murder- 
ers. At  that  time  a  trial  would  have  been  a  mockery  of 
justice,  and  conviction  futile.  It  is  reported  of  the  Chief 
Executive  of  the  State,  w4io  had  recently  been  in  the  local- 
ity of  the  murder,  that  he  gave  the   ominous   counsel,   "  If 


7G6  BISIIOr    MARVIN. 

he  preaches,  stone  hi  in  from  the  hill."  He  had  previously 
procluinieel  publicly  that  "  the  Northern  JMcthodist  Church 
in  tlie  St;ite  was  a  better  reliance  than  liis  mililia."  The 
spirit  of  political  frenzy  and  ecclesiastical  hate  and  vandal- 
ism, w  liich  cannot  be  gibbeted  on  the  gallows,  was  the  real 
culprit.  It  can  only  have,  as  it  ought  to  have,  and  must 
have,  its  trial  and  its  doom  at  the  bar  of  history  and  at  the 
tril)unal  of  rctril^utive  Providence.  How  a  radical  and  un- 
righteous and  remorseless  ecclesiasticism  run  the  o-overn- 
nient,  and  Southern  Methodism  was  put  under  the  ban  of 
political  proscription,  had  many  illustrations  in  the  seizure 
of  Churches  without  redress,  and  by  more  than  one  instance 
of  the  process,  with  impunity,  to  silence  its  pulpit  by  kill- 
ing its  preachers — so  the  graves  of  Ashby  of  the  Missouri 
and  of  Woods  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  as  well  as  the 
monument  of  Headlee,  record  it. 

The  martyrdom  of  Headlee  had  date  in  the  year  of 
Bishop  Marvin's  election  to  the  Episcopacy — July  28,  18G6. 
When  he  came  back  to  Missouri,  in  the  last  month  of  that 
year,  the  proscription  was  still  in  existence  and  in  its  rage. 
Th'^re  is  an  illustration  of  it  in  his  personal  history,  in  an 
incident  which  may  not  be  generallj^  known.  It  is  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  Literary  Address  which  he 
delivered  at  the  State  University  in  June,  1872,  but  which 
was  first  requested  for  June,  1867.  The  facts  are  suffi- 
ciently indicated  in  the  following  letter  found  among  the 
Bishop's  papers,  wdiich  is  printed  entire,  except  the  name  of 
the  writer,  which  would  be  recognized  as  prominent  and 
most  highly  respectable  :   " 

Columbia,  Mot,  February  21,  18G7. 
Bev.  E.  M.  Marvin,  St.  Charles,  Mo.: 

Sir — The  young  gentlemen  of  the  Literary  Societies  of  the  State  Uni. 
versily  at  this  place  have,  in  accordance  with  their  own  taste,  and  at  the 
instance  of  not  a  few  of  your  friends  here  in  general,  recently  requested 
you  to  deliver  an  address  before  their  respective  bodies  in  June  next. 
Some  more  deliberative  and  judicious  friends  have  desired  me  to  say  to 
you,  as  our  School  is  a  State  Institution,  and  the  State  being  just  now  in 


IN"  MISSOURI LAST    DAYS.  767 

the  hands  of  the  Radicals,  that  it  might  l)e  prudent  for  them  to  use  a  lit- 
tle policy  in  the  selection  of  their  orator  just  now,  especially  as  the  insti- 
tution is  at  this  time  making  strenuous  efforts  to  secure  the  establishment 
of  the  College  of  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Arts  in  connection  with  it. 
As  you  and  myself  received  during  tha  war  somewhat  similar  treatment 
from  the  powers  that  were,  I  was  pitched  upon  to  express  to  you,  not  their 
wish  to  fail  in  having  you  addi'css  them,  but  their  regret  that  for  the  time 
being  The  good  of  all  perhaps  demanded  it. 

I  trust,  my  dear  sir,  that  the  d;iy  will  come  when  our  much-abused  State 
and  general  privileges  as  a  Christian  Nation  will  not  remain  in  their  pres- 
ent down-trodden  condition. 

I  shall  be  exceedingly  happy  to  hear  from  jow.,  and  to  have  an  intima- 
tion of  your  determination,  in  a  few  years  at  the  farthest,  to  meet  the 
boys'  desire. 

Respectfully, 

Of  course  the  Bishop  recalled  his  acceptance  of  a  re- 
called invitation.  The  reply  to  his  letter,  releasing  them, 
shows  how  embarrassed  the  "  boys  "  were,  and  how  profuse 
ill  assurances  that  "neither  the  students  nor  tlie  faculty 
could  see  any  grounds  on  Avhich  to  base  justly  such  preju- 
dice ;  "  but  the  prejudice  was  dominant  and  spared  neither 
education  nor  religion  in  its  remorseless  proscription  of  any 
person  or  thing  bearing  the  name  or  affinities  of  '•^ South.' ^ 

At  the  session  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference  in  the  fall 
of  18G6,  at  Lexington,  held  by  Bishop  Doggett,  there  was 
not  a  single  representative  from  the  region  of  country  'where 
Ileadlee's  irrave  was  duii ;  and  none  from  an  area  of  one- 
third  of  the  Conference  territory.  ^  From  that  Conference 
Rev.  Jacob  Ditzler  was  sent  out  to  explore  the  land.  At 
the  next  session,  held  by  Bishop  Marvin  at  Kansas  City,  he 
brought  back  a  sad  story  of  desolation  and  spoliation.  That 
section  had  been  in  the  past  a  fair  heritage  and  the  most 
fruitful  field  of  the  Conference — now,  a  waste,  blackened  in 
places  l)y  the  ashes  and  rubbish  which  marked  the  path  of 
the  notorious  and  infamous  "Order  No.  10,"  which  con- 
sijxiied  citizens  of  whole  counties  to  exile  and  their  homes 
to  the  torch  ;  and  in  the  scourge  of  Southern  IMethodism, 
Louses  of  -worship  wrested  from  it,  congregations  dispersed. 


7G8  BISHOP  MAl-wVIX. 

and  preachers  driven  away  or  silenced  or  slain.  At  that 
Conference,  men  who  had  laid  foundations  in  lliat  country, 
in  the  former  days,  were  present ;  amon<^them,  prominently, 
AVinton  and  Webster.  The  Bishop  had  his  home  and  held 
his  Cabinet  at  the  residence  of  the  AvidoAv  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Johnson,  of  the  old  Indian  Mission  in  Kansas,  who, -also, 
had  fallen  by  the  hand  of  violence.  In  the  facts  of  the  sit- 
uation and  in  the  memories  of  the  past,  there  was  both  de- 
mand and  inspiration  for  heroic  daring  and  endurance.  It 
had  ready  and  brave  response  in  the  heart  and  administra- 
tion of  Bishop  Marvin  and  in  the  sentiment  and  sympathy 
of  the  Conference.  The  whole  body  felt  the  pang  of  the 
smitten  member,  and  there  was  not  wanting  men  for  the 
work  at  the  rallying-call  of  the  Bishop- — -•'  The  Inirnt  district 
must  be  recovered." 

The  lirst  explorers  went  out  in  the  face  of  thrcatenings 
and,  as  was  thought,  in  some  places  in  peril  of  death.  They 
returned  from  the  tour  of  exploration  to  tell  of  noble  Christian 
men  eA^erywhere  abiding  faithful  to  the  Church  in  scA'-erest 
trials  of  fidelity  and  3^ct  in  much  patience.  As  soon  as  the 
old  standard  was  lifted  up,  the  old  Methodism  flocked  around 
it.  They  hailed  AAath  joy  the  return  of  their  preachers.  The 
timid  and  the  false  had  fled.  Many  remained  and  rallied  at 
the  roll-call  of  the  old  class  books.  Reorganization  com- 
menced. The  disordered  work  was  soon  mapped  into  cir- 
cuits. A  band  of  local  preachers,  Avorthy  of  their  office 
and  their  orders  in  the  Church  of  God,  assumed  pastoral 
charge  and  undertook  the  labors  of  the  itinerant  ministry 
and  Avith  the  fervor  of  its  zeal.  At  each  successive  Conference 
reports  Avere  brought  up  of  rapid  and  extensive  restoration. 
Tlie  soil  had  been  fertilized  with  the  tears  of  trial  and  even 
enriched  Avith  the  blood  of  martyrs.  Such  fields  quickly  res- 
pond to  culture  and  3'icld  luxuriantly. 

In  the  summer  of  1870,  he  made  the  two  Aveeks* 
preaching  excursion,  recorded  on  a  former  page — commenc- 


IN  MISSOURI LAST  DAYS.  769 

ing  atPleasimt  Hill,  with  a  line  of  week  night  appointments 
extending  across  the  "  Burnt  District,"  and  terminating  at 
the  Red  Oak  Camp  Meeting  and  District  Conference.  As 
described  by  the  Presiding  Elder  it  was  a  triumphal  march. 
Ilis  own  note  of  it  is  significant  of  the  former  and  the  later 
history — at  Red  Oak,  the  father  of  his  host  had  been  slain 
for  his  principles,  and  at  the  Camp-ground,  preaching  to 
the  laro-est  cono-reo-ations  he  had  ever  faced. 

At  its  session  in  the  fall  of  1870,  the  Old  St.  Louis 
Conference  Avas  divided,  the  present  Southwest  Missouri 
Conference  having  been  set  off  at  that  time,  under  the  author- 
ization of  the  General  Conference  held  at  Memphis  the  pre- 
vious s[)ring.  Bishop  Marvin  was  absent  in  Texas  at  the 
time.  If  present,  he  Avould  have  opposed  it  strenuously.  In 
one  of  his  published  letters  he  asserted  strongly  the  impolicy 
of  jt.  Such,  indeed,  was  the  sentiment  of  the  majority  of 
the  Committee  reporting  the  measure  and  also,  it  is  believed, 
of  the  Conference — assented  to,  as,  at  the  time,  a  choice  of 
evils.  The  division  miiihthave  been  delaved,  but  it  became 
apparent  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  time  ;  and  it  Avas  bet- 
ter to  part  when  it  might  be  done  leaving  the  separated 
Conferences  in  harmony,  Avhich  could  not  be  expected  as  one 
body  touching  the  matters  of  difference.  The  personal  ties 
between  the  members  of  the  old  St.  Louis  Conference  were 
kind  and  strong,  and  so  have  continued.  The  evils  which 
Bishop  IVIarvin  deplored  are  radical  and  still  remain.  It 
may  well  be  considered  wdiether,  at  this  date,  the  best  inter- 
ests of  both  bodies  might  not  be  subserved  by  re-union. 
The  late  General  Conference  authorized  it.  It  is  the  purpose 
of  this  paragraph  to  say  that,  if  living.  Bishop  Marvin  Avould 
say  of  it,  Amen  ;  and  had  he  lived,  it  is  probable,  would 
have  advocated  it. 

The  division  has  had  some  indemnifications,  resulting  as 
it  did  in  the  more  rapid  development  of  the  work  in  one 
Conference  ;  and  particularly  in  the  earlier  and  larger  cul- 


770  BISHOr  MARA'IN. 

tivation  of  the  hard  fields  of  the  other.  In  llie  partition  of 
territory,  it  happened,  -what  Bi.sliop  Marvin  said  of  that  l)e- 
tween  the  Trinity  and  East  Texas  Conferences,  the  Southwest 
Missouri  Conference  got  the  "  lion's  share."  This  was  in- 
evitable— in  the  necessity  of  the  case.  With  the  old  name, 
the  mission  fields,  on  mountain  and  in  swamp,  covering  more 
than  half  its  bounds,  fell  to  the  other  C'onference.  In  those 
fi(>l(ls,  at  this  date,  there  has  been  large  progress  in  building 
up  the  waste  i)laces. 

In  the  work  of  both  Conferences,  Bishop  Marvin's  hand 
is  seen — in  foreiroiniz:  ])aires  larsze  record  of  labors  in  Central 
and  Southwest  Missouri.  In  the  Southeast  they  Avere 
abundant — in  the  breadth  of  visitation,  culminating  in  that 
of  the  old  Salem  District  in  1874,  at  Thomasville,  in  Oregon 
County,  and  in  Texas  County  at  Licking,  lying  at  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  Avhere  no 
Bishop  had  ever  before  been.  It  was  the  mountain  district, 
and  had  been  for  twenty  years  the  mission  field  of  the  Con- 
ference. At  each  place  he  remained  a  week.  People  came 
from  long  distances  and  crowds  attended  his  preaching.  It 
was  in  power — forty  conversions,  as  it  is  recollected,  at 
Thomasville,  and  a  still  larger  number  at  Licking.  In  pre- 
ceding years  he  had  expended  large  labors  at  other  points  in 
Southeast  Missouri,  along  the  line  of  the  St.  Louis,  Iron 
Mountain  and  Southern  Kail  way — notably,  at  Irondale, 
where  he  held  a  District  Conference  and  dedicated  the 
Church.  He  remained  over  a  second  Sabbath  and  preached 
at  the  neio-hborinir  town  of  Potosi,  in  the  same  house  and 
standing  in  the  same  pulpit  which  Bishop  Soule  occupied, 
when  he  held  the  Missouri  Conference  there  in  1829.  He 
returned  to  Irondale  in  the  sunnner  to  a  meeting,  which  was 
held  under  a  brush  arbor  in  the  edge  of  the  town.  It  was 
the  privilege  of  the  writer  to  be  present  and  to  know  of  its 
power  and  prevalency.  It  is  still  talked  of  in  that  commu- 
nity and    vicinity.      There    were    scores    of  conversions  ; 


IN  MISSOURI LAST    DAYS.  771 

amons:  them  a  vouns:  man,  who  died  soon  after,  the  son  of 
the  venerable  James  Evans',  Sr.,  of  Caledonia,  who  said  to 
the  writer  while  these  pages  are  being  penned,  "  that  meet- 
ino;  saved  mv  son." 

Bishop  Soule,  on  his  way  to  hold  the  Conference  iu  How- 
ard Comity,  in  1828,  first  beheld  St.  Louis,  then  a  small 
town.  His  prescient  e^'e  foresaw  its  inevitable  and  great 
future.  Ever  afterwards,  in  the  cares  of  his  Episcopacy, 
it  was  in  his  mind  and  on  his  heart.  At  the  session  of  the 
same  Conference  held  in  Arkansas,  he  sent  to  its  station  E. 
AV.  Sehon  from  the  Ohio  Conference  ;  and  afterwards,  from 
Pittsburg,  Druinmond,  whose  dying  words  have  become  a 
shibl)oleth  of  the  INIethodist  itinerancy — "  Tell  my  breth- 
ren of  the  Pittsburg  Conference  that  I  fell  at  my  post." 
Later,  Edgar  R.  Ames,  who  became  Bishop  in  the  jNL  E. 
Church,  was  brouirht  from  Indiana  ;  and  as  late  as  1842, 
from  the  Pittsburg  Conference,  Joseph  Boyle,  successor  and 
compeer  of  Drummond,  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  his  min- 
istry. St.  Louis  was  held  by  Bishop  ]Marvin  in  like  estima- 
tion ;  far  more  than  in  any  other  single  locality,  bestowing 
upon  it  personal  service  and  oificial  cares.  Its  church-work 
was  on  his  hands  when  he  left  the  State  in  1862,  and  was 
the  first  taken  in  hand,  when  he  returned  to  it,  as  Bishop. 
It  was  signalized  by  service,  at  a  critical  juncture,  which 
added  St.  John's  Church  to  St.  Louis  Methodism.  That 
enterprise  was  like  the  church-building  by  the  Blackwater 
class  for  the  town  of  Brownsville,  only  on  a  larger  scale — 
the  Methodism  of  the  city  building  for  Stoddard  Addition, 
which  has  since  become,  as  it  was  foreseen,  the  best  resi- 
dence portion  of  the  city.  Its  plan,  accordingly,  was  not  a 
chapel,  but  an  edifice,  at  a  cost  for  ground  and  building  and 
furniture  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  enterprise 
was  large,  unselfish,  missionary.  It  commanded  his  admi- 
ration. Only  about  half  the  cost  was  provided,  and  the  sub- 
scription had  halted.     His    solicitude   was  awakened.     He 


772  BISHOP   MARVIN. 

I 

met  the  Coiniuiiiec.  JL  Avas  his  lirst  w<»r<l  at  lh(!  Imsiness 
interview — "  Let  us  lay  this  matter  before  God."  His  in- 
terest and  anxiety  entered  into  his  prayer.  God  v.as  in  the 
midst.  The  next  voice  was,  "I'll  nivo  five  thousand  dol- 
lars." The  subscription  went  on,  and  in  the  following  sum- 
mer, in  June,  1867,  Bishop  ]\Iannn  spoke  at  the  laying  of 
the  corner-stone.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  appointed  F. 
A.  Morris  to  the  pastoral  charge,  who  reported  at  the  next 
Conference  the  Chapel  dedicated  and  a  society  of  over  two 
hundred  members.  Before  the  end  of  his  four  years'  term 
the  main  edifice  was  completed. 

At  St.  John's,  as  in  all  the  St.  Louis  Churches,  Bishop 
Marvin  has  labored  on  the  building  of  the  spiritual  house — 
notaldy,  during  the  quadremiium  of  its  second  pastor,  liev. 
Dr.  J.  AV.  Lewis,  especially  in  a  meeting  at  which  there 
were  about  one  hundred  accessions.  Another  such  instance 
of  tlic  zeal  and  power  of  his  pul})it  occurred  at  the  meeting 
connected  with  th.e  rehabilitation  and  reopening  services  at 
the  First  Church.  The  meeting  Avas  continued  for  sixty 
days,  and  resulted  in  nearly  two  hundred  additions  to  the 
Church.  Durinix  the  lirst  week  P>ishop  ISrarvin  preached 
every  uii;-]il,  and  left  the  meeting  in  full  tide  of  revival,  llis 
voice  was  familiar  in  all  pulpits.  His  prayers  were  heard 
at  all  altar  places.  At  the  week-night  prayer  meeting  of 
every  society  he  was  a  M^orshiper,  and  a  witness  in  their 
love-feasts,  and  a  visitor  at  their  firesides.  He  sat  at  the 
council-board  of  Church  enterprise,  and  was  a  servant  in  its 
toils — in  the  midst  of  the  Churches,  pastor,  evangelist, 
counselor  and  leader. 

Most  prominent  among  occasions  was  the  commemora- 
tion of  the  Semi-Centenary  of  St.  Louis  Methodism,  on  the 
third  Sunday  in  January,  1871.  It  was  gi-and  in  programme 
and  performance.  There  were  present  the  surviving  old 
pioneers  of  Missouri  ^lethodism.  It  was  a  re-union  of  th« 
former  St.  Louis  pastors — at   their  head,  Andrew  Monroe, 


IN  MISSOURI r^AST    UAYS.  773 

from  the  pasroriite  of  LS2P).  Four  Bishops  wcrc^  in  attend- 
ance, each  for  sennoiis  on  the  Sa])l)alh  and  an  adch-css  on 
a  special  topic  during  the  week.  IVisliop  Marvin  i)r('ached 
at  St.  Paul — his  sermon  the  discourse  in  his  volume  of  ser- 
mons on  Spiritual  Thrift.  He  delivered  the  ('ommemorative 
address.  It  was  extemporaneous.  The  line  of  thought  and 
the  substance  of  it  were  embodied  in  the  grand  address  de- 
livered at  the  Centennial  of  North  Carolina  Metliodism. 
He  made  a  journey  from  Texas  in  mid-winter  to  be  present  at 
St.  Louis  on  that  occasion.  He  had  great  personal  enjoyment 
in  the  religious  services,  and  satisfaction  with  the  practical  re- 
sults. In  the  two  preceding  years  St.  Louis  Methodism  had 
contributed  to  church  building  and  to  the  educational  and  pul)- 
lishin"-  interests  of  the  Church  well  nigh  two  hundred  thous- 
and  dollars.  The  pledges  to  the  memorial  fund  reached  an 
additional  hundred  thousand. 

His  coming  was  preceded  by  a  pu])lished  letter  of  accept- 
ance of  the  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  commemoration. 
Letter,  sermon  and  address  disclose  his  personal  relations  to 
jNIethodism  in  St.  Louis,  his  ho[)e  in  it,  his  charge  to  it. 
The  necessitv  and  the  conditions  of  growth  are  propounded 
in  the  sermon.  "  Let  us  away  from  these  commemorative 
services  to  our  work,"  is  a  last  word  of  argument  in  the 
address;  and  in  the  closing  paragraph,  an  eloquent  picture 
of  centennial  rejoicings — fifty  years  hence — when  the  cii}^ 
shall  number  its  population  l)y  millions  and  its  Methodist 
Churches  l)y  the  hundred.  The  letter  is  a  link  which  con- 
nects his  former  pastoral  charge  with  his  Episcopal  over- 
sight— in  both,  the  same  spirit,  the  same  jealousy  for  God 
and  for  souls,  the  same  philosophy  of  Church -power,  the 
same  exaltation  of  Christ.  Appropriately,  it  may  be  con- 
sidered and  may  appear  on  this  page,  as  directory  and  in- 
citement of  zeal  for  the  present  .and  future  generations  of 
St.  Louis  Methodists — in  its  jceneral  facts  and  distinctive 
principles,  for  the  Methodism  of  his  own  and  all  lands  : 


77  i  BISHOr  MARVIX. 

Rkv.  T.  M.  Finney: 

Dear  Brother :-Youvs  of  the  lOtli  inst.  has  just  been  received,  and  brings 
me  au  invitation  to  attend  and  particii)ate  in  the  ai)i)roaclung  celebration  of 
the  Scnii-Centenary  of  St.  Louis  Methodi>ni. 

As  you  are  aware,  it  was  my  purpose  to  spend  the  entire  winter  and 
ear'y  Spring  in  Texas.  I  proposed  to  do  tliis  for  two  reasons;  First,  be- 
cause I  have  heretofore  suffered  considerably  in  health  by  going  out  of  a 
Southern  climate,  into  the  latitude  of  Missouri  in  mid-winter;  and,  secondly, 
on  account  of  a  conviction  that  labor  might  be  bestowed  in  Texas  with 
mucli  profit. 

I  need  not  make  any  protestations  to  you  of  the  deep  interest  I  feel  in 
the  progress  of  the  Church  in  St.  Louis.  An  immediate  pastoral  connection 
with  the  Church  in  St.  Louis  for  a  period  of  nearly  eight  years,  first  and 
last,  has,  of  course,  attached  me  closd}'  tt)  the  i)eople  of  that  city.  It  has, 
also,  brouglit  fully  within  my  observation  these  two  facts:  First,  the 
great  harvest  which  there  invites  the  sickle ;  and  secondly,  that  the  number 
of  1. .borers  employed  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  make  any  appreciable  impres- 
sion upon  the  field.  The  work  done  by  us  in  St.  Louis,  however  impcn'tant 
as  considered  in  itself,  amounts  to  very  little  when  the  extent  of  the  city 
and  the  amount  of  its  population  are  taken  into  the  account.  In  the  midst 
of  so  overwhelming  a  multitude  we  are  scarcely  felt. 

One  church  for  every  tweuty-ll\e  thousand  souls  would  give  us  twelve  or 
more.  But  wc  ought  to  have,  by  all  means,  not  less  than  (uie  for  every  ten 
thousand.  This  would  give  us  over  thirty.  Instead  of  this  we  hare  but  live 
and  two  of  these  are  very  fceb'c. 

The  Slethodist  Church  in  this  citj''  has  scarcely  more  than  held  its  own 
for  many  year^,  while  the  i)()pulation  has  doubled  it^t^lf  over  and  over,  and 
over  again.  Much  of  the  new  population,  indeed,  is  of  a  class  inaccessible 
to  evangelizing  agencies.  But  we  have  not  advanced  with  that  which  is 
accessible.  JIuch  less  have  wo  made  inroads  upon  the  multitudes  that  are 
under  papal  and  iiilidel  delusions. 

That  God  has  preserved  us  through  a  jjeriodof  fifty  years,  so  that  now 
we  still  exist — that  Ave  have  commodious  houses  of  worship,  some  of  them 
recently  erected  at  a  great  cost — that  many  of  our  people  are  truly  and 
deep'y  devoted  to  God — that  there  is  a  growing  spirit  of  consecration,  both 
of  person  and  property,  to  God  and  His  cause — and  tliat  many,  since  the 
organization  of  the  Church,  have  been  led  by  it  to  Christ,  and  many  have 
gone  from  it  to  the  Church  triumphant — must  furnish  motives  of  thanks- 
giving ia  the  approaching  solemui.ics. 

Yet  much  more  will  there  be  occasion  for  self-examination  and  prayer. 
Truly  there  should  be  "  great  searchings  of  heart."  Let  every  one  ask, 
Has  my  lif-!  been  such  as  to  advance  or  retard  the  cause  of  God? 
Have  I  lived  in  a  manner  pleasing  to  God?  or  am  I  only  a  dead  branch  upon 
the  Living  Vine?  What  have  I  done  to  advance  the  cause  of  Christ — to 
promote  the  conversion  of  sinners?    Am  I  a  simple-hearted  child  of  God, 


IN  .MISSOURI LAST    DAYS.  775 

or  am  I  v;iin  and  proud,  and  carnal  and  worldly?  Does  my  rtdigion  consist 
ia  anyliiinji  dec'i)L'r  than  the  profession?  Is  it  the  yreat  controlling  fact  of 
my  life?  Do  I,  indeed,  love  the  Lord  Jesns  Christ  above  my  chief  joy  ?  Is 
lie  to  rae  "fairest  among  ten  thousand  and  altogether  lovely!"  Is  this  so, 
or  is  my  religion  only  an  incident  of  my  life?  Are  its  requirements  held  in 
abeyance  to  eve  ry  social  claim  and  every  worldly  iniere^t?  Do  I  really 
deny  mjjcif  and  f>lloio  Christ?  Am  I  ready  to  accept  Ilis  will  in  ani/ 
heavy  cross-hearinrj'i  Am  I  ready  to  be  held  as  the  filth  and  offscouring  of 
thecarfhlor  Ilis  sake? 

B.:t  this  Semi-ccntcnary  Celebration  should  b<!  the  occasion  not  only  of 
thanksgiving  ami  sell-examination,  but  much  more — it  sJiould  iiiawjurate 
an  era  of  new  consecration  and  new  activity  in  the  Church.  Let  it  bo  the 
occasion  not  of  vain  resolves  and  feebly-formed  purposes  to  be  forgotten 
in  a  week,  but  of  actual  performance  of  vows.  Let  a  more  earnest  course 
of  holy  living  and  a  now  and  deeper  faith  mark  the  coming  half  century. 
Lotus  not  only  be  numbered  with  the  people  called  Methodists,  but  let 
us  be  all  that  this  association  imports. 

Bat  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  high  attainments  in  the  Christian 
life,  or  i:ideed  ani/  attainments,  are  t  >  be  realized  not  in  any  solf-righteous 
effort,  but  only  through  the  blood  of  C'nrist.  No  self-confidenfc  purpose 
will  be  of  any  avail.  We  are  born  in  sin.  We  are  depraved  by  nature. 
We  ai'c  far  gouo  from  God.  Only  through  the  rightoousne-s  of  Christ 
can  a  man  ba  justili  d  before  G.)d.  In  Hun  we  stand.  Out  of  Christ 
we  are  weak  and  corrupt — exposed  to  the  wrath  of  G  )d.  Let  us  look  our 
sin  fu  1  in  the  face.  We  must  attempt  no  concealment  with  God.  We 
must  see  our  case  as  He  sees  it.  Only  then  will  we  renounce  self  and 
lay  hold  on  Christ.  He  has  offered  Himself /or  us.  He  offers  Himself 
to  us.  He  is  our  righteousness.  He  is  our  life.  Let  Him  be  our  only 
trust. 

I  feel  deeply,  my  dear  brethren,  the  need  of  coming  closer  to  Christ 
at  this  time.  We  must  make  our  commemorative  services  an  occasion 
not  of  vaiu-j'lory,  but  of  enthroning  Christ  absolutely  in  our  hearts  and 
over  our  lives.  We  must  take  Him  to  be  ours — our  atoning  High  Priest — 
our  Sovereign  Lord.  We  must  give  ourselves  up  to  be  His — our  souls, 
our  bodies,  our  children,  our  estates.  Nothing  must  be  held  too  valuable 
or  too  dear  to  l)e  surrendered  to  His  possession. 

If  our  fathers  in  God  hive  done  an}-  work  that  is  to  re-appear  in  eter- 
nity, it  has  been  thus  leading  men  to  Christ  to  be  wholly  His.  If  any  have 
lived  and  died  carnally-minded,  though  they  may  have  been  called  Metho- 
dists and  died  in  the  Church,  they  have  been  cast  out  into  the  outer  darkness. 
I  cannot  doubt  that  mmy  pass  out  of  the  Church  into  hell.  '^  St'ive  to 
enter  in  at  the  straight  gate,  for  manj'  I  say  unto  you  will  seek  to  enter  in, 
and  shall  not  be  able." 

Bear  with  me,  my  brother.  My  heart  is  full.  The  love  of  God  con- 
strains me.  I  fool  the  overshadowing  presence  of  the  Son  of  God.  He  is 
all.     I  am  nothing.    The  Church  is  nothing — only  as  He  dwells  in  it.     The 


776  I'.isiioi'  .MAU^■I^'. 

dread  is  upon  mo  that  in  our  couunenioralions  we  will  exalt  man  and  de- 
preciate Christ — not  of  design,  but  througli  the  subtle  beguilcmrut  of 
self-love.  May  the  Holy  Spirit  of  His  presence  preserve  us.  IIon(X'fortlu 
forevc-rmore,  may  He  be  the  only  Lord  of  our  souls. 

I  have  written  more  tlian  liiitcndcd.  In  answer  to  the  invitation  ex- 
tended to  me,  if  life  aud  health  be  spared,  I  will  be  in  attendance.  I  can 
do  DO  otherwise.  Although  it  breaks  into  my  plans  for  tlic  winter,  I  must 
join  my  brethren  in  these  rejoicings.  I  must  participate  in  these  solenmi- 
lios.  It  would  bti  unnatural  for  me  to  absent  mys;lf.  It.  would  be  un- 
grateful.    I  must  appear  in  the  Church  with  tlianksgivings. 

In  (ho  Missouri  work,  the  first  and  tlio  latest  Episco[)al 
service  weregiveu  to  the  Churches  in  St.  Louis.  His  lust 
Sunday  morning  sermon  was  in  th(!  pul[)it  of  Centenary 
Church.  His  last  interview  with  preachers  was  at  the  St. 
Louis  Preachers'  Meeting",  tlie  next  morning.  It  may  serve 
as  a  parting  word  to  all  preachers.  It  contains  a  sentiment 
which  Avas  radical  in  the  rule  of  his  own  ministry,  and  was 
the  burden  of  Episcopal  charge  in  all  Confereuces — the 
power  of  the  Church  located  in  its  })iety  : 

The  Preachers'  Association  in  tliis  City  will  not  forget  Bishop  Marvin's 
last  api^earance  among  them  and  the  earnest  words  which  he  delivered.  The 
condliion  and  needs  of  the  Church  in  St.  Louis  was  the  special  subject 
considered  in  our  meeting.  The  f(^eling  was  general  that  Methodism  had 
accomplished  but  little,  comparatively,  in  the  city  for  several  years.  The 
Church  was  not  delivering  the  power  that  she  ought  to  deliver.  The  Bishop 
had  returned  that  moriung  from  Kirkwood.  Sunday  had  been  a  day  of 
hard  work  for  him,  preaching  at  Centenary  Church  in  the  morning  and  at 
Kirkwood  at  3  P.  M.  The  chill  which  was  the  beginning  of  his  last  illness 
came  (mhim  while  preaching  at  Kirkwood.  We  observed  his  feeble  condition 
when  he  came  to  the  Association  Monday  morning.  But  he  spoke  with  great 
earnestness  upon  the  subject  of  discussion  for  tin;  occasion.  "Methodism," 
he  said,  "  had  its  birth  in  a  great  spiritual  awakening,  a  revival  of  religion. 
In  the  spirit  of  that  I'evival  it  had  gone  forth,  its  special  mission  to  spread 
scriptural  holiness.  All  the  machinery  of  the  Methodist  Church  was  ad- 
justed to  this  revival  work,  aud  the  spirit  of  the  grace  of  God  alone  could 
make  its  macliinery  cdicient.  The  Methodist  Cliurch  is  nnsectarian.  She 
seeks  spiritual  holiness.  She  does  not  bind  her  members  by  any  cords  of 
prejudice,  exclusive  views  in  doctrine,  exclusiveness  in  ordinances,  apos- 
tolical succession,  an  imposing  ritual,  or  any  of  those  tidngs  which  may 
f()-~ter  Church  pride  and  mak(;  people  zealous  sectarians.  Wlien  spiritual 
life  begins  to  fail  in  the  Methodist  Church  she  loses  the  very  power  which 
preserves  her  as  a  Church.     Other  communions  become   more   inviting 


IN  MISSOURI LAST  DAYS.  777 

both  to  ministers  and  members."  "We  need,"  tlie  Bishop  f-aicl,  "  a  revival 
of  discipline.  We  have  to  begin  at  the  house  of  God  to  restore  the  spirit- 
ual power  of  the  Church  by  lopping  off  the  dead  branches.  The  Church 
has  grown  formal,  fashionable  and  worldly." 

The  Missouri  w:is  the  first  Conference  held  by  Bishop 
Marvin,  in  l'Sr)7,  iiftcr  his  return  from  the  South.  It  was  on 
his  hist  Pliin  of  Visitation,  held  at  Fulton,  September  12, 
1877.  Much  of  this  Volume  records  his  labors  in  its  bounds, 
the  first  and  among  the  very  last  in  his  wonderful  career  and 
ii'lorious  ministry.  In  the  intervening*  ten  3'ears  between  his 
first  and  hist  Presidency  in  the  Conference,  he  had  been 
l)resent  at  nearly  all  of  its  sessions  and  very  largely  among 
its  pastoral  fields.  The  numerous  occasions  noted  in  these 
pages  are  not  an  hundredth  part  of  them.  He  had  doubled  on 
the  track  of  all  his  former  itinerancy  and  renewed  the  earlier 
associations  of  his  personal  friendships  and  ministerial  com- 
l)anionshi[).  In  his  Life  of  Caples,  that  reference  is  prom- 
inent and  cherished  in  his  notice  of  his  old  Conference. 
He  is  livino;  over  airaiii  the  former  days.  He  is  again  in 
Conference  session  with  his  brethren  of  the  olden  time. 
Ctiples  is  still  in  the  pulpit,  grand  and  radiant,  as  when  he  had 
looked  upon  him  aforetime  on  the  Sunday  night  of  the  session, 
there  in  the  magnetism  of  his  person  and  the  grandeur  of 
his  popularity  and  power  ;  as  he  pictures  him,  looking  down 
upon  the  vast  throng  crowding  the  whole  space  within  the 
walls,  his  riglit  hand  extended  forward,  the  palm  downward, 
the  fino-ers  at  a  sliHit  curve,  and  "  the  words  of  this  life  " 
flowing  from  his  lips.  The  admiring  view  painted  it  on  his 
inemor}' ,  how  sentence  after  sentence  the  thought  deepens, 
feeling  becomes  more  intense,  tears  flow,  shouts  ascend,  and 
every  preacher  there  feels  it  would  be  lui  honor  too  ijreat 
to  be  allowed  to  preach  Christ  on  the  most  miserable 
mission  in  the  State.  So  felt  all  under  his  sermons — none 
more  admiring,  more  moved,  more  joyful  in  tlie  triumph  of 
that  pulpit,  than  INLirvin.       '•  The  greatest  preacher  in  Mis- 


778  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

.souri  ;  \\\^  rank  would  liave  l)eeii  with  the  lirst  class  any- 
Avlicrc  oil  the  Conl incut. "  I  say  it  without  <iuali(ic:ition, 
Avas  Marvin's  thought  and  word  of  tosliniony  ;  Caples  would 
have  said,  as  ho  thouirht,  the  same  of  Marvin. 

In    the   memory    of  tlie    re-unions   of  Conference-week, 
Caples  is  the  central  liufure — the  charm  of  his  ])resence,  the 
Hash  of  his  eve,  the  resonance  of  his  voice  in  the  puli)itand 
the  riiiL^  of  his  laugh  in  the   social   coterie,   the    long    night- 
talks  and  unrcvserved  conlidences.      Their  rcci[)rocal    love  is 
in  tlu;  words  of  the  survivor  :    "  He  was  my  friend,  I  record  it 
with  o-ratitude       The  M-ritinii-  of  his  life  is  a  labor  of  love." 
On  his  lirst  a[)pearance,  in    1S(J7,   in  the  chair  of  its    Presi- 
dent,   (n^ery   heart    in    the    Conference  connected  the  living 
Marvin  with  the  dead  Caples — his    }iresence,    the   link    of  a 
riven  chain.      The  Conferen(;e  had  })ut  them  foi-ward  as  head- 
ers and  leaned  upon  them  as  pillars  of  its  strength.      T^ook- 
m^  ui)on  the  standinii;  column  the  thouii'ht  of  the  Ccmference 
turned  to  the  l)roken  shaft.      To  request  of  Conference  res- 
olution to  write  the  life  of  Caples,  it  is  the  reply  of  ]\Iarvin  : 
"  His  name  ought  to  survive  the  present  generation  of  Meth- 
odists in  JNIissouri.       I  desire  to  be  his  voice,  now  that  he  is 
dead,  in  order  that  he  may  '  still   s[)eak.'  " 

The  hook  is  a  life  history  of  the  dead  and  a  hcart-his- 
torv  of  the  living  man.  Than  the  picture  on  its  pages,  there 
is  on  no  page  of  biography  a  more  beautiful  and  noble  compan- 
ionship). Superior  both  ])y  nature  and  grace  to  tlu;  littleness 
of  personal  ri\alry,  tli(>y  had  been  to  each  other  as  David  and 
Jonathan.  There  was  in  neither  the  evil  eye  of  en\y.  The 
severed  link  of  com[)anionship  is  welded.  Let  this  jiagc 
unite  their  names  on  eaiih  in  a  common  memory  and  on  the 
same  tablet  of  lo\(>  and  faii'ie.  Caples  hr.stoldof  their  iirst 
meeting  at  the  Peery  Camp-ground;  jSIarvin,  of  the  linal 
parting.  II<!  was  pastor  at  Centenary  Church  in  St,  Louis 
and  Caples  not  far  away  i:i  the  sanui  city,  a  chai)lain  to 
Southern  soldiers,  and  in   prison    with    them,      lleleased  on 


IN  MISSOUKI LAST  D4VS.  779 

parole  his  steps  sought  Marvin.  The  night  was  si)ent  to- 
gether. "  Our  hearts,"  wrote  Marvin  'Mvere  full.  We 
had  many  things  to  t:ilk  of  and  were  little  disposed  to  sleep. 
The  elock  struck  one,  two,  three  ;  and  we  had  not  thought 
of  repose.  I  never  saw  him  in  a  ])etter  mood.  The  next 
morning  we  walked  together  down  Olive  street  to  Sixth  and 
l^arted.  I  never  saw  him  again.  Our  hearts  had  been 
fused  and  flowed  together  yet  more  perfectly  than  before  in 
that  last  meeting.  From  that  day  we  went  our  several  wavs. 
They  diverged  and  we  met  no  more.  I  scarcely  ever  think 
of  hnn  but  that  I  recall  that  last  walk  and  the  partina"  on 
the  corner  of  the  street.  Through  inlinite,  savino-  mercv  I 
hope  to  walk  with  him  again  along  the  streets  of  another 
city." 

Never  w^as  there  a  more  marked  memorial  service  at  any 
Conference  than  at  Mexico,  in  1872.  It  was  Bishop 
Pierce's  Conference,  but  INIarvin  was  Chaplain.  There  Mere 
five  remarkable  names  on  the  roll  of  the  dead,  and  all  in  pe- 
culiar relation  to  him.  The  3^oungest,  D.  C.  Blackwell, 
was  of  the  number  of  the  first  Missionary  band  he  had  sent 
out  to  the  mountains  of  Montana.  With  broken  health  he 
had  returned  to  his  Missouri  home  to  die.  P.  M.  Pinckard 
had  located  under  stress  of  cares  two  years  before,  but  was 
honored  with  place  in  the  memorial  records  of  the  Confer- 
ence for  the  twenty-six  years  of  service  in  the  itinerant 
ranks  and  in  high  places  of  trust  and  responsi])ilitv.  They 
had  been  close  personal  friends — when  he  went  South  his 
family  was  committed  to  Pinckard's  care,  and  in  their 
earlier  ministry  neighbors,  respectively,  at  Hvdcsbui-ir  Cir- 
cuit and  Hannibal  Station,  and  co-laborers  in  the  educational 
work  of  the  Conference,  agents  for  St.  Charles  College  and 
Central.  The  year  had  been  the  death-harvest  amona:  the  old 
men.  Horace  Brown  was  held  in  honor  as  a  defender  of  the 
faith,  his  life  protracted  to  the  age  of  seventy-three,  and  to 
the  fifty-third  of  his  itinerant  ministry.     George  Smith  had 


780  lusnoi'  MAUVix. 

been  the  friend  of  the  ])()y-preuclier  on  Grundy  Mission. 
Two  weeks  before  the  session  he  had  received  a  special  mes- 
sage to  attend,  with  assurance  of  s[)ecial  care  in  his  feeble- 
ness ;  liis  reply — ''  I  expect  before  it  asscnd)les  to  go  to  the 
great  Conference  al)ove."  So  it  happened  ;  gathered  to  the 
fathers  in  his  seventy-second  year  and  the   fortieth  of  his 

itinerancy. 

There  was  another,  the  chief  name — Andrew  iMonroe, 
the  patriarch  of  the  Conference.  Caples  ho  loved  ;  above 
all  men,  he  venerated  Monroe,  chosen  above  all  men  to  pre- 
sent him  for  ordination  as  Bishop  and  lay  reverent  hands 
upon  his  head. 

The  writing  of  the  life  of  Monroe,  at  the  request  of  the 
Conference,  was  in  part  ^larvin's  unfinished  work — intended 
to  appear  at  large  in  the  history  of  Methodism  in  Missouri, 
which,  during  the  Semi-Centenary  Commemoration  at  St. 
Louis,  at  recjuest  of  Trusten  Polk  and  John  Hogan  and 
many  others,  he  had  consented  to  undertake.  It  was 
sketched  in  the  sermon.  The  surpassing  grandeur  of  Chris- 
tian character  and  eventful  ministerial  history  gave  the  life 
interest  beyond  the  bounds  of  a  Conference  and  raised  it 
to  the  dignity  of  connecLional  importance.  Its  origin  was 
traced  to  the  fecundity  of  maternal  piety.  It  began  at  the 
home  of  a  poor  widow  in  Virginia,  who  raised  eleven  sons 
and  gave  four  to  the  ministry,  whose  combined  years  of 
ministerial  service  mostly  in  the  itinerancy  numbered  over 
two  centuries.  His  Conference  life  was  a  connecting  link 
with  the  first  generation  of  American  Methodism.  Uishop 
Asburv  presided  when  he  was  admitted  on  trial.  Coke  had 
just  died.  Jesse  Lee,  the  Apostle  of  New  England  Meth- 
odism, was  still  living,  and  Freeborn  Garretson,  who  was  ad- 
mitted on  trial,  in  177(!,  at  the  third  Methodist  Conference 
held  on  the  continents — then  only  fourteen  traveling  preach- 
ers and  about  five  thousand  members.  In  the  person  of  a 
few  survivors,  his  ministry  was  contemporary  with  men  who 


IN  MISSOURI LAST    DAYS.  781 

planted  the  handful  of  corn  on  the  tops  of  the  niountuins, 
the  harvest  of  which  he  lived  to  see  filling  the  land.  "What 
hath  God  wrouiiht?"  was  a  common  exclamation  on  the  lips 
of  Monroe.  AVhen  he  joined  Conference  there  were  only 
nine,  including  the  two  Canadas  ;  now,  perhaps,  not  less 
than  two  hundred  ;  then,  with  695  traveling  preachers  and 
171,931  white  and  42,304  colored  members  ;  and  now,  in  the 
various  branches  of  Methodism,  more  than  two  millions  of 
communicants,  and  about  fifteen  thousand  traveling  and 
thirty  thousand  local  preachers. 

His  history  connects  him  with  the  chief  men  of  the 
Church  in  the  heroic  days  of  pioneer  Methodism  in  the  West, 
and  w^itli  the  times  of  the  present  glory.  He  w^as  a  travel- 
ing companion  of  McKendree  and  a  chosen  and  trusted  ad- 
viser of  Roberts  and  Soule.  He  has  voted  for  admission  on 
trial  of  four  Methodist  Bishops — Morris,  Paine,  Kavanaugh 
and  Marvin.  His  ministry  reached  through  fifty-six  j^ears, 
and  his  itinerant  travel  has  traversed  territory  now  covered 
by  four  States.  He  traveled  in  KentucW,  when  it  -was  in 
the  Ohio  Conference  and  when  it  was  attached  to  the  Tennes- 
see. When  he  crossed  the  Mississippi,  there  were  only  two 
districts,  one  each  for  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  with  an  entire 
membership  in  Missouri  of  2,471  wdiitcs  and  42  colored. 
When  he  died  he  was  the  only  survivor  of  the  Kentucky 
preachers  when  he  joined  them,  and  of  the  twenty-one 
composing  the  Missouri  Conference  at  its  organization  in 
1824. 

He  was  well  fitted  for  his  calling  and  career.  He  had  an 
iron  constitution,  and  a  clear  and  strong  intellect.  He  com- 
bined wise  counsel  and  executive  force.  In  social  life  he 
was  a  gentleman.  Courageous  as  a  lion  and  as  gentle  as  a 
child  ;  always  candid  and  always  kind  ;  positive,  but  not 
rash  ;  in  the  prime  of  his  pulpit  a  powerful  preacher  ;  his 
Christian  and  ministerial  character  indexed  in  his  histor}' — 
the  portraiture  of  Bishop  Whatcoat,  a  good  likeness  of  Mon- 


7.S2  lUSIKlI'    MAUVIX. 

roc:  "  So  deeply  serious  !  Who  ever  s:nv  him  trilling  or 
lifht?  Who  ever  lieurd  hiiu  spe:ik  evil  of  any  jx-rson?  Niiy, 
who  ever  heard  him  iiltcr  an  idle  word!  Dead  to  envy, 
pride,  and  praise;.  Sober  Avithout  sadness,  cheerful  Avilhout 
levity,  careful  without  covetousness,  and  decent  without 
pride.  He  died  not  possessed  of  property  suificientto  have 
paid  the  expenses  of  his  sickness  and  funei-al  if  a  charge  had 
been  nmde,  so  dead  was  he  to  the  world  !" 

He  has  represented  his  Conference  in  every  General 
Conference  except  one  since  1824,  and  his  name  was  known 
and  honored  throughout  the  Connection.  In  Missouri,  most 
of  the  preachers  have  entered  the  Conference  under  his  eye 
and  many  have  enjoyed  his  training.  When  Bishop  INIarvin, 
absent  in  Texas,  heard  of  his  death,  he  exclaimed  :  "  Think 
of  a  session  of  the  Missouri  Conference  marked  by  the  ab- 
sence of  our  Fatluu'  in  God  !  The  vacancy  itself  will  be  a 
sermon  of  most  sul)duing  power."  He  ended  as  he  began 
his  ministry  in  the  spirit  and  labors  of  a  missionary.  Ap- 
pointments for  a  coming  month  had  just  been  put  in  type 
in  the  same  pai)er  which  contained  the  telegram  announcing 

"Andrew  Monroe  is  dead."   It  was  a  last  and  best  love  of 

his  sons  in  the  Gospel,  that,  making  him  the  care  of  the 
whole  Conference,  they  kept  him  in  the  field  in  honor  of  his 
dearest  wish — 

"  His  body  wi  h  his  charge  lay  down, 
And  cease  at  once  to  work  and  live." 

The  plans  and  love  of  work  for  Christ  were  on  his  heart 
in  its  last  pulse.  Nolan  prayed  at  his  death-bed.  Bourland 
reports  it.  The  last  song  of  the  Church  sounding  in  his 
ear  was  "  Eock  of  Ages;"  the  last  Scripture  on  his  lips, 
"The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd  ;  "  his  last  charge  :  "  Tell  the 
brethren  to  stand  up  for  the  integrity  of  IMethodism.  Upon 
you  younger  men  devolves  the  responsibility  of  caring  for 
"the  Church.     Be  faithful !  " 


IN"  :\IISSOUEI LAST    DAYS.  78 


o 


At  tlio  incinorial  service  ou^Iondaj  ()f  the  session  many 
had  brought  then*  offerings  ft)r  the  eml)alninient  at  a  great 
Conference-grave — to  represent  the  wounded  heart  of  all, 
Bishop  Marvin  took  the  pulpit  at  eleven  o'clock.  In  his 
sermon,  embracing  the  names  of  the  youthful  warrior  and 
the  veteran  soldier,  there  w^as  a  sublime  sweep  over  the  line 
of  a  finished  course,  and  a  grandly  pronounced  "Well 
done,"  on  earth  as  in  Heaven.  The  Conference  sacrament 
followed — in  communion  "with  saints  of  all  ages,  the  living 
and  the  dead  ;  and  with  the  Lord,  in  freshened  love  and 
in  fidelity  vowed  anew. 

The  roll  of  the  dead  was  often  called  in  his  old  Confer- 
ence. In  the  death-divided  Conference  since  1824,  there 
are  fewer  on  this  side  than  on  the  other  shore.  Only  about 
one-third  of  the  number  at  the  time  he  joined  it  were  left 
when  he  was  transferred  to  the  Conference  above.  In  the 
power  of  realizing  f;;ith  and  in  the  simplicity  of  heavenly- 
mindedncss,  the  dead  })rophets  were  still  present,  hovering 
over  their  assemblies.  So  he  writes  of  it.  The  Conference 
love  was  not  buried  in  the  tomb.  It  was  carried  to  the 
skies  and  brought  them  back  to  earth  and  made  them  to  the 
after-comers  warders  at  the  gate  of  Heaven.  In  the  book 
he  wrote  at  the  request  of  the  Conference — its  memorial  of 
Caples — he  wrote:  ''  Will  he  not  meet  us  at  the  bank,  on 
the  other  side,  Avhen  we  cross  the  river?  Will  he  not  lead 
us  throuu'h  the  gates  into  the  citv?  Will  he  not  iruide  us  in 
the  unknown  pathway  and  conduct  us  into  the  presence 
chamber  of  the  King?  " 

There  is  a  page  which  records  the  names  of  the  fathers  ; 
some  living  then,  all  gone  now.  It  has  since  become  a 
great  Conference  tombstone — Monroe,  the  father  of  us  all ; 
Caples,  the  great,  gifted,  young  man,  the  leader  of  the 
host ;  Smith,  who  preached  JNIethodist  doctrine  like  Wat- 
son's Institutes  ;  Brown,  with  sermons  on  any  topic,  con- 
clusive and  exhaustive,  a  censor,  but  respected;  the  modest 


784  r.TSTTOT'  MARVIX. 

Jordan,  loo  niotlest  to  1)econie  a  leader  as  lie  iiiioht  have 
been  ;  Ashby,  "wlioso  face  Avas  a  serniou  ;  the  long  dead 
prophets,  Grccno  and  liewley  and  Kednian  and  Lannius 
andPatton,  and  many  others  wliosG  names  are  written  in 
reverent  memory,  and  of  whom  he  wrote: 

A  noble  company  will  be  there  from  the  old  Missouri  Conference.   May 

we  all  follow  them  as  they  followed  Christ!  May  we  join  them  in  that 
day  Avhen  the  "Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from  ]  leaven  with  a  shout,  with 
the  voice  of  the  archangel  aud  the  trump  of  God." 

"Lo!   it  comes,  thai  day  of  wonder; 

Louder  chorals  shake  the  skies; 
Hades  gates  are  burst  asunder; 

See!  the  uew-clothed  myriads  rise. 
Thought,  repress  thy  Aveak  endeavoi'. 

Here  must  reason  i)i-ostrate  fall; 
O,  the  ineffable  forever, 

And  the  eternal  All  Tx  All.'  ' 

That  pau'e  will  be  read  with  an  added  interest  now  that 
the  hand  which  wrote  it  is  folded  on  a  still  bosom.  It  con- 
cludes with  a  remarkable  testimony,  and,  in  its  connections, 
a  valedictory  prayer : 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  there  has  ever  been  a  l)ody  of  men 
associated  the  same  len<>lh  of  time  with  less  friction  than 
the  Missouri  Conference.  I  doubt  if  the  Primitive  Church 
offers  anything  that  excels  it.  May  this  harmony  ever  con- 
tinue. ]Nhiy  there  arise  no  vain  men,  with  little  personal 
ambitions  to  ijratifA',  to  l)e  firebrands  here.  Let  Bkotherly 
Love  Continue." 

There  was  no  Conference  he  cherished  so  fondly  as  the 
Missouri — in  its  bounds  his  birth-place,  and  the  nativity  of 
bis  soul,  and  the  training  ground  of  his  ministrv.  There  he 
took  his  start  and  always  turned  his  steps  to  its  sessions  ^Wien 
he  could.  At  the  last  presence  he  was  the  Marvin  of  the 
former  time,  taking  the  brethren  to  his  bosom  and  joining 
in  their  tears  and  shouts.  The  reciprocal  love  had  expres- 
sion at  the  General  Conference  Marvin  Memorial.*    "  C.  I. 


*  Gen.  Couf.  Daily,  May  18,  1878. 


IN  MISSOURI LAST    DAYS,  785 

Vandeventer  (clor.  Missouri  Confcrenco)  said:  ]\Ir.  Pres- 
ident, [  ean  hardly  trust  myself  to  speak  a  woi'd  in  this 
connection,  and  yet  I  cannot  get  my  consent  to  let  the  occa- 
sion pass  without  at  least  saying  that  Brother  Marvin  (as  we 
were  in  Missouri  inclined  to  the  last  to  call  him)  Avas  the 
friend  of  my  ministerial  3'outh,  as  Avell  as  my  riper  years  ; 
and  I  may  say  with  Dr.  Rush,  that  I  truly  loved  him,  as  I 
have  seldom,  if  ever,  loved  any  other  man.  His  life  was, 
in  a  peculiar  sense,  a  Missouri  heritage,  and  we  shall  cherish 
his  precious  memory  in  all  the  years  to  come.  The  recollec- 
tion of  his  visit  to  the  last  session  of  our  Annual  Conference 
is  green  in  our  memory  to-day.  Worn  with  too  many 
official  cares,  and  too  constant  consideration  of  them,  and 
pressed  down  with  accompanying  sorrow  in  the  death  of  an 
only  brother,  the  strong  man  was  bathed  in  tears,  jind  his 
trembling  voice,  Avhile  he  announced  our  appointments,  was 
almost  inaudible  with  deep  emotion  and  the  general  sobs  of 
the  vast  multitude  of  his  brethren  and  friends  who  were 
present  on  that  day.  But  we  hund)ly  hope  to  meet  him 
where  tears  and  death  shall  never  enter." 

The  tirst  Conference  he  ever  held  was  the  Indian  Mission. 
Tt  was  on  the  Plan  of  his  last  round — reported  by  Rev . 
Youn<>;  Ewins; : 

Nor  shall  I  ever  forget  liis  appearance  at  our  Conference  held  last  year 
at  Strinii-Town,  in  the  Choctaw  Nation.  He  had  jnst  returned  from  his 
long  trip  around  the  world.  His  countenance  seemed  to  glow  and  catch 
on  fire,  as  he  told  us  of  Jerusalem,  the  Garden,  and  of  Mount  Olivet.  He 
spoke  of  his  brother's  death  on  Saljbath  morning,  and  said,  "  The  first 
thought  this  morning,  upon  looking  out  upon  the  holy  light  of  the  day, 
was,  this  is  my  brother's  first  Sunday  in  Heaven." 

There  was  seemingly  a  celestial  light  in  his  eye,  a  holy  radiance  beam- 
ing upon  his  countenance.  On  Sabbath  night,  after  one  of  our  preachers 
bad  preached  from  the  text, '■  Whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I 
shall  give  liim  shall  never  thirst,  but  it  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water 
springing  up  unto  eternal  life,"  the  Bishop  seemed  to  be  deeply  moved  and 

»ang — 

"  My  latest  sun  is  sinking  fast; 

My  race  is  almost  run  ; 

My  strongest  trials  now  are  past 

My  triumph  is  begun." 


78G  BISHOP    MAIiMX. 

— witli  the  chorus, 

"  O,  Come!  Aiigel  band, 

Come  and  around  me  stand; 
O,  bear  nie  away  on  your  .snowy  wings, 
To  Miy  iminorlal  home." 

He  sang  the  entire  hymn.     The  effect  wa.s  overwhelming. 

My  last  interview  witli  Bi.^liop  Marvin  was  at  llie  grave  of  my  long- 
tried  and  true  friend,  the  Rev.  John  Harrell.  It  occurred  the  day  after 
the  adjourunu'Ml  of  our  Conference.  We  spent  tlie  niiiht  and  part  of  the 
day  at  tlie  Anbury  Manual  Labor  School  in  the  Creel;  Nation.  Before 
preaching  in  tlie  morning,  we  went  to  the  last  resting-place  of  Brother 
Harrell,  and  there  we  talked  of  God  and  Heaven  till  we  were  filled  with 
the  coujforts  of  religion. 

That  day  he  preached,  I  tliin'-,  in  many  respects  the  most  searching 
Gospel  sermon  1  ever  heard — that  ilay,  that  sermon  \\  ill  never  be  for- 
gotten. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  that  service  I  partcvl  wiih  Bishop  Marvin — to 
see  him  no  more  till  we  nie<;t  in  the  "Sweet  by  and  Ijy."  Never  siiall 
I  look  upon  his  like  again. 

His  last  Conference  was  held  at  Independence,  in  Octo- 
ber— the  Southwest  Missouri.  It  has  been  sup[)()8ed  that  there 
were  premonitions  of  his  end.  At  least,  all  aU)no:  in  this  last 
round  of  Conferences,  it  is  aj)parentthat,  with  end  of  laljors, 
srace  was  maturino"  for  end  of  days,  "  It  isoften  the  case," 
he  has  said,  "  tliat  Christ  becomes  more  and  more  to  a  man 
as  he  nears  death."  He  had  been  in  Conference  session  at 
the  same  place  just  twenty  years  before — then,  in  the  Sun- 
day night  sermon  his  soul  in  rapture  and  his  preaching  in 
power.  On  that  night  the  memories  of  Grundy  Mission  were 
upon  him.  They  were  recalled  by  the  presence  of  Drydcn 
jit  the  session  in  1877.  On  a  former  page  is  a  testimony  in 
personal  religious  experience  given  atthat  Coiiference,  which 
was  as  old  as  when  he  Avas  converted  at  the  chair  in  McCon- 
iiell's  house,  and  still  clear  and  bright — "  I  know  that  God 
is  mine  and  I  am  His."     The  same  [)en  adds  : 

1  first  met  him  when  he  presided  over  the  St.  Louis  Conference  which 
met  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  in  the  Fall  of  1867.  Since  that  time  I  have  heard 
liim  preach  at  College  Commencements,  at  Annual  and  at  General  Confer- 
ences—in all  of  which  there  was  manifest  vigorous  thought,  grasp  of  Intel- 


IxN  MISSOURI LAST  DAYS.  787 

lectand  spiritual  power.  I  had  llie  pleasure  of  hearing  him  twice,  on  liis 
last  round  of  Conferences — once  in  Fulton,  before  the  Missouri  (Conference 
and  once  in  Independence  before  the  Southwest  Missouri  Conference, 
when  liis  spiritual  power  was  not  only  manifest  and  impressive,  but  over- 
whelming, These  sermons  impressed  me  with  the  conviction  that  during 
his  journey  around  the  world  he  wonderfully  grew  spiritually,  and  came 
back  in  the  enjoyment  of  uninterrupted  communion  with  the  Father.  lie 
had  "grown  in  grace"  and  his  utterances  from  Ihe  pulpit  were  "  in  dem. 
onstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power."  He  seemed  to  me  to  be  prepared 
for  efficient  service  on  earth  or  for  the  raptures  of  the  heavenly  state. 

The  last  was  the  fifth  Conference  in  five  successive  weeks 
— be^-inninsr  in  the  last  of  Au<::ust  with  the  Western  Confer- 
ence  at  Atchison. 

"  I  know  not  another  Assetnblj,"  said  his  Episcopal  Col- 
league vvlio  preached  the  funeral  discourse,  "  the  presidency 
over  which  is  so  exhausting  as  an  Annual  Conference."'  lie 
jidded :  "  Five  Conferences  in  five  weeks.  Too  much, 
even  for  a  strons;  man.  At  the  close  of  tliis  tour  his  ncr- 
vous  system  was  prostrate."  Ilis  colleagues  had  appointed 
iPitervals  of  rest  in  the  midst  of  the  sessions,  but  brethren 
desired  a  chanije  and  he  consented,  "unselfishlv  but  unwise- 
ly,"  it  is  said.  Nevertheless,  after  the  adjournment  of  the 
Conferences,  wnthin  the  remnant  days  of  his  life — less  than 
two  months — he  has  entered  upon  work  for  the  further  en- 
dowment of  Central  College,  prepared  his  Book  of  Travels 
for  the  prhiter,  and  committing  himself  to  appointments  for 
Church  dedication  and  District  Conferences.  His  little  care 
of  himself  can  scarcely  be  criticised  as  rashness.  It  will  be 
admired  in  its  promptings — "  as  much  as  in  me  lies,"  the 
temper  of  his  mind,  in  the  vows  of  his  ordination  and  in  the 
scope  of  his  consecration,  of  which  he  professed.  "  if  there 
was  anything  pertaining  to  him  which  had  not  been  conse- 
crated to  God,  he  prayed  to  know  what  it  was,  that  he  might 
lay  it  also  on  the  altar."  There  was  no  self-denial  from 
which  he  shrank.  There  was  no  undertaking  so  large  at 
which  he  faltered  ;  and  none  so  small  that  he  did  not  per- 
form it  with  his  might.      His  last  great  Connectional  work 


788  KISHOr  MARVIN. 

took  him  arouiul  tlie  world  ;  in  liis  last  week,  he  made  an  en- 
Gfa'-^cmeut  to  visit  the  Orphan's  Home  and  talk  to  the  child- 
ren — the  one  Christ-like  ;  the  other  Christ-driven, 

Mr.  ]\Iartin,  of  Halifax,  furnishes  a  letter  received  by  him 
from  IVishop  Marvin,  covering  the  time  from  his  departure 
from  the  shores  of  Old  England  to  the  day  of  its  date,  in 
the  last  month  of  his  life.  It  is  a  window  opened  into  his 
mind  and  temper  during  his  last  days. 

2710  Lucas  Avenue,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Nov.  8th,  1877. 
Rev-  Richard  Mautin: 

Dear  Brother: — I  have  been  intending  to  write  you  ever  since  I  got 
homo,  l)ut  have  been  so  full  of  work,  that  1  have  allowed  myself  to  put  it 
off  from  time  to  time  until  I  really  feel  quite  surprised  at  myself.  An 
accumulation  of  pressing  duties  awaited  me  upon  my  arrival  here  which  I 
shall  not  fully  dispo.se  of  for  some  time,  inasmuch  as  the  regular  official 
(;alls  I  have  to  respond  to  furnish  me  pretty  full  employment,  leaving  but 
little  time  for  such  as  are  .special;  so  that  when  I  get  behiud  I  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  overtake  my  work.  But  I  have  thought  of  your  kindness  a  thousand 
times  and  always  with  a  glow  of  grateful  feeling.  To  yourself  and  Dr. 
Jobson,  more  than  any  others,  I  am  indebted  for  the  pleasure  of  my  Bris- 
tol experiences. 

We  made  an  unusually  quick  voyage  to  Queenstown,  so  that  I  reached 
kome  two  days  sooner  than  my  wife  expected  me.  However,  I  had  sent 
her  a  telegram  from  New  York,  so  that  she  had  two  days'  warning.  I  had 
left  home  August  21st,  187G,  and  arrived  Aug  ist21st,  1S77,  a  year  to  a  day. 
The  first  word,  after  the  greeting  from  my  wife,  was:  "I  was  afraid  you 
would  get  home  yesterday.     That  would  have  spoiled  the  year,' 

There  had  not  been  a  day's  sickness  of  a  single  member  of  my  family 
since  I  had  parted  with  them;  no  occasion  for  the  visit  of  a  physician. 
Nothing  untoward  had  happened  to  me.  How  m:iuy  mercies  have  I  to 
inspire  my  gratitude!  I  am  receiving  tlie  Watehmnn  regularly,  and  have 
also  received  a  copy  of  the  Minutes,  for  wliicli  1  know  1  am  indebted  to 
you,  inasmuch  as  it  was  post  marked,  "Halifax,  England."     Thanks ! 

Are  y "U  receiving  the  Southern  lievieio  ?  I  gave  your  name  and  ad- 
dress at  the  first  opportunity  to  one  of  the  regular  agents,  and  take  it  for 
grantedthat  all  is  right;  butwouhllike  to  kuow  from  yourself.  Please 
write  me  at  once.  I  hope  to  see  you  in  America  at  an  early  day.  Where 
is  Brother  Lockwood,  the  author  of  The  Life  of  Bolder?  Will  you  write 
to  him  and  enquire  if  he  has  any  objection   to   my  rei)ublish  ing    it  here? 

Your  Friend  and  Brother, 

E.  M.  Makvin. 


IX  MISSOUUI LAST    DAYS,  789 

With   Central   College  endownient  :ilready   iK'gun,    and 
the  unwritten  Ilistoiy  of  Methodism  in  Missouri  yet  before 
him,  and  the  Life  of  Bishop  Andrew  to  l)e  taken  up  at  once, 
so  soon  as  the  roi)riiit  of  Letters   of  ^lissioiiary  Travel  in 
Heathendom  was  off  his  hands,  and  which  was  in  his  hands 
on  his  dcath-hed  ;  si  ill,  ho  is  projecting  the  reprint   of  Boh- 
ler's  life,  at  the   risk   of  its  cost   and  at  the  expense  of  a 
superadded  burden.    It  must  needs  be  that  such  a  man  shall 
die  in  the  midst  of  unfinished  work.      The  reflection  was  on 
his  own  pen,  as  he  walked  through  the  art  galleries  in  Italy  : 
"There  are  many  pieces  by  Michael  Angelo  un/jMished, though 
he  died  at  an  advanced  age.      Unfinished  I      Does  any  man 
accomplish  all  his  expectations?     Does  not  every  one  die  in 
the  midst  of  unrealized  ideas?  "     It  was  true   of  the  sreat 
ecclesiastic,  as   of  the  great  painter — while  the   Church  of 
his  own  country  and  Christians  in  all  lands  were  in  expecta- 
tion from  his  maturest  wisdom  and  best  skill,  the  workman 
dies.     Their  hope  and  his  own  plans,  projected  on  the  fu- 
ture, Avere  large.     Correspondingly,  it  was  subject  of  instant 
solicitude  and  eager  iniiuiry,  who  might  take  up  the  Avork 
Avhich  fell  from  his  dying  hand.     As  yet,  the  vacancy  in  the 
College  of  Bishops  is  untilled.      It  has  been  remarked  of  the 
late  General  Conference,  how  universal  the  impression  that 
no  man  stood  out  in  manifest  designation,  as  Marvin's   suc- 
cessor— its    interpretation,    perhaps,     that,     in    the    divine 
thought,  his  history  shall  stand  out  in  marked  separateness, 
for  the  instruction  of  his  generation,  as  the  grand   embodi- 
ment and  exponent,  it  was,  of  the   principles   and  polity  of 
priniitiA-e  Methodism,  ^uid  of  Apostolic  zeal  Avhich  Method- 
ism revived  ;  in  his  successorship,  that  it  falls  not  to  one,  but 
to  many.       His  unfinished  A\'-ork  exists  in  large  outline — what 
he  accomplished  and  left  to  be  accomplished.      Besides    and 
rather    than    the   incomplete  picture     on  the  easel    in    the 
studio,  it  AA'as  the  "unfinished  column  "  he  saw  at   Jerusa- 
lem,    the    Titanic    achievement     of    Phoenician    architects. 


790  Tusunr  -maiiviv. 

hewed  out  of  the  i-oclc  and  ils  fellows  supporlini;"  the  area 
of  SoloiiioiTs  Tc'inph!.  "  Jf  he  had  lived,"'  it  is  the  thought 
of  one,  "  A\()uld  he  not  have  l)eeii  our  Aposlh;  of  Foi-eign 
Missions?"  E(j[ually  suggestive  it  is,  1  hat  in  his  last  Iqiis- 
copul  tour,  at  the  Western  Confcrenee,  he  is  se^n  Mi'di  his 
eye  and  heart  on  the  vast  Home  Mission  field.  His  mantle 
is  hir;_:,-e,  to  fall  not  on  one  pair  of  shoulders,  l)ut  to  cover 
the  Avhoh;  Ixxly  of  preachers  and  the  entire  Church — in  true 
and  best  succession,  the  hil)orers  who  shall  cul(i\al(!  the 
handful  of  coi-.i  he  jjlanted  on  the  to[)  of  the  mountains  in 
one  hemisi)hcre  ;  and  in  the  other,  the  ( 'hurch  Avhii-li  shall 
heed  his  call  to  the  grand  ein[)riso  of  the  r(!coverj  of  the 
purchased  inheritance  of  the  Son  of  God,  Avhich  he  meas- 
ured and  niapjied  out  in  the  lat(!st  tra\-el  of  his  itinerant 
minislry. 

Bishop  ]Marvin  died  November  2(),  187  7.  TIk;  followinjr 
is  the  account  of  his  last  sickness  from  the  pen  of  his  per- 
sonal friend  and  faniilv  phvsician,  Dr.  S.  T.  Newnnan  : 

As  for  twenty  years  previous  to  liis  death  I  had  been  the  family  phy- 
sician of  Bishop  E.  M.  Marvin,  except  during  the  civil  war,  before  speak- 
ing of  his  last  illness,  it  may  be  interesting  to  his  friends  to  learn  some- 
thin  i?  of  the  state  of  his  health  during  the  twenty  years  referred  to;  es- 
pecially, as  tills  includes  the  most  important  and  useful  part  of  his  life. 

From  185().  at  -which  time  my  acquaintance  with  him  began,  to  1877  he 
was  seldom  sick  enomzh  to  require  his  remaining  indoors  more  than  a  day 
or  two  at  a  time.  Tliough  apparently  very  feeljle,  he  enjoyed  a  fair  degree 
of  heallh,  and  labored  with  uuremiLting  energy.  He  had,  however,  evi- 
dently inherited  a  tuberculous  diathesis,  as  was  abundantly  revealed  by  a 
post  mo7-tem  examination,  and  but  for  his  indomitable  will  and  energy  he 
doubtless  would  have  succumbed  years  a.'ro. 

In  ISuB  he  liad  a  severe  attack  of  pleurisy,  which  caused  me  much  un- 
easiness, but  from  wliich  in  due  time  he  recovered,  not,  however,  without 
having  the  functions  of  the  lungs  more  or  less  impaired,  because  of  their 
attachment  to  the  walls  of  t'.ie  ciiest,  subjecting  him  ever  after  to  some 
inconvenience  when  taking  aclivc  exercise. 

In  18G2  he  went  South,  and  for  four  years  remained  in  the  Confederate 
army,  preaching  to  the  soldiers  and  attending  upon  the  sick  and  wounded. 
While  in  the  army  he  suffered  much  from  an  ulcer  of  the  cornea,  which  at 
one  time  threatened  the  destruction  of  the  eye.  Under  the  care  of  Dr. 
McPheeters,  also  from  St.  Louis,  his  eye  was  saved,  but   with    a  habit  of 


IN  MISSOURI LAST  DAYS.  791 

squinting  or  closing  tlio  affected  ej-e,  as   if  to   give  relief  from   some  un- 
pleasant sensation . 

In  1870  or  1871,  he  had  another  severe  attack  of  illness,  involving  his 
lung-;,  from  which  he  soon  recovered,  but,  perhaps,  with  furtlier  impair- 
ment of  lung  function. 

On  Sunda}',  Novemljcr  18th,  he  had  conducted  three  or  four  different 
services.  Sometime  in  the  night  he  had  a  slight  chill.  But  in  the  morn- 
ing he  was  well  enough  to  return  to  the  city.  In  the  forenoon  lie  attended 
the  Preachers'  Meeting,  and  spent  a  part  of  the  day  in  writing,  and  such 
was  his  uncomplaining  nature,  that  he  did  not  even  mention  to  liis  family 
his  indisposition  at  Kirkwood  tlie  previous  day. 

On  Tuesday  he  appeared  to  be  in  his  usual  health,  and  was  actively 
employed  during  the  day — writing  tlie  hist  chapter  of  his  Travels.  But  in 
the  early  part  of  the  evening  he  had  a  severe  chill,  which  lasted  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  night.  Such  was  his  self-abnegation  that  medical  aid 
was  not  invoked,  until  Wednesday  morning,  when  I  was  sent  for.  1  found 
him  very  seriously  ill,  and  suffering  with  excruciating  pain  from  pleurisy. 
The  seveiity  of  the  pain  was  soon  greatly  mitigated  by  a  quarter  of  a  grain 
of  morphine,  administered  hypodermically.  I  directed  that  he  should  be 
kept  perfectly  quiet  and  that  he  should  see  no  company.  But  with  the 
ces>a;ion  of  pain  returned  his  desire  for  work  and  at  a  subsequent  visit  I 
learui  d  that  he  had  a  long  interview  with  the  publisher  of  his  Travels, 
hearing  read  and  correcting  prooi  and  talking  about  the  book  which  was  to 
appear  in  a  few  days.  I  expressed  disapprobation  at  this.  He  said  he 
thouglit  it  had  not  injured  him,  but  that  it  should  not  be  repeated. 

The  next  day,  as  he  seemed  not  to  be  getting  on  in  a  satisfactory  man- 
ner, I  propijsed  to  the  family  a  consultation.  Two  physicians  were  sent 
for,  one  of  whom  continued  in  attendance  with  me  during  his  illness.  Not- 
withstanding our  unremitting  attention,  the  disease  continued  to  advance, 
and  the  lungs  became  seriously  involved. 

On  Sunday  night  I  visited  him  at  lOK^  o'clock,  and  again  at  2  o'clock, 
with  two  other  physicians.  At  this  time  liis  respiration  was  rapid  and 
difficult,  and  he  said  to  me  that  he  thought  I  had  reason  to  be  alarmed. 
The  circnlatioii  of  the  blood  through  his  lungs  became  much  impeded,  so 
as  to  embarrass  tiie  action  of  the  heart,  preventing  it  from  fully  emptying 
its  cavities,  which  gave  rise  to  thrainbosis,  or  heart  clot,  resulting  in  death 
at  four  o'clock — much  sooner  than  was  expected.  Professor  Flint,  of  New 
York,  says  that  in  pneumonia  thrambosis  is  often  the  immediate  cause  of 
death. 

Thus  terminated  the  life  of  a  great  and  good  man. 

If  known,  his  sickness  would  have  broujrht  a  multitude 
of  callers,  and  he  would  have  had  some  to  come  to  his  room 
which  Avas  f()rl)idden  and  forestalled  bj  little  mention  of  his 
illness.     It  w;is  a  shock  to  the   St.  Louis   community,  riOt 


792  BISHOr  MAUVTX. 

loss  tluin  oil  the  shores  of  both  oceans  and  from  the  lakes 
to  the  Gulf  in  the  telegraphic  announceinent — "  Bishop  !Mar- 
viu  is  dead."  So  little  expected  a  near  end  or  a  fatal  sick- 
ness, that  his  household,  excej)t  his  Avife,  had  retired  for 
rest,  leaving  her  with  two  young  brethren,  as  watchers.  The 
family  are  aroused.  His  wife  has  come  to  the  bedside  to 
administer  medicine  at  the  stated  hour.  lie  does  not  re- 
spond. In  fifteen  minutes  it  is  all  over — he  is  with 
Christ.  The  history  is  in  the  words  of  his  son,  taken 
from  a  private  letter,  of  date  the  lirst  anniversary  of  that 
sad  November  day  :  "  I  have  been  thinkins^  of  him  much 
for  two  weeks  past.  I  go  over  in  my  mind  each  day  of  his 
sickness.  The  involuntary  groan  is  in  my  ear.  The  sad, 
patient  eyes  are  turned  upon  me.  I  see  his  features  dis- 
torted as  he  labors  for  breath.  At  last  the  short  respirations 
show  that  his  pain  is  gone,  but  it  is  because  his  life  is  going 
out.  lie  cannot  speak.  lie  cannot  move  his  hand.  lie 
cannot  move  his  lips.  He  cannot  move  his  eyes.  The  in- 
tervals l)ctween  his  breathino-s  jj^row  lonirer,      Thebreathinsrs 

<rrow  softer — and  softer — thev   cease.      And  death,  all   un- 
ci .  ' 

ex[)ectetl,  throws  his  shadow  over  our  home." 

So  much  abroad,  it  seems  to  have  been  an  abiding  fear 
at  his  home  that  he  might  die  among  strangers.  In  all  liis 
wide  travels,  there  happened  to  him  only  one  perilous  acci- 
dent. It  was  related  by  him  to  Rev.  J.  P.  Nolan,  and  in  a 
sin"^ular  connection  of  an  incidcMit  of  his  l^oAliood  with  his 
death — at  home  :* 

Two  weelvs  ami  two  ilays  before  ]io  died  I  was  ■witli  him  in  Carrolton, 
Mo.,  w'.ien  he  told  me  of  aa  accident  with  him  at  night  beyond  Graf  ton 
three  years  ago  this  Spring,  on  the  B.    &  ().  11.  Ti.    As  he  felt  his  coach — a 


*  The  incident,  perhaps,  is  alluded  to  in  the  following  note  made  at 
Calcutta:  "To  x-eturn  to  wheeled  A'ehicles.  There  is  no  want  of  variety. 
In  some  parts  of  the  country  the  cart  lias  only  a  truck  wheel,  sawed  off 
frinu  the  end  (jf  a  log,  a  hole  being  made  through  the  centre  for  the  axle. 
Such  were  sometimes  used  in  Missouri  in  the  early  settlement  of  the 
country.  I  casne  near  losing  my  life  when  a  boy  by  being -uu  over  by  one. 
It  flattened  me  out  well." — Book  of  Travels,  pp.  2G5-G. 


Ii\  MISSOURI LAST    DAYS.  793 

Pullman — /A'oin:;-  down  tlu!  iMnbanknu'iit,  hi^  first  thought  was,  "  Don't  feai", 
Enoch!  3()irjl  ilic  ia  your  IxmI  at  home  yet," — and  he  realised  no  fear,  aud 
crawled  out  of  the  wreck  with  the  slightest  damage.  This  iaterjected  lan- 
•juage,  he  said,  had  followed  him  from  his  childhood.  When  a  small  boy- 
he  had  a  narrow  escape  for  his  life.  Shortly  after  he  sat  on  his  mother's 
lap,  as  sh(!  told  the  story  of  his  rescue  to  an  old  lady  friend  visiting  the 
family,  who,  looking  straight  at  him,  said:  "  Don't  fear,  Enoch!  you'll  die 
in  your  bed  at  home  yet!"  Somehow,  said  the  Bishop,  these  words  had 
been  a  comfort  to  him. 

Kow  connect  them  with  the  fact  that  an  hour  after  lie  died,  his  weep- 
ing wife  met  the  first  coming  friend  atthe  door  with  the  saying :  "Wasn't 
God  good  to  inv?—}ie  died  at  home.'" 

The  next  Sabbath  after  his  visit  to  Carrolton  and  the  last 
of  his  public  ministry,  he  is  at  St.  Louis,  in  the  pulpit  at 
Centenary — the  sermon  preached  when,  as  it  turned  out,  the 
finger  of  death  had  touched  him.  So  it  seemed,  indeed,  to 
an  auditor,  the  son  of  Jacol>  Lannius,  his  Presidins:  Elder 
when  he  was  at  Hannibal  Station  and  ^Monticello  Circuit.  It 
is  related  by  the  pastor.  Dr.  Tudor:  "I  heard  of  course 
his  last  sermon  at  Centenary.  The  text  was  Rev.  xxii.  14  : 
'  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  commandments,  that  they  may 
have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through  the 
gates  into  the  City.'  The  sermon  Avas  labored  and  unlike 
himself.  At  the  close  of  service,  Bro.  Lannius  came  up  to 
me,  and  said  in  effect,  '  Something  is  the  matter  with  Bishop 
^Marvin.  I  never  heard  him  so  incoherent — is  not  his  work 
done?'  I  th()Uii;ht  duiini!- tlie  discourse  that  he  seemed  to 
be  laboring  under  mental  fatigue,  or  was  embarrassed  by 
being  compelled  to  time  himself  to  a  l)rief  sermon  so  as  to 
make  the  train  for  Kirkwood  at  1  o'olock  p.  m." 

With  desire,  no  doul)t,  he  dedicated  the  beautiful  chapel 
at  Kirkwood  that  afternoon — Boyle  Chapel,  its  name.  The 
Boyle-INIarvin  friendship  was  as  old  as  1844  and  strong  at 
the  last.  There  is  before  the  writer,  in  photograph,  a 
group — Mary  in,  Boyle  and  Clinton  in  sitting  posture  at  a 
table,  and  ^Morris  standing  in  the  midst.  Tlie  SAyeet-spirited 
and  gifted   ('linton  left  the    pulpit  at    First   Church  to   iro 


794  BISnOP  MARVIN. 

home  to  "Mississip})!,  to  die — in  tlio  last  ihonlh  of  1870  and 
the  hist  of  his  life,  lii.s  nicssaire  to  his  oM  <-h:ir<2;e : 
*'  Watchiiisi'  aiul  waitiiiir  !  ^^'ailillu■  for  Iho  call,  either  way; 
the  cull  to  hihor  or  the  call  to  rest."  The  only  survivor  of 
the  group  has  written  of  Mai-viii  in  these  pages,  and  said  of 
Bovle,  at  his  hier,  resting  on  the  same  spot  where  thousands 
looked  on  Marvin's  dead  face,  and  in  the  heariiiii;  of  a  like 
multitude  assembled  Avithin  the  walls  of  Centenary  Church  : 

I  liiive  had  every  opportunity  to  know  liini,  and  I  think  I  knew  hira 
well.  He  was  a  i>erfect  {gentleman,  a  iilcasant  Iricml,  an  iinnible  C'liristian, 
an  affectionate  and  faithful  pastor,  to  tiie  ricii  and  to  the  poor,  to  tlie  sick 
and  altlicted,  and  lie  was  an  eminent  and  successful  preacher  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ.  Take  him  in  all  tliiuus,  I  never  knew  any  one  better  qualified 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Ih;  sani;  well,  and  was  sinirnlarly  jiifted  in 
l)rayer.  1  have  lieard  him  i>reacli  \cry  ctften,  and  on  all  manner  of  occa- 
sions, have  heard  him  i)reacii  magnificent  sermons,  ])ut  never  a  poor  one  in 
mj'life. 

But  why  should  I  multiply  words?  Joseph  Boyle!  We  sliall  liear  his 
voice  no  more,  nor  see  his  face  again  in  tins  world,  hut  I  know  that  his 
name  will  linger  in  a  thousand  hearts,  sweet  and  pure  as  the  breath  of 
morning  flowers,  and  in  the  day  of  God,  and  at  tlie  great  gathering  of  the 
8aints  on  the  lulls  of  Heaven,  thousands,  who  heard  him  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, will  rise  up  and  call  him  hU'sscd. 

No  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  Missouri  Avasever  more  generally  known, 
none  more  respected,  none  more  beloved,  none  more  trusted,  and  surely 
none  ever  died  more  honored  or  more  lamented. 

[t  was  truly  said  by  Brother  Finney,  ■' We  are  all  mourners  fo-day." 
Not  only  the  wife  and  chiUlren  of  our  brother,  but  ^le  ministers  of  tlie 
Gospel  and  all  of  God's  people  are  weeping  to-day. 

Dr.  r>oylc  had  been  forbidden  hy  his  physicinn  to  preach 
for  nior(^  than  a  year.  That  was  a  cloud  on  liis  s[)iril — his 
prayer,  he  often  said,  that  he  might  not  sur\i\e  the  daA'  of 
streno:th  for  effective  work.  AA'liat  that  meant  is  in  the  re- 
cent  words  of  the  \enerable  Senior  liishop  :  **  1  cannot  de- 
scribe to  you  my  feelings  when  the  [)hysician  ordered  me  to 
cease  i)reacliing  and  to  rest  henceforth  from  all  laljor.  It 
overwhelmed  me  to  think  that  1  should  do  nothing  anv 
more  to  make  the  world  better  in  which  1  li\-ed."  Dr. 
Boyle  was  as  gleeful  as  a  child    w  hen  it  was    [)ermitted  him 


IN  MISSOURI LAST    DAYS.  795 

to  make  the  preaching  tour  in  Central  Missouri,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  died.  lie  hud  his  wish — a  sudden 
death  and  in  the  midst  of  hdiors.  Aroused  by  his  groan  in 
the  middle  of  the  nigjit,  and  absent  for  a  moment  to  call 
help,  his  wife  returned  to  the  room  to  see  him  in  a  last  gasp — 
the  chariot  of  God  sweeping  down  upon  him.  His  instructed 
foot  stei)ped  on  and  he  Avas  off  to  Glory.  Theso  two  friends 
were  alike  in  death.  Of  the  same  felicity  to  Bishop  Marvin, 
Bishop  McTyeire  spoke  :  "  He  was  at  his  prime — never  so 
useful,  so  widely  known,  and  so  much  beloved;  and  just 
then  suddenh^  removed.  Do  you  exclaim.  Mysterious 
Providence  !  It  is  something  for  the  Church  to  have  a 
clear  impression  of  Christian  and  ministerial  excellence,  in 
which  the  ideal  and  the  real  nearly  approach  each  other — a 
picture  to  be  hung  up  in  the  heart  of  the  people.  Old  ai»:e 
hath  its  intirmities,  and  sometimes  the  blunders  of  later  life 
mar  the  work  that  was  done  l^efore.  By  quick  and  sudden 
movement  the  seal  is  taken  up,  and  the  clear-cut  lines  and 
outlines  are  left  without  a  blur.  AVe  like  pictures  of  our 
friends  taken  wdien  in  health  and  in  their  best  condition. 
So  will  the  Church  think  of  Bishop  Marvin,  and  look  up  to 
that  standard,  long  after  the  days  of  her  mournino-  are 
ended."  Bishop  Marvin  said  for  himself  that  he  craved — his 
wish  o-ranted — "  to  die  in  the  rush  of  victorious  battle.'" 

The  Thursday  following  his  death  was  Thanksgiving  day 
— the  sermon  to  be  preached  by  him.  The  pulpit  was  occu- 
pied by  Bishop  McTyeire,  pronouncing  the  funeral  discourse 
over  his  bier.  There  w-as  a  a'reat  mournini>- — in  it,  an  under- 
tone  of  feeling  expressed  in  Wesley  Browning's  eucharistic 
prayer  and  in  the  sentiment  uttered  by  the  Senior  Bishop  : 
"  Thank  God  that  he  loaned  him  to  us."  Never  was  there  a 
more  elevated  sorrow.  The  Church  gloritied  (Jod  in  him. 
Never  more  wideh',  never  more  poignantly,  a  personal  irrief, 
but  not  selfish.  It  dismissed  the  servant  to  a  sainful  death. 
In  a  note  to  his  physician,  Cotton  Mather  wrote  :   "  My  last 


7oa 


BISHOr  MARVIN. 


enemy  is  come  :  I  should  say  rutlier,  my  best  friend,"  The 
word  of  a  nation  at  the  grave  of  its  Great  Captain  was  in 
the  heart  of  the  Militant  Church  that  day — 


"Peace!   Cliristiati  Warrior,  Peace! 
The  calm  rest  of  the  Just." 


This  Biography  is  ended — not  his  career,  it  nmst  be  Avrit- 
ten,  if  his  own  thought  of  Life  shall  be  taken.  It  jroes  on. 
The  massive  granite  in  the  City  of  the  Dead  transmits  his 
name.  In  his  history,  enduring  monuments  ensure  posthu- 
mous reputation  to  distant  generations.  lie  located  his 
immortality  beyond,  not  below  the  skies — that  of  earth, 
"the  airy  shadow  of  an  imperishable  name,"  he  said,  and 
wrote:  "  How  grand  is  the  Christian  conception  in  contrast 
to  this  !  To  us  the  livins:  soul  is  evervthins;,  a  livin<;  name 
nothing.  To  live  with  God  and  in  the  company  of  Holy  An- 
gels is  a  fact ;  to  live  in  fame  is  the  most  miserable  fiction. 
We  stand  on  theboundarv  of  a  world  more  real  than  this. 
Death  but  introduces  us  into  life."  In  these  pages  only 
the  introduction  to  his  history  has  been  written.  Its  follow- 
ing chapters  arc  in  his  own  words  of  faith  and  hope — 
"  moving  forward  upon  a  magnilicent  course  of  destiny, 
pursuing  i)lans  and  working  upon  methods  that  will  require 
eternity  for  their  consummation,  and  be  great  among  the 
grandeurs  of  the  City  of  God."  In  a  diary-entry,  the  sec- 
ond to  the  last,  written  a  few  days  before  his  death.  Lord 
Macaulay  wrote  of  his  end  :  "Impatient  to  get  to  my  little 
narrow  crib,  like  a  weary  factory  child."  In  the  last  month 
of  life,  on  a  visit  to  his  brother's  crave,  at  his  last  sacra- 
mental  board,  with  t)ie  emblems  of  redemption  in  his  hands, 
in  holy  rapture,  eyes  uplifted  and  arms  stretched  forth,  this 
the  utterance  of  Bishop  INIarvin — 

"(J,  THE  Mansions!     The  MansiOaNs!      Tiiky  ai'pkak  in  sight  1" 


IN  Memoriam 


*TnE    BURIAL 


^ip^S  soon  as  tlic  dentil  of  Bishop  Marvin  was  known, 
^^^^  the  Church  in  St.  Louis  delicately  requested  of  the 
family  the  privilege  of  ])urying  their  beloved  Chief  Pastor 
and  of  directing  the  funeral  obsequies — the  saddest  ever 
held  in  the  great  c'lty.  They  took  place  on  Thursday, 
November  20th,  LS77,  in  the  Centenary  Church,  corner 
of  Sixteenth  and  Pine  streets. 

It  was  Thanksgiving  Day.  By  rec^uest  of  the  Preach- 
ers' Meeting,  Bishop  Marvin  had  consented  to  preach  the 
sermon  in  that  house,  and  at  the  hour  in  which  his  colleaofue 
pronounced  the  funeral  oration  over  his  remains. 

The  large  audience  room  was  heavily  draped  in  mourn- 
ing. Around  the  pulpit  and  along  the  aisles,  the  hand 
of  love  had  placed  the  emblems  of  as  generous  sorrow 
as  had  ever  tilled  the  heart  of  the  Church.  From  the 
chancel  and  altar,  from  pulpit  and  pew,  the  House  of  God 
seemed  to  voice  forth  its  sympathy  to  mingle  with  that 
of  the  Aast  nniltitude,  Avho,  on  that  day,  Avept  over  the 
fallen  Chieftain. 

The  casket  was  placed  l)efore  the  chancel  early  in  the 
morning,  and  multitudes  of  people  of  all  classes  of  society 
passed  before  it  in  procession  to  look  for  the  last  time 
upon  the  face  of  the  beloved  Bishop.      The  features  were 


*  The  Rev.  Dr.  J.  W.  Lewis,  it  is  known,  lield  hitiniate  personal  rela- 
tions to  Bishop  Marvin  and  at  the  time  of  liis  death  was  the  Presiding  Elder 
of  the  District  and  became  the  President  of  the  "  Marvin-Memorial  Associ- 
ation." Appropriately,  from  his  pen  the  reader  is  furnished  an  account 
of  the  burial  and  erection  of  Monument  and  Home. 


800  BISHOP  MAItVIxX. 

ino>l  it:itur:il,  aiul  indieiitcd  the  cnlmncss  with  which  thr 
spirit  had  taken  its  depurture.  The  great  ai-in-chair  of 
the  pulpit  stood  in  tlie  chancel — vacant;  on  it  the  letter 
*' M  "  traced  with  immortelles,  and  on  the  wall  over  the 
pulpit,    ill    lloial    letters — "Rest." 

All  the  Southern  Methodist  Churches  were  represented 
in  tlii>  imjiosing  ceremonies  by  their  I'l'spective;  Otficial 
]5oards,  attending  in  a  ])odv  and  entering  the  Church  pre- 
ceded by  their  Pastors.  Ministers  from  tlie  adjoining 
Conferences  had  come  to  join  in  the  sad  memorial.  A 
large  number  of  the  pastors  of  the  Prot(!stant  Churches 
in  the  city  were  in  attendance — the  large  s[)ace  in  the 
chancel  of  the  Church  being  tilled  by  the  botly  of  the 
clergy.  Laymen  carried  him  to  the  bui'ial.  The  services 
were  simple  and  impressive.  As  the  long  procession  of 
special  mourners,  at  their  head  the  widow  ,  leaning  on  the 
arm  of  the  Pastor  of  the  family,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  G.  "Wilson, 
moved  into  the  Church,  the  Choir  rendered  Chopin's 
Funeral  March.  Rev.  J.  W.  Lewis  then  announced  th« 
hymn,   commencing — 

"  Wliat  though  the  arm  of  conqiieriug  death 
Does  God's  own  liouse  invade?" 

Rev.  Dr.  T.  M.  Finney  read  the  first  lesson,  the  nine- 
tieth Psalm  ;  and  the  second  was  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  W. 
V.  Tudor,  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians.  The 
Choir  and  the  Congregation  sang  the  Bishop's  favorite 
song,  "  TIk^  Land  of  Beulah,"  preceding  the  funeral  ser- 
mon by  Bishop  H.  N.  McTyeire,  who  had  come  for  that 
special  service  from  his  home  at  Nashville,  Tenn.  The 
sermon  has  been  widely  ])ublished — the  theme,  "  Thf 
Chosen  Vessel,"  Acts  ix.  15.  Ji  was  a  fitting  utterance 
in  doctrine,  and  a  nohle  tribute;  to  a  o-reat  name  and  a  irrcat 
career.  Rev.  Dr.  Kellev,  of  Nashville,  was  present  as  t,h« 
official  rci)resentative  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  II* 
follow^ed  the  reading  of  its  resolutions  of  resj)ect  and  con- 


THE     BURIAL.  801 

dolence,  with  remarks  in  just  estimate  of  a  i^a-eat  life  and 
character.  The  resolutions  adoi)ted  by  the  Southern  Metlio- 
dist  pastors  of  the  city  were  then  read  by  Rev.  E.  M. 
Bounds,  and  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Godbey  announced  the  liymn — 

"  Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave, 
But  we  will  not  deplore  thee." 

The  solemn  service  closed  with  prayer  led  by  the 
venerable  Wesley  Browning — a  remarkable  prayer,  which, 
apparently  taking  idea  from  the  day  of  Thanksgiving, 
had  also  a  heavenly  inspiration  and  power  in  it,  such 
as  to  cause  man}^  to  hold  their  breath  through  fear  of 
savino',  until  thev  should  hear  from  others,  what  was  in 
their  minds,  that  it  was  the  grandest  utterances  in  worship 
they  had  ever  heard  fall  from  human  lips. 

Beethoven's  Funeral  ]\Iarch  on  the  ors-an  Avas  ren- 
dered  while  the  bier  was  borne  down  the  aisle,  to  be  car- 
ried to  the  grave.  At  the  Cemetery,  Bishop  jMcTyeire 
read  the  offices  for  the  dead,  and  the  benediction  was 
pronounced  by  Wesley  Browning.  On  the  grave-mound 
was  left  in  floral  design.  Cross,  Crown,  Harp. 

"He  hath  given  his  beloved  sleep.*'  Calmer,  nor 
safer,  nor  sweeter  ever  slept  a  babe  upon  the  bosom  of 
its  mother,  than  now  sleeps  Enoch  IM.  Marvin  in  the  bosom  of 
his  native  Missouri  soil.  There  let  him  rest  "  till  the  day 
dawn  and  the  shadows  flee  awav." 

At  once,  at  the  meeting  for  making  arrangements  for 
the  funeral,  the  erection  of  a  monument  and  building  a 
house  for  his  family  were  proposed.  The  measure  was 
heartil}^  adopted,  and  has  been  carried  out  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  "Marvin  Memorial  Association,"  which  was 
soon  after  organized.  Its  plan  has  been  widely  published. 
Properly,  IVIissouri  Methodism  took  a  leading  part ;  though 
the  entire  Connection  was  given  and  embraced  the  priv- 
ilege to  join  in  this  fitting  tribute  of  gratitude  and  testi- 
monial of  love. 


802  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Tho  house  was  formally  prt'sciiteMl  lo  "Mrs.  ]\Iarvin  on 
the  Utli  day  of  Juno,  187'.>.  The  monunient  is  a  plain, 
massivx,  granite  shaft.  U[)on  its  face,  in  raised  letters, 
is  the  name,  Maiivin.  The  disc  bears  simply  inscription 
of  the  dates  of  his  bii'th,  entrance  into  the  ^Ministry,  election 
to  the  Episcopac}',  death.  It  stands  on  a  lot  Avhich  two 
devoted  and  cherished  friends  requested  the  privilege  to 
donate  as  the  Machpclah  of  the  family.  It  is  located  on 
the  main  avenue  of  the  Cemetery,  on  a  beautiful  elevation, 
with  a  lovely  frontage  South  and  East.  Near  it  is  the 
grave  of  his  old  colleague  and  devoted  friend,  Joseph  Boyle. 
Not  far  off  Drummond  sleeps.  Around  him,  too,  are 
the  resting  places  of  many  private  and  official  members  of 
the  churches  he  served,  with  M'hom  he  shall  be  "  caught 
up  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air." 

.On  May  21st,  1879,  the  Monument  was  dedicated  in 
the  presence  of  a  large  company  of  ministers  and  members 
of  the  Church  and  friends.  The  dedicatory  discourse,  de- 
livered b}^  his  Colleague,  Bishop  David  S.  Doggett,  of 
Virginia,  is  presented  in  the  following  pages. 


Dedication  of  the  Makvin  Monument, 
"Erecteo  in  Bellefontaine  Cemetekv,  St.  Louis,  Mo,,  May  21st,  1870. 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  MONUMENT. 


An  Oration,  deliv^eiied  in  Bellefontaine  Cemetery, 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  May  21st,   1.S79,  by  bishop 

David  S.  Doggett,  of  Virginia. 


f^t'ELLOW  christians  :  We  have  assembled  in  this 
j^j^  solemn  repository  of  the  dead,  to  perform  a  transac- 
tion replete  with  unusual  significance.  We  have  assembled 
to  commemorate  the  character  of  a  distinguisheTl  servant 
and  representative  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  on  the  spot  in 
which  his  body  lies  ;  and  to  commit  to  posterity,  in  a  form 
as  lasting  as  the  earth  itself,  our  appreciation  of  his  worth. 

In  fulfilling  this  high  behest,  we  embody  the  most  cher- 
ished sentiments  of  humanity  ;  we  enshrine  the  loftiest  con- 
victions of  Christian  faith  and  fellowship  ;  and  we  illustrate, 
in  part,  the  inspired  epitaph:  "The  righteous  shall  be  in 
everlasting  remembrance." 

In  all  aues,  and  amongst  all  nations,  the  affection  and 
the  reverence  of  the  living  for  their  virtuous  and  honored 
dead,  have  displayed  themselves  in  a  generous  effort  to  res- 
cue their  names  from  oblivion,  and  to  detain,  for  a  time  at 
least,  the  svmliols  and  the  semblance  of  their  presence. 
The  absence  of  their  persons  and  the  corruptibility  of  their 
bodies  are  sought  to  be  compensated,  in  a  measure,  by  me- 
morials which  shall,  however  imperfectly,  reproduce  their 
image  to  contemporaries,  and  transmit  their  fame  to  distant 
generations. 

On  this  spontaneous  and  commendable  effort,  ingenuity 
has  exerted  its  capacity  for  invention,  and  art  has  lavished 
its  richest  resources  in  execution.      Even  the  savage  has 


804  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

reared  his  funereal  mound,  in  sorrow,  and  left  the  rude 
relics  of  liis  age  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  his  race. 
Heathen  civilization  has  jJoured  the  wealth  of  its  genius 
upon  its  sepulchral  monuments.  The  banks  of  the  Nile  are 
scarcely  more  illustrious  for  their  gorgeous  temples,  than 
for  the  grandeur  of  their  tombs.  Grecian  and  Roman  cul- 
ture, in  the  height  of  its  splendour,  rendered  sculpture  and 
architecture  tributary  to  the  virtues  of  departed  statesmen 
and  heroes.  And  Christian  ideas,  respecting  the  sainted 
dead,  have  labored  to  give  expression  to  themselves,  in  every 
style  of  monumental  device,  from  the  simple  memorial  slab, 
the  cenotaph,  the  sarcophagus,  the  column,  the  effigy,  and 
the  obelisk,  to  the  costly  mausoleum. 

Nor  i^  this  universal  custom  to  be  lightly  esteemed,  or 
friiridlv  criticised.  It  is  not  the  expression'  of  a  mere  child- 
ish  pang,  nor  of  a  sudden  paroxysm  of  impotent  grief.  It 
is  not  the  wail  of  animal  instinct  over  a  dying  mate.  It  is 
not  the  ostentatious  display  of  a  fulsome  egotism  to  cele- 
brate the  living  at  the  expense  of  the  dead.  AVhatever  ])c  its 
ceremony  or  its  extravagance,  it  is,  in  reality,  an  exponent 
of  those  profound  beliefs  which  emerge  unconsciously  from 
the  depths  of  human  nature,  as  God  made  it,  how  nmch 
soever  they  may  have  ])cen  smothered  by  its  frightful  dilap- 
idation ;  and  is  prophetic  of  its  destiny.  It  is  the. oracular 
voice  within,  Avhich  responds  to  the  death-doom  of  the  good 
and  the  great,  without  surrendering  its  claim  to  a  perpetual 
connection  with  them.  It  is  an  attempt,  though  feeble,  to 
supply  the  l)roken  link  of  eternal  unity,  in  that  chain  of 
common  brotherhood,  which  binds  together  the  great  family 
of  man.  It  is  a  generic  force  which  refuses  to  submit  to  the 
<doomy  destiny  of  an  endless  dissolution  of  its  ties.  It  is 
an  evidence  of  that  mystic  title  to  immortality  which  death 
cannot  abolish,  and  of  that  reilox  influence  of  the  dead  upon 
the  living,  which  death  cannot  be  permitted  to  destroy. 

The  Christian  custom  of  depositing  memorials,  of  in- 


DEDICATION    OF    THE    MONUMENT.  805 

scril)in£r  emblematical  desi<ins,  and  of  crectini?  .sacred  moim- 
ments  over  the  graves  of  the  pious  dead,  dates  far  back  into 
the  antiquities  of  the  Church.  It  is  a  beautiful  and  affecting 
illustration  of  the  doctrine  of  the  indestructil)le  communion 
of  saints  ;  of  the  belief  in  the  blissful  survival  of  the  soul ; 
of  the  hope  of  a  glorious  resurrection  ;  and  of  the  felicities 
of  the  life  to  come.  In  its  genuine  simi)licity,  Avhile  it  pays 
a  riirhteous  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  o'ood,  it  is  invested 
Avith  the  moral  sublimit}'  of  a  silent  but  instructive  apoca- 
lypse. 

A  Christian  monument  is  the  last  visible  representation 
of  the  dead.  It  is  the  last  permanent  signal  which  they 
make  from  their  graves  to  the  living.  It  is  the  expressive 
appendix  which  the  hands  of  admiring  survivors  add  to  the 
real  autobiography  of  exalted  excellence.  It  is  symbolical, 
not  onlv  of  the  sentiments  of  natural  religion  common  to 
mankind,  but  of  the  hallowed  convictions  and  inspiring  mo- 
tives of  Divine  Revelation.  It  publishes,  in  stone,  an 
abridged  edition  of  Christian  biography.  It  bears  a  speech- 
less testimony  to  Christian  fidelity,  in  the  shades  and  soli- 
tudes of  the  tomb.  It  seals  the  sepulchre  with  the  signature 
of  redemption,  to  await  its  indemnity  in  the  morning  of  an- 
other and  brighter  day.  It  reflects  the  last  rays  of  life's 
setting  sun.  It  catches  the  first  rays  of  that  day  of  joy 
which  will  never  end.  Amidst  the  roll  and  the  ravages  of 
time,  it  steadil}^  reminds  the  transient  pilgrim  of  his  passage 
to  his  eternal  home,  and  encourages  him  to  "  follow  them 
who,  through  faith  and  patience,  inherit  the  promises." 

What  a  school  of  instruction  is  a  public  cemetery.  What 
a  suo-<'estive  studv  is  meditation  amono-  the  tombs.  What 
profound  preachers  are  monuments  and  epitaphs.  What 
scenes  of  sorrow,  Avhat  triumphs  of  faith,  do  they  record. 
What  a  commentar}'  do  they  contain  upon  the  vanity  of  hu- 
man life.  What  an  irresistil)le  argument  do  they  offer  to 
the  sophisms  of  infidelity.     What  a  proof  do  they  afford  of 


806  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

the  truth  of  the  Christian  rclio-jon,  which  alone  solves  the 
problem  of  death,  and  announces  the  universal  vacation  of 
the  grave.  How  forcibly  do  they  endorse  the  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection,  when  "the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first ;" 
and  when  the  transported  si)ectator,  while  the  scene  is  liurst- 
ing  upon  him,  may  well  exclaim  : 

"See  trutli,  love,  and  mercy,  in  triumph  descending, 
And  uiiture  a  1  glowing  in  Eden's  lir>t  bloom ; 
On  the  cold  check  of  dcatli,  smiles  and  roses  are  blending, 
And  beauty  immortal  awakes  from  the  tomb." 


TTe  have  before  us  to-day,  an  imposing  specimen  of 
Christian  art,  which  specially  claims  our  attention.  It  is, 
that  polished  shaft  of  enduring  granite  yonder,  -which  lifts 
its  graceful  form  in  this  funereal  grove,  amidst  a  wilderness 
of  other  monuments  which  occupy  and  adorn  the  magnificent 
retreat  of  Bellefontaine  Cemetery,  established  for  the  deceas- 
ed citizens  of  St.  Louis.  Here  rest,  in  undisturl)ed  repose, 
the  mortal  remains  of  thousands  of  her  teeming  population, 
from  every  grade  and  condition  of  life.  Here  will  be  gath- 
ered, in  solemn  succession,  her  future  generations.  Here 
arise,  in  thickened  array,  on  gentle  hills  and  sloping  vales» 
under  the  spreading  dome,  and  rural  arches,  and  along  the 
windins:  aisles  of  nature's  s;rand  cathedral,  the  chaste  and 
stately  ideals  of  the  loved  and  the  lost ;  as  if  the  fostering 
soil,  conscious  of  its  treasure,  were  striving,  by  mysterious 
agencies,  to  repeople,  with  crystal ized  shapes,  the  desolations 
of  death. 

Here,  at  our  feet,  on  this  rismg  and  verdant  knoll,  lies 
the  body  of  Enoch  IMather  Marvin  ;  a  native  of  INIissouri,  a 
citizen  of  St.  Louis,  and  a  Bishop  of  the  ]\Iethotlist  Episco- 
jDal  Church,  South.  A  treasure  more  precious  is  not  con- 
tained within  the  limits  of  this  vast  enclosure.  And  here, 
too,  stands,  in  solid  workmanship,  and  in  simple  grandeur. 


DEDICATION    OF    THE    MONUMENT.  807 

the  appropriate  tribute  of  a  loving,  admiring,  and  mourning 
church,  to  his  memory.  And  here  we  have  assembhid,  on 
this  bright  and  babny  day,  in  the  leafy  and  flowery  month 
of  May,  to  signalize  this  noble  contribution  ;  to  dedicate  this 
arenerous  offeriuix ;  and  to  crown  his  useful  life  with  honors 
worthy  of  his  name.  This  day,  the  church  which  he  served, 
and  the  intimate  friends  whom  he  loved,  unite  in  worship- 
ing God,  and  in  consecrating  tliis  monument  to  his  fame. 
The  credit  of  this  commemoration  is,  indeed,  due  princii)ally 
to  the  churches  of  St.  Louis  and  Missouri.  But  it  is  a  vi- 
carious transaction,  on  their  part ;  since  they  perform  this 
service  on  behalf  of  a  whole  denomination,  and  will  receive 
their  commendation. 

Here  let  us  pause,  a  moment,  to  contemplate  the  most 
important  portion  of  this  memorable  event.  It  is  not  the 
product  of  the  quarry,  nor  the  creation  of  the  artist ;  it  is 
not  the  mouldering  body  of  the  revered  Bishop,  which  we 
celebrate  to-day.  It  is  not  the  fiction  of  some  imaginary 
apotheosis  which  aninuites  our  souls,  which  enchains  us  by 
its  weird  witchery,  to  this  sacred  spot,  and  which  throws  the 
enchantment  of  a  mythological  dream  around  this  classical 
column,  No  !  It  is  the  more  solid  structure  of  his  Chris- 
tian manhood  ;  the  loftier  column  of  *his  representative  re- 
lations ;  the  grander  monument  of  his  character  and  his 
deeds.  It  is,  in  these  respects,  that  his  moral  stature  rises 
and  expands  before  us,  imparts  a  life-like  ideality  to  the 
chiseled  granite,  and  speaks  intelligibly  from  its  silent  sur- 
face. It  is  these  rich  associations  which  cluster  around  the 
centre,  and  culminate  upon  the  apex,  of  this  memorial  shaft. 
We  pronounce  him  worthy  of  this  posthumous  honor. 

I  am  not  here  to  fulfil  the  ofiice  of  his  funeralist,  his 
biograi)her,  or  his  eulogist.  These  duties  cither  have  been 
or  will  be  discharged  by  others.  I  am  here  only  as  the  in- 
terpreter of  his  monument.  This  is  all  the  occasion  exacts 
of  me  ;  and  in  this  capacity,  it  is  incumbent  upon  me  to  pre- 


^08  BISH01>  MAliVIN. 

sent  nothing  more  than  a  brief  dclinoatiou  of  those  qual- 
ities wliit  h  wi-re  so  conspicuous  in  his  })ublic  life,  as  to 
iustify  the  demonstration  which  w(!  make  t()-(hiv.  The  in- 
cidcnts  of  liis  ])rivate  life,  1  remit  to  that  domestic  circle, 
into  whose  sanctuary  it  would  he  ])i-esuniptuous  to  cuter; 
and  whose  hallowed  reciprocities  it  would  be  a  sacrilege  to 
reveal. 

Bishop  Marvin  was  a  representative  man.  His  broad  in- 
dividuality, s-anctitied  by  grace,  s[)rcad  itself  ovei-  ordinary 
bounds,  and  airiirandized  him  a])oye  many  of  his  contcm- 
poraries. 

He  i)ossessed,  when  erect,  a  commanding  form,  indicative 
of  superiority  ;  and  a  brow  expressive  of  high  achievement, 
upon  which  nature  set  her  distinguishing  signet. 

He  was  endow^ed  with  a  capacious  intellect,  which  ])roke 
throuiih  the  trammels  of  early  disadvantao-es,  and  the  com- 
nionplaces  of  current  thought ;  and  which,  with  the  vigor  of 
an  inborn  originality,  soared  into  the  higher  realms  of  in- 
quiry, and  gi'appled  with  the  great  questions  of  revelation 
and  i)hilosophy,  without  compromising  the  fundamental 
truths  of  reliiiion  or  science. 

His  highest  commendation  is,  that  he  was  a  thorough 
Christian,  in  the  depths  of  a  joyous  experience  and  in  the 
example  of  a  holy  life  ;  as  free  from  fanaticism,  on  the  one 
hand,  as  he  was  from  formality,  on  the  other.  His  zeal  was 
uiujuenchable,  and  its  last  outburst  extinguished  his  life. 
He  was  a  practical  illustration  of  the  transforming  inlluence 
of  the  Christian  religion,  whose  moral  miracles  are  a  greater 
evidence  of  its  divinity,  than  those  which  controled  the  laws 
of  nature.  His  life  was  a  sacrifice,  and  his  death  a  volun- 
tary martyrdom  to  the  cause  which  he  espoused.  Ardent  in 
his  attachment  to  Methodism,  by  conviction,  and  an  al)le 
exi)ounder  and  defender  of  its  doctrines  and  i)()lity,  he  was 
a  bright  example  of  that  lofty  catholicity  Avhich  delights  to 
recognize,  as  fellow  Christians,  all  Avho  love  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  in  sincerity. 


DEDICATION    OF    THE    MONUMENT.  809 

He  was  an  eloquent  i)reacher ;  fresh,  free,  powerful, 
ecstatic,  orthodox,  in  his  presentation  of  the  (Jospel  message. 
He  reveled  with  conscious  strength,  like  the  eagle,  in  the 
flight  and  range  of  the  heaven  of  truth. 

lie  Avas  a  ready  and  an  able  writer.  His  authorship  is  a 
record  of  his  intellectual  power,  and  will  continue  to  rej^eat 
edifying  instruction  to  those  who  shall  come  after  him. 

He  was  an  extensive  and  observant  traveler.  He  tra- 
versed the  continent,  and  made  the  tour  of  the  world,  in  the 
cause  of  Christ,  sowing  the  good  seed  as  he  went,  and  gather- 
ing information  with  respect  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  the 
earth,  for  the  benefit  of  future  laborers  in  the  vineyard. 

Finally,  he  Mas  an  apostolic  Bishop.  He  stood  in  the 
true  line  of  succession,  and  bore  the  authentic  seals  of  a 
Scriptural  apostleship.  Called  to  this  high  degree,  by  the 
voice  of  the  Church,  he  sustained  its  diirnitv  and  fulfilled 
its  commission,  with  a  fidelity  and  an  ability  which  shed  lus- 
tre upon  the  oiSce.  He  entrenched  himself  in  the  affections 
and  the  admiration  of  Southern  Methodists,  and  extorted 
praise  from  other  denominations.  His  death  created  a 
breach  in  the  College  of  our  Bishops,  and  his  colleagues 
mourn  his  absence  from  their  annual  councils. 

These,  my  hearers,  are  the  j)rincipal  facts  which  give  to 
this  impressive  occasiol^  its  true  import ;  and  Avhich  assign 
its  proper  value  to  the  Christian  enterprise  of  those  who 
have  been  the  instruments  of  erecting  this  monument.  They 
have  done  a  good  Avork.  Dr.  Joseph  W.  Lewis,  of  this 
city,  bore  to  the  Bishops,  during  their  recent  session  in  the 
City  of  Nashville,  the  report  of  its  completion,  and  also  of 
the  approaching  consummation  of  the  benevolent  plan  of  the 
Marvin  jSIemorial  Association,  to  provide  a  new  and  com- 
fortable home  for  the  widow  and  children  of  the  deceased 
Bishop.  His  surviving  colleagues  felt  a  melancholy  pleasure 
at  the  signal  success  of  so  generous  a  purpose,  adopted  res- 
olutions of  grateful  acknowledgment,  and  requested  me  to 
repeat  their  thanks  at  the  dedication  of  this  monument. 


810  ^  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

I  deem  it  ;i  privilege,  of  no  ordinary  magnitude,  to  have 
participated  in  these  affecting  exercises.  JSIy  personal  and 
otfifial  relations  to  the  deceased,  render  it  particularly  ap- 
propriate, as  one  of  his  colleagues,  on  this  visit  to  Missouri, 
that  in  behalf  of  the  others,  and  of  the  whole  Church,  I 
should  take  part  in  these  final  solemnities. 

I  have  endeavored,  however  inadequately,  to  discharge 
the  duty  of  the  hour  ;  and  now,  in  the  name  of  God  and  of 
his  cause,  I  commit,  this  day,  to  the  keeping  of  the  Church, 
of  posterity,  and  of  history,  the  name,  the  reputation,  the 
character,  the  work,  and  the  monument,  of  Enoch  Mather 
Marvin,  late  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  to  1)0  a  perpetual  deposit. 

iNIay  this  memorial  shaft  retain  its  appointed  place  in 
Belief ontaine  Cemetery,  until  "  the  shout  of  the  archangel 
and  the  trump  of  God  "  shall  announce  the  end  of  time. 
May  it  lift  up  its  significant  form  towards  the  overarching 
heavens,  in  summer  and  winter,  in  sunshine  and  storm,  in 
day  and  night,  until  the  great  clock  of  nature  shall  peal  out 
its  last  note  on  the  stagnant  air,  its  wasted  machinery  run 
down,  and  its  sluggish  pendulum  stand  still. 

Hither  may  Christian  pilgrims,  in  successive  generations, 
pensively  come  and  look,  and  learn  the  useful  lessons  which 
it  is  intended  to  teach.  And  when  human  monuments  shall 
cease  to  represent  Christian  ideas  and  Cliristian  hopes  ;  and 
when  the  earth  and  the  sea  shall  surrender  their  trust,  may 
the  honored  dead  and  his  honoring  survivors  he  trans- 
ferred from  their  tom})s,  to  the  temple  of  our  (iod,  to  be- 
come pillars  therein,  and  to  be  removed  from  their  places 
no  more  forever  I     Amen. 


MEMOEIAL   TRIBUTES. 


"  His  memory  long  will  livo  alone, 

In  all  our  hearts,  as  mournful  light; 
That  broods  above  the  fallen  sun, 

And  dwells  in  heavcn  half  the  night." 

p^O  death  could  have  hirger  and  wider  public  mention — 
on  the  day  of  his  death,  in  all  the  newspapers  of  a  con- 
tinent and  soon  afterwards,  at  London  and  at  Shano-hai  :  on 
the  day  of  his  burial,  in  discourse  or  prayer,  in  the  congrega- 
tion of  almost  every  pastoral  charge  in  the  Connection  of 
Southern  Methodism.  The  funeral  discourse  has  been  pub- 
lished in  all  the  church  papers  and  its  reading  has  made  a 
memorial  service  at  nmltiplied  thousands  of  Methodist 
family-altars.  Memorial  occasions  were  at  once  appointed 
throughout  the  borders  of  the  Church — widely  as  length 
and  bretidth  of  his  travels,  in  city  and  hamlet,  on  Station 
and  Mission,  conducted  by  Bishops  and  Circuit-preachers. 
The  Conferences,  as  they  were  held  in  course,  embalmed 
his  name  on  the  memorial  page  of  the  minutes.  Two  were 
in  session  at  the  date  of  his  decease.  Bishop  Keener  was 
holding  the  Memphis  Conference.  Bishop  jNIcTj-eire,  a 
visitor,  says  of  the  shock  and  thrill  of  the  telegram  :  "  In- 
stantly the  crowded  house  was  turned  into  a  Bochim — a 
place  of  weeping."  The  following  "  In  Memoriam,"  ap- 
pears on  the  front  page  of  the  printed  Minutes : 

Monday,  November  20, 1877,  while  the  Memphis  Conference  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  business  of  the  session,  a  dispatch  was  received  by  Bishop 
McTyeire,  conveying  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Marvin,  at  four 
o'clock  A.  M.,  on  the  morning  of  th.it  day,  at  his  residence,  in  St.  Louis. 
The  mournful  tidings,  read  by  the  Bishop,  produced  the  deepest  feeling; 
there  were  sobs  and  sighs,  as  of  heart-breaking,  all  over  the  Conference- 
room.    By  common  consent  the  regular  business  was  suspended.    After  a 


812  BISHOr  MARVIN. 

pause,  Bishop  Keener  called  upon  Dr.  Boswell,  and  then  upon  tlie  Rev. 
Thomas  Joyncr,  to  lead  in  prayer.  The  prayers  ended,  tlie  bretliren  sang 
the  dear  oid  liynni : 

"  On  Jordan's  stormy  banlc  I  stand." 
Tlien  Bishop  Keener  arose,  and  gave  expression  to  his  feelings  in  a  brief 
address  as  tender  and  pathetic,  as  it  would  have  been,  if  Bisliop  Marvin  had 
been  his  own  brotlier.  Deeply  affoctin;;  addresses  were  made  also  by  tlie 
Revs.  S.  B.  Si-ratt,  A.  T.  Scru-^s,  W.  M.  Patterson,  W.  T.  Bollin^^',  T. 
L.  Bosncl!,  W.  C-  Johnson,  Guilford  Jones  and  E.  C.  Slater,  and  by  Chan, 
cellor  K.  J.  Morgan. 

"  Shall  we  meet  beyond  the  river," 
was  sung  Avith  genuine  pathos  and  in  sweetest  strains;  and  every  heart, 
alive  wilh  the  sentiment,  throbbed  in  hope  of  the  heavenly  reunion.  Many 
other  brethren  desired  to  give  utterance  to  their  sense  of  the  gr6at  loss 
which  had  just  befallen  tlie  Church,  but  all  preferred  to  hear  Bishop 
McTyeire,  who  closed  the  spontaneous  and  most  impressive  service  of  two 
hours'  length  with  an  address  exceedingly  appropriate  to  the  occasion, 
sketching  the  life  of  Bishop  Marvin,  and  dwelling  upon  his  recent  mission- 
ary tour  around  the  world.  The  Committee  on  Memoirs,  as  instructed, 
reported  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  which  were  adopted  as 
the  sense  of  the  Conference,  viz: 

WuEREAS,  We  have  been  to-day  informed  of  the  death  of  our  beloved 
Bishop  Marvin,  which  has  removed  from  our  Episcopacy  and  the  Church  at 
large,  one  whose  holiness  of  life,  intellectual  vigoraudellicicncy  of  service, 
rendered  him  invaluable  to  us  in  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
and  the  building  up  of  our  common  Methodism,  both  in  this  country  and 
in  foreign  lands  ;  tlurefore 

Besolvcd,  1.  That  we  recognize  the  hand  of  the  Great  Head  of  the 
Church  in  the  sudden  removal  of  our  beloved  Bishop ;  and  while  in  human 
judgment  it  is  a  great  mj'stery  that  he  should  have  been  called  away  just  at 
the  time  his  work  was  calling  so  loudly  for  him,  yet  we  do  most  reverently 
bow  to  the  sad  dispensation  in  the  spirit  of  that  submission  whose  faith 
reaches  beyond  on  r  understanding,  and  brings  us  humbly  to  rely  upon  our 
Heavenly  rather,whose  wisdom  and  love  are  commensurate  with  the  neces- 
sities of  his  Church. 

2.  That  we  will  most  fervently  pray  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  in  due 
time  set  apart  some  one  to  (ill  the  vacancy  in  the  College  of  Bishops,  who 
shall  be  as  abundant  in  labors;  as  pure  in  heart;  as  gentle  inspirit;  as  able 
in  doctrine;  as  profound  in  thought ;  as  pcrsunsive  in  eloq  lence,  and  as 
faithful  in  the  discharge  of  all  tlie  duties  belonging  to  the  office  of  a  Bish- 
op in  the  Church  of  God,  as  was  this  eminent  servant  of  Christ. 

3.  That  we  extend  to  his  bereaved  family  our  sincerest  condolence  inthe 
midst  of  their  grief,  with  the  assurance  of  our  prayers,  that  our  Heavenly 
Father  may  grant  unto  them  his  sustaining  grace  in  this  life,  and  a  glorious 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES,  813 

reunion  iutlie  home  of  his  saints,  witli  him  who  was  so  dear  to  tliem,  and 
so  fondly  cherislied  by  our  entire  Church. 

4.  That  the  Secretary  of  tlie  Conference  be  instructed  to  forward  tlie 
above  preamble  and  resolutions   to  the  family  of  onr  deceased  brother. 

At  the  same  time  Bishop  Doggettwas  holding  the  North 
Carolina  Conference.  By  its  request  he  preached  a  sermon 
before  the  Conference  in  Memorial  of  their  beloved  and 
ascended  Bishop,  in  which  were  the  following  remarks,  ap- 
pearing at  the  time  in  print  and  revised  by  him  for  this  page  : 

I  do  not  propose  to  give  a  biographical  sketch  of  the  life  of  my  distin- 
guished colleague.  That  duty  will  be  fully  performed  on  another  and 
a  more  fitting  occasion.  All  that  is  necessary  or  appropriate,  at  present, 
»is  a  seasonable  recognition  of  his  "worth,  and  a  wise  improvement  of  the 
sad  event  which  gives  character  to  these  exercises.  It  is  eminentlj'  proper 
that  an  Annual  Conference,  receiving  the  solemn  information,  during  its 
session,  should,  in  some  way,  commemorate,  however  inadequately,  the 
character  of  a  General  Superintendent  of  the  Church,  and  especially  of 
one  who  has  rendered  himself  illustrious  in  its  service.  Sach  a  tribute  is 
due  to  exalted  merit,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the  high  relation  Avhich  he 
sustained  to  a  large  and  prosperoqs  denomination  of  Christians,  on  the 
other.  Above  all,  it  is  due  to  that  grace  ■which  bestowed  so  rich  a  gift 
upon  the  Church.  In  honoring  his  memory,  we  glorify  God.  In  apprecia- 
ting his  virtues,  we  improve  our  own. 

Bishop  Marvin  was  comj^aratively  unknowTi  to  Southern  Methodism, 
until  his  elevation  to  the  Episcopacy,  in  the  year  1SG6.  He  was,  however, 
well  known  to  Slethodism  in  Missouri  and  in  Texas,  and  stood  pre- 
eminent in  that  sphere,  as  a  preacher  of  original  power  and  dauntless 
zeal.  Of  these  qualities  he  had  given  decided  evidence,  when  pastor  of 
Centenary  Church,  in  St.  Louis :  and  had  obtained  a  just  notorietj',  espe- 
cially by  his  able  and  manly  defence,  in  the  pulpit,  of  the  doctrines  of 
Protestant  Christianity  against  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  Eoman 
Catholicism,  so  prevalent  in  that  citj^  He  proved  himself  to  be  master  of 
the  controversy,  and  wielded  his  skill  with  ti'iumphant  success.  It  was 
the  knowledge  of  these  endowments  which  induced  the  Trans-MississijDpi 
delegations  in  the  General  Conference,  in  New  Orleans,  though  he  was  not 
a  member  of  it,  to  urge  his  claims  as  their  first  Bishop.  The  result  has 
fully  justified  the  wisdom  of  this  selection,  and  the  action  of  the  General 
Conference. 

He  was  one  of  those  remarkable  instances  of  ministerial  development 
which  have  not  unfrequentlj'  signalized  and  adorned  the  itinerant  system 
of  evangelization  peculiar  to  Methodism.  That  system,  disclaiming  the 
indispensable  necessity  of  a  thorough  literarj''  and  theological  training,  as 
a  pre-requisite  to  admission  into   the  ministry ;  and  availing  itself  of  the 


814  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

services  of  those  Avho  give  assurance  of  the  depth  of  their  piet}',  of  the 
soundness  of  their  faith,  anil  of  their  elements  of  usefulness,  lias  evoked 
from  privac}',  and  even  obscurity,  preachers  of  the  highest  ability,  evolved 
talents  of  the  highest  order,  and  set  at  work  the  most  effective  activities 
that  have  ever  promoted  and  blest  the  Church  of  God.  Distinguished,  as 
its  history  often  has  been,  by  ministers  of  elegant  scholarship,  and  ready, 
as  it  always  has  been,  to  patronize  education,  and  to  accept  and  assign  to 
duty,  the  most  richly  cultivated,  it  has  aggrandized  its  mission,  and 
clothed  itself  with  renown,  under  God,  by  appropriating,  in  its  hallowed 
emergencies,  the  most  available  materials  within  reach;  transforming 
them,  by  its  plastic  processes,  into  workmen  Avho  needed  not  to  be 
ashamed  and  adapted  to  every  department  of  evangelical  labor;  and  who 
have  astoni-hed  tlieir  contemporaries  by  the  solidity  of  their  acquirements 
and  the  splendor  of  their  genius.  Nothing  daunted,  it  still  persists  in  its 
well-tried  policy,  invoking,  at  the  same  time,  the  aids  of  sanctified  learn- . 
ing,  in  order  to  adjust  itself  to  tlie  demands  of  a  progressive  age.  Raised 
in  humble  life,  on  the  then  frontier  of  Western  JNIethodism,  and  trained  by 
its  assiduous  care,  Enoch  M.  Marvin  burst  forth  as  a  star  of  the  first  mag- 
nitude, and  gradually  ascended  to  meridian  ;iltitude,  without  those  educa- 
tional advantages  now  so  accessible  to  others. 

The  salient  point  of  his  subsequent  career  was  his  iuvcstiture  with  the 
Episcopacy.  It  placed  him  in  a  position  which  gave  scope  and  stimulus 
to  his  abilities  and  his  zeal.  Plis  latent  energies  seemed,  as  it  were,  to 
await  the  opportunity  for  which  he  was  assigned.  It  was  tlie  summit- 
level  from  which  the  eagle  made  his  gauge  and  took  his  flight,  and  after 
trying  his  pinions  for  awhile,  accomplished  the  circuit  of  the  world. 

His  intellectual  capacity  was  projected  on  a  scale  of  commanding  com- 
pass. It  possessed  unusual  breadth  and  penetration.  It  could  grapple 
with  the  great  questions  of  theology  and  philosophy,  and  was  fond  of 
metaphysical  speculations,  in  which  he  occasionally  indulged.  lie  could 
have  distinguished  himself  in  the  field  of  analytic  inquiry,  had  he  devoted 
himself  to  its  abstractions.  But  he  was  too  conscientious  and  too  practi- 
cal to  follow  its  fascinations. 

As  a  preacher  he  took  rank  in  the  highest  grade  amongst  us,  by 
the  generalization  of  his  doctrinal  positions,  the  fertility  and  originality 
of  his  conceptions,  and  the  copiousness  and  waaltli  of  his  diction.  To 
these,  were  added  tlie  depth  and  soundness  of  his  religious  views,  and 
the  unction,  the  pathos,  iiud  the  transport  of  many  of  his  discourses. 
Like  all  preachers,  he  was  sometimes  unequal,  and  did  himself  apparent 
injustice,  if  I  may  say  so,  and  perhaps  shortened  his  life — by  his  unremit- 
ting toil.  In  this  respect  there  are  extremes  which  it  would  be  wise,  if 
possible,  to  avoid.  Exorbitant  exactions  for  service,  on  numberless  occa- 
sions, bear  with  exhausting  pressure  of  mind  and  body  upon  ministers 
of  useful  talents;  and  especially  upon  Bishops,  on  account  of  their  real 
or  supposed  influence.  Willing  to  work  for  the  Church,  they  are  induced 
to  yield  to  urgent  Importunities,  without  sufficiently  weighing  the  respon- 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES.  815 

sibilities  which  their  other  relations  to  the  church  involve.  Bishop 
Marvin  was  an  inclefatig:i!jle  preaclier.  He  coveted  the  pleasure,  and 
seemed  never  to  lose  an  opportunity  to  proclaim  the  gospel.  lam  per- 
suaded that  he  of  ten  transcended  the  limits  of  human  prudence,  in  this 
respect,  considering  tlie  extent  and  value  of  his  official  position.  The 
zeal  of  the  Lord's  house  cousumedhim.  I  am  sui'e  that  he  never  regret- 
ted the  consumption.     We  arc  the  mourners ;  not  he. 

He  displayed  all  the  requisite  traits  of  an  effective  Bishop.  He  was 
prompt  and  clear  in  his  administration,  firm  and  impartial  in  his  decisions, 
and  self-sacrihcing  in  his  labors.  He  counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  him. 
He  was  a  bright  example  of  activity  and  fidelity  to  the  preachers  over 
Avhom  he  presided.  He  was  honored,  beloved,  admired  by  the  whole  con- 
nection, as  one  of  its  chief  pastors. 

Tlie  most  conspicuous  of  all  his  efforts  were  his  mission  to  China  and 
his  tour  around  the  world.  The  General  Conference,  at  its  session  in 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  required  one  of  the  Bishops  to  visit  that  distant  re- 
gion, in  order  to  organize  our  work  there,  to  ordain  native  preacliers,  and 
so  give  assurancQ  of  an  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the  Mission.  The 
lot  fell  upon  Bishop  Marvin,  by  the  election  of  his  colleagues.  He  fulfilled 
his  errand  completely,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  enterprise,  at  home  and 
abroad,  and  had  the  honor  of  b^'ing  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  a  foreign  laud.  Next  in  importance  to  these 
events,  was  his  visit  to  the  Britisli  Conference,  in  Bristol,  where  he  was 
received  by  the  Mother  Couference  of  us  all,  and  where  he  represented  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  accurately  and  eloquently  in  the  me- 
tropolis of  Metliodism  in  the  world.  His  <ifficial  recognition,  on  that  oc- 
casion, was  the  link  that  completed  tlie  brilliant  circle  of  Methodistic 
success  and  Methodistic  unity ;  and  in  that  position  his  name  will  ever 
stand. 

He  was  prolific  and  instructive  as  a  writer.  His  pen  was  scarcely  less 
ready  than  his  tongue.  He  wrote  spontaneoush',  and  not  by  constraint, 
and  wiih  a  freedom  and  vivaci;y  that  charmed  his  readers.  He  was  the 
auth(n*  of  several  volumes,  and  was  selected  by  the  surviving  family  of 
Bishop  Andrew  to  write  his  bi  )graphy — a  work  which,  I  presume,  he  did 
not  live  to  accomplish.  The  most  memorable  productions  of  his  pen  were 
his  letters  from  the  East,  in  which  he  displayed  an  extraordinary  matu- 
rity in  epistolary  literature.  He  imparted  valuable  information  to  the 
Church,  and  stirred  its  very  depths  on  the  subject  of  Foreign  Missions. 
Had  he  done  nothing  else,  this  would  have  been  an  achievement  worthy  of 
his  fame.  The  effect  will  long  survive  him,  in  enlarging  the  views  and 
awakening  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Church  on  the  wide  theatre  of  the 
world's  salvation.  Those  letters  were  almost  universally  read  with  de- 
liglit.  Their  publication,  in  a  volume,  was  demanded;  and  he  was  con- 
cluding its  last  pages  when  his  useful  pen  dropped  forever  from  a  hand 
smitten  with  the  stroke  of  death.  That  volume  will  remain  as  a  conse- 
crated memorial  of  his  life's  last  labors  iu  the  cause  of  Christ* 


81()  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

After  the  vicissitudes  and  perils  of  a  journey  of  25,000  miles,  per- 
formed in  ten  months,  and  -willi  the  lienors  of  a  fulfilled  commission,  he 
returned  to  his  native  land,  and  to  his  loved  home,  with  enlarged  advan- 
tages, to  assume  his  Episcopal  functions  among  an  admiring  people,  filled 
with  the  j>yous  expectation  of  renewing  his  rounds  of  duty,  and  rejoin- 
ing his  colleagues  in  their  designated  worlv.  Alus,  for  human  calcula- 
tions! We  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth.  Four  months  only 
were  added  to  his  return.  No  premature  de.cline,  no  premonitory  signals 
indicated  the  catastrophe.  In  the  midst  of  his  labors,  in  the  prime  of  his 
manhood,  standing  on  the  grand  climacteric  of  his  life,  in  the  iilenitude 
of  his  vigor,  he  was  arrested  by-  disease,  and  one  short  week  terminated 
his  earthly  career.  Bishop  Enoch  M.  Marvin  is  dead!  He  rests  from 
his  labors,  and  his  worUs  follow  him.  The  shock  of  his  death  still  repeats 
its  echoes  amongst  the  churches. 

According  to  human  estimate,  his  dcaMi  entaiN  an  incalculable  loss 
upon  Southern  Methodism.  Let  us  not  so  interpret  it.  The  life  and 
death  of  such  a  man  is  a  gain  to  the  cause  of  God.  Ilis  work  was  done, 
and  God  took  him,  and  left  the  result  to  us.  His  death  was  a  gain  to 
himself.  He  was  ready.  The  Master  called,  and  he  obeyed .  He  had 
kept  the  commandments.  He  had  tested  his  right  to  the  tree  of  life.  He 
has  entered  through  the  gat;'s  into  t!ie  city — a  city  which  hath  founda- 
tfons;  whose  Maimer  and  Builder  is  God.  May  we  all  follow  him,  as  he 
followed  Christ.  Then  every  earthly  loss  will  be  indemnified  by  eternal 
compensations. 

The  Goiieral  Conference  ]\Itirvin-]\remorial  occurred  at 
its  session  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  in  May,  1878,  on  the  sixteenth 
(lay  of  the  session,  Bishop  Wightman  in  the  Chair.  It 
came  up  in  the  regular  course  of  the  proceedings  on  the 
presentation  of  the  Report  of  the  Conimittee  on  Episcopacy. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  J.  W.  Lewis,  of  that  Committee  and  bv  its 
request,  accompanicul  tlie  report  with  an  extended  narrative 
of  his  latest  hihors  and  last  illness  and  death,  closing  with 
an  affectionate  tribute.  He  was  followed  in  brief  addresses 
by  Rev.  Dr.  W.  jNI.  Rush,  Rev.  C.  I.  Vandeventcr  and  Hon. 
John  Hogan,  Rov.  Dr.  1>.  T.  Kavanaugh  and  others.  They 
were  heart-tributes.  The  incidents  they  contained  have 
been  appropriated  for  the  most  part  on  former  pages.  It 
was  an  interesting  coincidence  tliat  Rev.  Dr.  Younsf  J.  Al- 
len,  of  the  China  IMission,  liad  come  to  America,  on  invita- 
tion   of    the   North    Georgia   Conference,    and    was    of  its 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTES.  817 

delegation  and  jn-esent  at  tlic  memorial  service.  His 
remarks  were  deeply  affecting,  and  will  be  on  this  page  a 
memorial  of  the  Apostolic  grace  of  Bishop  Marvin's  Epis- 
copacy in  heathen  lands. 

Mr.  Allen,  the  Missionary  to  Cliina,  said  : 

I  rise  to  offer  a  tribute  from  a  far  land  to  tlie  Bishop's  blessed  mem- 
ory. The  name  of  Bishop  Marvin  is  sacred  to  the  China  Mission,  and  will 
no  doubt  long  continue  to  be  associated  with  that  work  in  the  mind  and 
heart  of  the  churches.  Coming,  our  hearts  went  forth  to  greet  him;  with 
us,  we  were  brought  once  more  into  living  contact  with  the  Church  of 
God  in  America;  departing,  we  laid  on  him  the  burden  of  our  hopes  in  re- 
gard to  the  future  of  the  great  work  in  China;  returning,  we  watched  with 
anxiety  his  progress  through  the  nations ;  and  when  the  news  of  his  safe 
arrival  at  his  own  home,  among  his  brethren  in  his  own  native  land,  came, 
we  were  filled  with  a  sense  of  relief  and  grateful  joy.  But  how  much  we 
loved  him,  and  how  much  our  hearts  had  been  lightened  by  his  presence, 
we  knew  not  till  the  news  (on  the  anniversary  of  his  departure)  came — 
just  one  year  to  a  day  from  the.  day  of  his  departure— that  our  beloved 
Bishop  was  no  more.  We  bowed  our  heads  and  wept.  I  had  just  fin- 
ished a  letter  to  him. 

To  me,  personally,  the  visit  of  the  Bishop  was  an  occasion  of  great 
joy.  For  more  than  seventeen  years  I  had  bieu  among  strangers — 
never  having  seen  one  familiar  face  since  leaving  America  till  I  looked 
upon  that  of  our  beloved  Marvin.  Oh,  how  delightful  his  companionship! 
How  sweet  and  precious  the  words  of  Christian  comfort,  courage,  hope, 
he  bore  to  us  from  the  brethren  far  away  in  the  United  States!  How  our 
hearts  bounded  to  think  that  the  China  Mission  would  receive  at  last  the 
succor  and  support  it  had  so  long  asked  in  vain.  But  he  is  gone — our  be- 
loved Bishop  is  dead.  But,  thank  God,  the  Lord  liveth  and  reigneth,  and 
the  spirit  of  Marvin  survives  in  the  Church,  and  there  is  still  hope  for  the 
China  Mission.  His  sojourn  with  us  was  brief,  but  a  savor  of  life  unto 
life.  He  endeared  himself  to  all,  to  British,  American  and  Chinese.  His 
intercourse  with  the  residents  of  the  foreign  community,  in  society  and  in 
the  pulpit  was  impressive  and  instructive.  He  made  friends  of  all.  But 
especially  was  he  at  home  among  the  native  Christians.  They  respected  him 
greatly  and  loved  him  sincerely.  Their  hearts  were  enlarged  to  receive 
him,  and  emotions  so  overwhelming  were  never  experienced  among  them 
before. 

But  I  have  not  time  for  the  details  of  his  visit.  He  was  emphatically 
a  man  of  God — always  devout  in  manner  and  fervent  in  spirit. 

Every  department  in  our  mission  work  was  thoroughly  reviewed  by 
him  and  our  needs  fully  examined.  The  situation  and  importance  of  the 
work  aud  the  grand  opportunity  of  occupying  in  stronger  force  the  field 


818  BISHOP  MARVIX. 

now  open  to  iis  impressed  him,  ami  he  in-omised  to  preser.t  fi;lly  all  these 
matters  to  the  Church  Missionary  Board  an  1  to  the  Ciiurch,  and  urge  upon 
them  the  necessity  of  eulargini;  and  rehiforcing  our  feeble  baud  of  co- 
laborers;  but  he  is  not  here  lo-day.  We  uiouru  his  loss  as  those  who  are 
bereft  indeed,  and  again  cast  our  burden  upon  the  Lord  and  turn  our  eyes 
to  the  Church  and  louk  for  that  relief,  support  and  enlargement  so  earnestly 
and  urgently  demanded  in  behalf  of  our  Diina    Mission. 

Tho  report  was  taken  up  and  adoptcMl  standing. 

The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  asked  leave  to  offer  the  following  tribute 
to  tlie  uiemory  of  the  late  Bishop  Marvin. 

In  view  of  the  elaborate  and  full  statements  of  dates  and  details  of 
work  made  in  memorial  sermons  and  obituaries,  Ave  do  not  deem  it  neces- 
sarj'nowtodo  more  tlian  to  express  the  great  sorrow  that  fills  our  hearts  on 
account  of  the  removal  of  this  eminent  servant  of  God  from  amongst  us. 

For  nearly  twelve  years  he  served  the  Church  in  the  high  olficial  sta- 
tion of  General  Superintendent.  In  this,  capacity  he  illustrated,  in  an 
eminent  degree,  the  zeal,  the  purity  of  life,  the  self-forgetfulncss,  and 
entireuess  of  consecration  that  characterized  the  apostles  of  our  Lord, 
thus  furnishing  the  highest  possible  title  to  be  recognized  as  their 
successor. 

Before  lie  was  called  to  this  high  distinction,  his  life  was  wholly  conse- 
crated to  the  work  of  the  itinerant  ministry  ;  and  in  that  capacity  he  was  un- 
swervingin  fidelity  to  the  duties  laid  upon  Inm.  For  him  no  sacrifice  was 
too  great — no  work  was  too  hard  that  proposed  to  enhance  the  Ivingdom  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Eudowed  with  high  intellectual  and  spiritual  gifts, 
lie  laid  all  upon  the  altar  of  the  Cfiurch.  Nor  was  the  Church  slow  to  recog- 
nize his  worth.  She  ordained  him  to  serve  in  her  holy  places,  and  entrusted 
to  his  hand  a  large  part  of  her  honor  and  interests.  It  maybe  said  with 
propriety  that  he   never  was  imtrue  to  the  trust  thus  confided. 

A  special  emphasis  is  given  to  our  sorrow  by  the  fact  that  the  Church 
of  God  is  not  permitted  to  reap  the  full  benefit  of  his  wise  observations  in 
Lis  exteuded  Eastern  tour.  Commissioned  to  go  to  the  millions  who  sit  in 
the  region  of  the  shadow  of  death  in  heathen  lands,  he  went  as  a  messenger 
of  light  in  their  midst,  and  his  accurate  observation  and  comprehensive 
appreciation  of  the  situation  placed  him  in  possession  of  a  wealth  of  facts 
that  would  have  been  of  incalculable  benefit  in  the  Church's  great  mission- 
ary work.  His  holy  zeal  for  the  Ivingdoni  of  Christ  kindknl  to  an  intense 
flame  by  the  sight  of  millions  under  the  pall  of  pagan  darkness,  would  have 
infused  itself  into  the  Church,  and  her  arm  would  have  beeu  nerved  afresh 
for  the  c<in<iuest  of  the  Avorld  to  the  Son  of  God. 

But  the  Head  of  the  Church  dismissed  him  from  a  field  in  which  it  was 
fondly  hoped  he  would  achieve  such  grand  results.  We  bow  to  the  myste- 
rious dispensation,  assured  that  though  we  know  not  what  He  doeth,  we 
shall  know. 

It  is  matter  of  i^rofound  gratitude  to  God  that  the  grace  on  which  our 
now  sainted  Bishop  leaned  so  confidingly,  was   suflicieut  to  preserve  Mm 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES.  819 

blameless  throuj^hout  his  entire  career  as  ;i  minister  of  Jesns  Christ.  Wise 
in  counsel,  just  in  lulministration,  blameless  in  moral  and  olhcial  life,  ho 
served  his  generation  and  fell  asleep.  Longnia}-  tlie  exanii)le  of  his  apos- 
tolic zeal  and  puritj'  ol  life  stand  before  his  brethren  who  minister  at  the 
altar  of  the  Church. 

S.  Regestek,  Chairman. 
S.  .S.  Bkyaxt,  Secretary. 

The  services  had  been  quite  protracted,  and  the  occasion 
did  not  allov\'  remarks  by  his  Episcopal  colleagues.  Besides, 
they  had  all  spoken  theretofore  in  the  Annual  Conference 
sessions — Bishop  Kavanaugh  in  Arkansas  and  Bishop 
Wiijhtnian  in  Kentucky.  The  followinsr  tributes  only  re- 
main  to  make  up  the  full  measure  of  reverent  and  affection- 
ate memory  of  Bishop  Marvin. 


RECOLLi:CTIOXS  OF  HIS  ITINERANT  MINISTRY, 


BY  BISHOr  ROBERT  PAINE,  D.D.,  L.L.D, 


viy'Y  acquaintance  witli  Bishop  Marvin  hogan  at  iho  first 


(Tyif) 

•J^J^  Annual  Conferen(;es  in  which  I  ])rcsided  as  bishop, 
in  1841).  It  Avas  the  Missouri  Conference,  held  in  Hanni- 
bal. The  "  separation  line  "  had  been  agreed  to,  leaving 
the  appointments  on  the  l)()rder  at  liberty  to  select  between 
adhering  North  or  South.  The  process  was  going  on  all 
alon"'  the  line.  ^Missouri  was  a  l)or(l(>r  conf(!rence  ;  and 
Hannibal  was  a  station  ininiediateiy  upon  tlu;  line.  The 
coninumity,  and  es})ecially  the  ^lethodists,  were  divided  as 
to  their  preferences.  Dr.  John  II.  Linn,  the  incumbent  of 
our  church  in  that  station,  by  his  wise  and  conservative  in- 
fluence, had  so  manaired  as  to  hold  the  elements  of  disrup- 
tion in  c()m[)arative  repose,  so  that  a  majority  of  our  mem- 
bers were  inclined  to  remain  in  "  the  southern  organiza- 
tion."  But  Dr.  Linn  was  to  be  transferred  to  another  con- 
ference, and  Avho  should  succeed  him  was  a  (juestion  of  in- 
tense anxiety  and  uni\crsal  iiKpiiry.  David  W.  Pollock 
was  in  charge  of  Palmyra,  a  station  a  few  miles  above,  and 
he,  too,  was  to  leave  the  conferenci'.  To  fill  those  stations 
with  tiie  right  men  was  ^cry  im[)ortant.  Th(i  former  place 
especitdly  claimed  our  most  earnest  and  i)ainful  solicitude. 
Wm.  M.  Rush  was  presently  substituted  for  Pollock;  and 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  HIS  ITINERANT  MINISTRY.  821 

after  frequent  consultation  with  tlic  presiding  elder  and  a 
hearty  nomination  by  Dr.  Linn,  Enoch  M.  Marvin  was  ap- 
pointed to  Hannibal.  He  had  traveled  five  years  ;  had  been 
ordained  elder  with  Pollock  and  Rush  at  the  previous  con- 
ference ;  was  reported  as  a  devoted,  studious  and  success- 
ful circuit  preacher.  His  preaching  power  and  general  re- 
liahility  for  a  delicate  and  difficult  work  were  emphasized. 
I  need  scarcely  add  that  the  appointment  seemed  provi- 
dential, and  was  repeated  next  year.  The  church  wafe 
quieted  and  established,  and  its  membership  largely  in- 
creased. U]3on  my  next  visit  to  the  Missouri  Conference, 
in  Septemljer,  1849,  I  found  he  had  served  the  Monticello 
Circuit  one  year,  and  so  highly  were  his  talents  and  labors 
appreciated,  that  yielding  to  the  Avishes  of  the  Church  and 
community  he  was  returned.  In  the  fall  of  1852,  it  fell  to 
my  lot  again  to  preside  at  the  Missouri  Conference.  Find- 
ing he  had  traveled  an  the  St.  Charles  Circuit  the  previous 
vear  with  great  credit  to  himself  and  usefulness  to  the 
Church,  he  was  appointed  presiding  elder  of  the  St.  Charles 
District,  to  succeed  William  Patton.  It  was  his  first  ap- 
pointment to  that  office,  and  well  and  worthily  did  he  fill  it. 
In  1859,  I  found  him  in  the  St.  Louis  Conference,  having 
concluded  his  first  year's  charge  in  Centenary  Church,  St. 
Louis,  after  having  served  two  consecutive  years  in  the  First 
Church.  His  return  to  Centenary  was  alike  due  to  his  mer- 
its, and  the  unanimous  desire  of  the  charge.  His  pastorate 
in  this  Church  was  co'ntinued  until  the  war,  when  he  was 
compelled  to  leave  the  city  and  finally  his  State.  Under 
what  circumstances  and  for  what  reason  it  became  necess- 
ary to  do  so,  his  Ijiographer  can  best  explain  ;  but  we  can- 
not resist  the  conclusion,  from  his  well  established  reputa- 
tion for  prudence,  piet}^  and  exclusive  devotion  to  the  work 
of  God,  that  a  strange  and  fearful  state  of  society  must  have 
occurred  there. 

Some  time  before  the  events  took  place  just  referred  to, 


S29,  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

our  Church  resolved  to  extend  her  ini.ssionarv  work   in   the 
East  by  establishing::  a  mission  in  dai):m,  in  addition  to  that 
already  operating  in  China,  and   my   colleagues  having  de- 
volved the  special  supervision  of  this  duty  upon  me,   it  be- 
came necessary  to  select  a  suital)h'   man    for   thi^   new   and 
important  tield  of  Christian   enteri)rise.     After  some  time 
spent  iu  revolving  the  Avhok>  sul)ject  in  my  mind,    and  con- 
sidering  the    personal    qualitications    of   my    ac((uaintances 
wlio  Avere  availaldc,  it  was  decided  to   ])roposc   the    mission 
to  ))rother  ]Marvin.      It  was  not   offered   to   him    l)e('ause   of 
superior    mental    culture    or    pre-eminence     m     any    single 
quality,  for  his  early  scholastic  advantages  had  been  inferior, 
and  the  appointment  demanded  that  the  leader  and  founder 
of  our  Church    in   that  Empire  should  be  a  workman  that 
needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  quick  to  learn,  apt  to  teach,  and 
competent  t6   guide   and  govern.     But  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  in  whatever  respect  he  might  then  be  deticient  in 
the  less  essential  qualifications,  yet  he  was  fitted  by  his  na- 
tive vigor  of  intellect,  the  quickness,  compass  and  thorough- 
ness of  his  comprehension,  the  magnetism  of  his  manner,  his 
habits  of  study,  and  his  conscientious   attention   to   all   the 
(hitics  heretofore  imposed   upon    him,  so  that  lie  had  risen 
from  an  unpretentious  ])eginning  to  un(|Ucstion(Ml  pre-emin- 
ence among  his  associates  as  a  thinker,  writer  and  preacher. 
The  crowning  <|uality  of  the  man,  however,  was  his  uniform 
and  full  consecrating  piety.     lie    was    (J/rn'sCs.     Take   him 
all  in  all,  it  was  decided  to  send  him   to  Japan,    if    he    was 
willing-  to  go.      For  some  reason  he  declined.     Another  ex- 
cellent man  was  nominated  for  the  post,   and   was   ready  to 
start,  when  llic  <-ivil  wai-  broke  out  and  he  could  not  go.      So 
it  is  that  we  have  no  man  Ihci-c  yet.      It    will    be    borne    in 
mind  that  shortly  before  his  death,  our  dear   liishop   spoke 
publicly  of  this  matter,  and  expressed  sorrow  he  did  not  go 
to  dai)an  at  my  recjuest.      1  cannot  say  now  that  1  concur  in 
this  expression.      We  doul)tless  both   diu  what  we  thought 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  HIS  ITINERANT  ailNISTRY.  823 

■\\^as  right  and  for  the  best,  and  I  try  not  to  regret  results  which 
I  cannot  prevent.  In  the  over-ruling  providence  of  God  I 
firmly  believe  and  trust  ;  and  it  is  doubtless  best  he  did  not 
go.  He  did  more  for  the  world  by  staying.  In  the  long 
future  his  iiiliuence  will  have  a  wider  rani>-e,  and  Christ  be 
more  honored.  His  name  and  example  will  endure,  and 
his  memory  Avill  long  linger  like  a  sweet  perfume  in  the 
Church. 

Having  stated  that  at  the  beginnino-  of  the  late  Avar  he 
had  felt  compelled  to  leave  his  charge  and  his  native  State 
for  his  safety  from  the  insane  violence  of  sectional  and 
political  passion,  I  may  further  state  that,  like  many  other 
ministers  similarly  situated,  he  exercised  his  ministry  in  the 
Southern  Army  and  became  one  of  its  chaplains.  Having 
been  told  by  General  Price  and  Gov.  Trusten  Polk,  of  the 
necessity  for  a  regular  organization  of  the  chaplaincy  west  of 
the  Mississippi  Piver,  I  sent  him  an  appointment  as  Superin- 
tendent of  the  chaplains  of  our  church  in  the  Western  Depart- 
ment of  the  Confederate  Army.  The  unanimous  testimony 
of  all  who  were  associated  with  him  durino;  all  the  sad 
scenes  of  those  dark  and  trying  days  is  that,  wdiether  in  the 
long  and  weary  inarch,  in  the  tentless  bivouac,  through 
swamps  or  over  mountains,  in  summer  and  winter,  l)v  the 
side  of  the  sick  and  dying  soldier,  or  preaching  the  word  of 
life  where  the  flickering  lio-hts  oleam  from  the  cami)  fires 
in  the  forest  or  on  the  Avide  prairie  in  the  darkness,  relieved 
only  l)y  the  glimmer  of  stai's  which  stud  the  dome  of 
Heaven,  he  was  ever  the  same  pure  and  peaceful  spirit,  and 
striving  earnestly  to  win  souls  to  Christ.  The  termination 
of  hostilities  found  him  in  western  Louisiana,  on  the  east- 
ern border  of  Texas.  There  his  famil^^  from  whom  he  had 
been  compelled  to  separate  so  long,  joined  him  and  found  a 
temporary  home  in  the  house  of  Rev.  W.  E.  Doty,  where  he 
Avas  Avarmly  welcomed  and  highly  appreciated. 

When   the    General   Conference    in   18()6   met    hi    New 


824  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

Orleans,  lie  m:is  prciiohing  in  Marshall,  Texas.  He  had  not 
been  able  to  get  ])ac'k  to  his  own  conference,  and  conse- 
quently ^vas  not  elected  a  Delegate.  I>ut  Avhen  the  confer- 
ence resolved  to  elect  several  l)ishoi)s,  iiis  name  "with  others 
was  spoken  of.  lie  was  not  there  and  was  unknown  per- 
sonally to  a  large  majority  of  the  General  Conference. 
Those  who  knew  him  intimately  w^ere  decidedly  in  favor  of 
his  election  ;  and  so  strong  and  so  o-eneral  did  the  convic- 
tion  become  of  his  eminent  fitness  for  the  office,  that  he 
was  elected  on  the  first  ballot.  It  is  needless  to  add  that 
his  subsequent  history  has  fully  and  uniiuestionably  vin- 
dicated the  wisdom  of  his  a})}K)intment.  His  colleagues  re- 
spected and  trusted  him  ;  his  brethren  in  ajl  the  confer- 
ences admired  him  ;  the  Church  loved  him  ;  and  more  than 
all,  God  honored  him.  Thaidv  God  that  he  loaned  him  to 
us  ! 


BISHOP  MARVIN  AS  METHODIST  PREACHER. 

BY    BISHOP    GEO.    F.    PIERCE,    D.    D. 

W^  SAW  the  Rev.  Enoch  M.  Marvin  for  the  first  time  in  the 
J^  month  of  October,  1857.  We  met  at  the  session  of  the 
Missouri  Conference  in  the  town  of  Louisiana.  He  was  then 
a  comparatively  young  man.  His  talents  were  recognized 
by  his  brethren  and  his  outcome  in  subsequent  years  was 
but  the  fulfilment  of  a  promise  on  which  they  relied  with 
confidence.  He  was  modest,  retiring — did  not  thrust  him- 
self forward,  was  not  i>rominent  in  the  business  of  the  ses- 
sion. Conscious  of  power,  he  bided  his  time,  or  full  of 
reverence  for  the  old  men — the  veterans  of  the  Conference 
— and  distrustful  of  himself,  he  was  silent,  attentive — a 
learner,  as  every  young  preacher  ought  to  be.  He  seemed 
to  me  to  be  unusually  thoughtful,  as  though  laying  up  facts, 
studying  principles  both  as  to  policy  and  application — 
"  swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,"  bent  to  enlarge  the  furni- 
ture of  his  mind  and  complete  the  equipments  neces- 
sary to  his  lifework.  His  natural  endowments  were  great 
and  wonderfully  were  they  developed,  considering  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  boyhood  and  of  his  early  ministry. 
The  range  of  his  studies,  the  amount  of  his  acquisitions  in 
history  and  philosophy,  were  positively  marvelous — explica- 
ble indeed  only  by  his  quick,  capacious,  retentive  mind. 
The  extent  and  variety  of  his  knowledge  are  to  be  attributed 
not  so  much  to  his  habits  of  study  as  to  his  rare  combination 
of  mental  powers.  These  powers  in  him  were  distinct  and 
preeminent,  and  yet  so  balanced  and  harmonized  as  that  no 
one  dominated  the  rest  and  yet  each  operated  itself — mag- 
nified its  office  in  all  his  mental  operations.     He  was  logical, 


826  BISHOP  MARVIN. 

metaphysical,  imaginative,  profound,  patlietic.  Every  ser- 
mon 1  ever  heard  from  him  furnished  examples  of  each  trait 
and  of  all  :  the  subject  discussed  determining  their  relative 
proportions.  1  have  heard  lilni  on  many  occasions — on  sud- 
den calls  and  special  subjects,  and  always  with  high  gratifi- 
cation. He  was  not  always  equal  with  his  best,  but  his  poorest 
efforts  were  far  above  the  average  of  other  men. 

I  sat  down  to  write  of  him  as  a  Methodist  Preacher — 
not  of  his  sermons,  of  his  books,  or  of  his  rare  combina- 
tion of  intellectual  powers,  but  of  the  simplicity  and  entire- 
ness  of  his  consecration  as  a  man  called  of  God  to  preach. 
Converted  Avhile  yet  a  youth,  his  convictions  of  duty  were 
coincident  with  that  great  event.  He  realized  tlie  call  as  to 
its  origin,  nature  and  responsibilities,  and  resolving  on  obedi- 
ence, proceeded  to  adjust  his  character,  his  plans,  his  habits 
to  his  high,  holy,  life  vocation.  He  interpreted  our  Saviour's 
words  historically,  and  did  not  wait  for  the  death  or  burial 
of  his  father  nor  lose  time  in  the  amenities  and  farewells  of 
acquaintances,  but  was  prompt  to  obey  the  heavenly  vision, 
and  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plow  never  looked  back. 
He  joined  the  Conference  and  became  an  itinerant,  subject 
to  the  peculiar  workings  of  the  Methodist  economy.  He 
understood  it,  embraced  it  intelligently,  unreservedly,  and 
hence  nevercomplained  of  its  changes,  i)rivations,  hardships. 
These  were  all  in  the  l)ond.  They  were  not  surprises,  dis- 
appointments, producing  friction  and  trouble,  as  though  a 
wrong  had  been  done  him  and  burdens  imposed  to  which  he 
had  never  consented.  He  never  sought  place  or  promotion  ; 
was  free  from  all  cnvyings  and  jealousies  and  took  his  work 
by  ap[)ointment.  A  place  to  work  was  all  he  asked. 
Self-denial  was  not  an  occasional  incident  in  his  life  but  a 
constant,  everpresent,  all-permeating  element  of  his  charac- 
ter. Self  abnegation  was  his  law.  He  loved  the  Church  and 
served  her  utterly  oblivious  of  his  convenience,  his  af- 
fections or  his  remuneration.      "  Filthy  lucre  "  he  despised, 


BISHOP    MARVIN    AS    METHODIST    PREACHER.  827 

and  lavished  liis  income  on  needy  persons  and  institutions 
with  unsparins:  hand.  He  was  not  reclvless,  for  he  abhorred 
debt  and  lived  and  died  unembarassed  and  free.  A  certain 
class  of  wise,  worldl}^  thrifty  peoi)le,  doubtless  thought  him 
too  liberal  in  his  charities,  but  Marvin  believed  God  and 
worked  and  gave  to  tlie  last. 

Enoch  Marvin  was  a  model  man  in  the  purity  of  his 
character,  the  singleness  and  steadfastness  of  his  devotion 
and  his  unselfish,  uncalculating  service  of  his  race.  The 
theory  of  religious,  ministerial  life  which  he  adopted  and 
verified  availed  him  much  in  his  administration  as  a  Bishop. 
The  brethren  felt  that  he  aslved  nothinsf  which  he  had 
not  given  and  imposed  no  burden  which  he  had  not 
borne.  The  Churches  glorified  God  in  him.  His  death  was 
to  me  a  shock  and  a  bereavement,  such  as  I  never  realized 
before.  Oh  !  how  his  colleagues  miss  him.  His  life  was 
a  boon  to  the  Church.  His  example,  private  and  public, 
l)ersonal  and  official,  was  a  legacy  to  his  brethren  of  inesti- 
mable value.     He  "  being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 

1  am  glad  I  ever  knew  him  and  that  I  had  grace  to  love 
him  as  I  did.  His  memory  is  precious  to  me  and  I  hope  by 
the  mercy  of  God  to  see  him  again,  know  him  and  be  with 
him  forever. 


BISHOP   MARVIN'S   MISSIONARY  TOUR. 

BY    BISHOI'    .1.    C.    KEENER,    D.D. 


Freighted  witli  love  he  outward  went, 

Touching  the  eoiiliuents  along, 
As  angels  once  f;ir  down  were  sent, 

Laden  with  light  and  purest  song:  — 

The  Flowery  Kingdom  still  and  dark, 
Where  sleeping  myriads  lay  around, 

Waiting  the  Spirit's  vital  spark. 
Or  resurrection's  trumpel-sound ; 

The  Indian  realm  where  Brahma  reigns, 
WliL-re  living  pyres  taint  tlie  air, 

Where  Kali's  rage  the  Thng  sustains. 
And  strangled  victims  track  her  lair. 

There  Ganges,  superstition's  wave. 
Rises  where  starving  millions  die; 

Whose  sins  its  wat<'rs  cannot  lave, 
Tiiough  thousands  to  its  margin  fly. 

By  Horeb,  where  Elijah  stood  ; 

Along  the  shore  wliere  Miriam  sang 
O'er  Egypt's  host,  beneath  the  flood — 

To  Israel's  shout  the  echoes  rang. 

Where  flashed  the  briglit-cased  pyramid. 
Back  to  the  Sun  his  burning  gold, 

And  in  this  burning  altar  hid 

Sons  of  the  Sun,  Phtiia's  son  of  old — 

This  hugest  labor  left  by  man, 

While  searching  for  the  "  unknown  God," 
Near  where  the  ancient  river  i-an 

That  turned  to  blood  by  Moses'  rod. 

There  on  a  causeway  made  of  men, 
The  Prophet  rides  with  hoofs  of  steel. 

There  coils  th'  arch  Dragon  in  his  fen — 
O,  Son  of  Man!   bring  down  thy  heel! 

Thence  on  to  Zion's  golden  height, 
The  hilly  bulwarks  built  by  God, 

Where  glory  burned  in  human  sight — 
At  every  turn  an  angel  stood. 


BISHOP  Marvin's  missionary  tour.  829 

There  David's  harp  and  David's  soul, 

Stirred  by  the  air  that  Heaven  breathed, 
Sent  ringing  down  the  ages'  roll 

The  melody  that  Heaven  beciueathed- 

There  stateliest  son  of  David's  line, 

Whose  side  was  pierced  lor  sinful  man, 
"Whence  richest  life — the  Spirit's  wine — 

For  all  ill  purple  currents  ran. 

Now  all  this  glory  swept  and  gone. 

For  Islam  blights  that  sacred  land  ; 
God's  great  and  precious  word  alone, 

His  fiats  of  salvation  stand. 

The  Golden  Horn,  the  Moslem's  hold, 

Where  minarets  gleam  and  crescent  wanes. 
Where  turbaned  Turk  so  fierce  and  bold, 

Mohammed's  faith  and  lust  maintains. 

Nor  far  from  this  the  Papal  den, 

Where  scarlet  prelate  gnaws  his  tongue ; 
And  monsters  in  the  shape  of  men, 

The  night  of  hell  would  fain  prolong. 

Amid  these  hosts  so  dark  and  dense, 

Satan  upholds  his  ancient  throne ; 
O'er  half  the  world  there's  no  defence 

But  in  the  Saviour's  prayer  alone. 

As  seen  from  Colorado's  height, 

The  far-off  smoke  of  hunter's  fire, 
So  on  these  wastes  a  Mission's  light. 

Its  column  rising  higher,  higher. 

Faith  sees  a  ladder  in  that  light, 

Its  foot  on  earth,  its  top  in  Heaven  ; 
And  on  the  hills— to  faith's  clear  sight — 

Chariots  of  tire,  spirit-driven. 

Far  in  advance  Thy  pillar  stands ! 

Floating  above  the  blood-bought  dead; 
Its  glory  waits  o'er  heathen  lands — 

How  long,  O  Lord!    O  Christ,  our  Head! 
****** 

Full  round  the  world — an  angel's  flight- 
He  preached  the  Cross  his  Master  bore; 

Then  soaring  upward,  lost  in  light, 
With  rapture  gained  the  eternal  shore. 


All  Around  the  "World! 


TO  THE  [AST  By  WAY  OF  THE  W[ST 

By  tlie  Late  Bishop  E.  M.  Marvin, 

Of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church. 
Profusely  llltistrated  loith  Sled  and  Wood  Engravings. 

Price,  $2.00. 


The  most  Interesting  and  Valuable  Book  of  Travels  ever 

Published. 

So  pronounced  by  the  press  and  by  more  than  2  0,0 00 people  who  have 
already  purchased  it.  No  other  })ook  of  travels  ever  made  so  profound  an 
impression  on  the  reading  public  in  so  short  a  time,  and  it  has  won  the 
honorable  distinction  of 

"A    CeTebrated    Book." 

Bishop  Marvin  was  selected  by  the  Colleiie  of  Bishops  at  their 
meeting  held  in  Nashville,  in  May,  187G,  to  visit  the  missions  in  China,  and 
survey  and  report  upon  the  condition  of  the  great  missionary  fields  in  the 
East.  In  obedience  to  his  instructions  he  sailed  from  San  Francisco  on 
the  1st  of  November,  187(;,  on  his  now  celebi'ated 

Voyage  Around  the  "World 

Accompanied  by  his  friend  and  traveling  companion,  Rev.  E.  R.  Hendrix 
They  visited  Japan,  China,  Ceylon,  India,  Egypt,  Palestine,  Rome, 
Turkey,  Greece,  Switzerland,  France,  Germany,  England,  Ireland  and 
Scotland,  and  during  the  voyage,  which  occupied  about  ten  months,  the 
Bisliop  wrote  descriptions  of  the  countries  through  which  they  traveled, 
jjortraying  in  the  most  fascinating  style  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
people.  Although  written  by  a  Methodist  Bishop,  it  is  not  in  tiie  least  sec- 
tarian;  but  as  though  he  foresaw  that  his  Master  would  soon  require  him 
to  render  an  account,  it  can  be  truly  said  of  him—"  Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

Our  beloved  Bishop  had  but  finished  the  last  pages  of  the  manuscript 
of  this  book  when  disease  prostrated  his  body,  which  had  endured,  with 
Christian  fortitude,  so  many  struggles.  Therefore,  this  being  the  last  of  liis 
life's  work,  it  not  only  portrays  the  subject  in  it,  but  we  see  a  portrait  of 
our  Marvin  in  almost  every  word — "  He  being  dead,  yet  speaketh.*' 

jj]®"  Liberal  discount  to  Agents.    Address  the  Publishers. 

(See  title  page  of  the  book). 


UiMVtXVOll    1     KJL    *^n.J-ll  V/lVlM/\,    i^v/o   /\i>  \ji:.i-i^o 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


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116QF4        The   life  and 

labors  of 
Enoch  lather  I.Iarvin. 


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